Choosing Your App Platform | Ireland's App Developers

The choice between either or both of the two main operating systems - iOS and Android

How To Choose The Right Platform And App Type

The choice between either or both of the two main operating systems - iOS and Android - and between the different types of apps to be developed are critical choices you must make while planning your project.

The final choice will affect the project timeline, budget, potential audience size and chances of generating revenue from your idea. Several factors can influence your decisions. Required features and functions, earning goals, target audience, deadlines, and budget are among them.

In this article, we will explain the difference between the platforms and types of applications and we will help you choose the best one for your project.

Let's start!

iOS vs Android app development

The choice between developing an Android, an iOS or both apps basically depends on your target audience, budget and timeline. Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of each platform.

Advantages and disadvantages of an iOS app

• Faster and cheaper development
• Higher level of security and capacity
• Prefabricated solutions
• Limited customization
• App Store rules and quality expectations
• Best monetisation model: paid apps, in-app purchases

Advantages and disadvantages of an Android app

• Android dominates the global market
• Platform flexibility
• Unexpected negative user experience because of too many types of devices
• Every second Android user does not update their operating system
• Expensive and long-lasting development
• Best monetisation model: freemium, in-app advertising

Native, cross platform or web app development

Which type of app is the best choice depends on your goals and ideas. But making the right choice is crucial for financial and business success. So, let's look at all three types of mobile apps in detail.

Native app development

Native apps are developed for specific devices, in a programming language linked to the platform on which they are hosted. This means that, for example, an iOS app will never be available in the Google Play Store and will not work on any Android device.

Let's discover some specifics of a native app:

• Technology: iOS apps are built in Objective C or Swift. Android apps are built into Java.
• Access to the native API: native apps have the ability to fully access the functionality and API of the device.
• Distribution method: usually via an app store.
• Multi-platform functionality: none, a native app remains limited to the platform for which it was created.

As you can see, native apps can take full advantage of the device's features, such as the camera, contact list, GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi and more.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a native app?

Advantages:

• There are no limits in the implementation, you can access every resource and power of the device as it's possible to fully exploit the hardware
• The graphical interface of the apps is in line with the experiences users are used to
• Full support from the manufacturers

Disadvantages:

• More skills are required as each version of the app - iOS and Android - must be developed separately
• Higher costs and longer development times

Cross-platform app development

Building a cross-platform means creating an app and distributing it on various platforms, including the Web. So, with one application you can target both platforms: iOS and Android, thus maximizing its reach.

Multi-platform mobile development is on the rise, but what is the reason for such rapid growth? The cross-platform solutions allow developers to create APPs that work on multiple operating systems. These frameworks also provide a set of tools to help the developer reuse the code and increase its productivity.

In this way, you can avoid double costs when building the app, introduce changes, fix bugs, run tests or release updates.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a cross-platform app?

Advantages:

• Reduced development costs
• Easier and faster maintenance

Disadvantages:

• The bigger code size causes loading and performance issues
• Differences in interaction experience between Android and iOS (e.g. icons, how they are arranged on the navbar, system popups, etc.). When developing for multiple systems, it is difficult to maintain specific platform experiences, which results in the loss of the "native feel" of an app for that operating system.

Progressive web app development

Progressive Web Applications are first of all web applications, i.e. applications that use browsers such as Chrome or Safari to display their interface and that are available at a certain web address (URL) and not distributed though app stores.

This means that users don't have to install the application on their smartphones and therefore the memory capacity of the device is not affected. It works autonomously and is able to load pages instantly even in conditions of low connectivity.

Furthermore, a progressive web app has the advantage of always being updated because, when it's launched, it automatically displays the most recent version.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a web app?

Advantages:

• It works on a wide range of devices
• The application installation and update process is not subject to the control of the store manager
• The app can provide services in categories and types not supported by the official app stores
• The user interface remains the same on all supported devices
• The application is able to work without being downloaded

Disadvantages:

• Compared to native applications, web apps can be slower or consume more power
• Access to the device hardware is more cumbersome and less feature-rich
• If it has not been fully downloaded, some features may not be available when the device is offline
• The absence from the stores can make it more difficult to market the app

Conclusion

Each type of mobile development is good. Your choice will depend on your business goals, budget, deadlines, target, the number of features you are going to include, etc.

We hope this article helped you to confront the different options for building your app. The next stage is to find the best team of professional developers.

Still having doubts about what type of mobile application to choose? Contact our sales department for more details about the options.