01. Native Apps

Native apps are built specifically for a mobile device’s operating system (OS). Thus, you can have native Android mobile apps or native iOS apps, not to mention all the other platforms and devices. Because they’re built for just one platform, you cannot mix and match – say, use a Blackberry app on an Android phone or use an iOS app on a Windows phone.

Technology Used: Native apps are coded using a variety of programming languages. Some examples include: Java, Kotlin, Python, Swift, Objective-C, C++, and React.

Pros: Because of their singular focus, native apps have the advantage of being faster and more reliable in terms of performance. They’re generally more efficient with the device’s resources than other types of mobile apps. Native apps utilize the native device UI, giving users a more optimized customer experience.

And because native apps connect with the device’s hardware directly, they have access to a broad choice of device features like Bluetooth, phonebook contacts, camera roll, NFC, and more.

Cons: However, the problem with native apps lies in the fact that if you start developing them, you have to duplicate efforts for each of the different platforms. The code you create for one platform cannot be reused on another. This drives up costs. Not to mention the effort needed to maintain and update the codebase for each version.

And then, every time there’s an update to the app, the user has to download the new file and reinstall it. This also means that native apps do take up precious space in the device’s storage.