subject: Native Mobile Applications: Can We Do Without Them? [print this page] The mobile application industry is a very progressive space where new objects replace old ones in the span of a few hours. Today, alongside native applications, an enterprise has access to web apps & hybrid apps. Does this mean that native mobile applications are gradually becoming obsolete and are losing their importance in enterprises? If reports coming from technology experts are to be believed, native mobile apps are not only necessary, they are compulsory for all beginners in the world of mobile app development.
What is a Native Mobile App?
A mobile app that is designed to run in the OS & machine language computer environment is known as a native application. Native apps are always locally installed in a mobile device; this means that an interpreter software is not required to be used in the machine where native mobile apps are run. Native applications are often contrasted with web applications that, unlike the former, run within browsers.
Why Enterprises Cannot Do Without Native Apps
Native mobile applications were the first type of apps to be introduced in the mobile world. It is said that the most basic way of app building for mobile devices is writing the apps for any specific type of device. For example, Android mobile apps are written in Java and iPhone mobile apps are written in the Objective C language. Following this rule for writing mobile applications has several advantages, and these serve as the primary reasons for making native mobile apps indispensable for enterprises. Some such benefits are:
1. Native apps provide a very fast & responsive user experience.
2. They are also considered as the most reliable mobile applications when compared to web & hybrid apps.
3. However, the primary advantage of using native apps is that they can access a wider functionality of mobile devices. For instance the camera, voice recorder, accelerometer, compass, notifications, and such other features of a mobile device can be accessed with native applications. In other words, native mobile apps are used to integrate capabilities of mobile devices into the application. For instance, functionalities such as voice memos, GPS coordinates, and images can be piped in the app database without users actually searching & attaching them.
4. These are the only apps which provide the benefit of offline access. Any user can have access to the benefits of mobile applications in spite of the fact that there is no internet connectivity. Therefore, native apps are the only means to complete work if the workforce of an enterprise is travelling via air or is in underground parking areas, where network access is unreliable or unavailable.
5. Use of native mobile apps reduces the total cost that an enterprise has to incur behind deploying mobile technology. The apps can be configured in such a way as to synchronize with backend data sources. The process, if repeated periodically, can lead to reduction of data costs, especially during roaming.
6. The updating of features in native mobile applications is very easy. The push technology of the devices is generally used to upgrade the application instead of the user having to log in for upgradation as in the case of web & hybrid apps.
It is true that since native apps are designed for one type of mobile device, they cannot be used in other devices. However, it is the advantages of these tools that has inspired most enterprises & individual users to deploy native apps.
