What are hybrid apps?

Did you know that mobile apps can be built in 2 different ways? You can get native apps and hybrid apps. Primarily here at Elixel we create hybrid apps and in this blog I’ll try to explain the difference between the 2 and why we choose to build them that way.

What's the difference?

Native apps are applications written in the platforms native language. As we all know Apple devices run on iOS and a large proportion of the other mobile devices on the market run on Android, and both of these platforms require code written in different languages. Think about me, I sadly only speak English, so there’s no point speaking to me in Polish or Chinese as I wouldn’t understand what you’re trying to tell me. iOS and Andriod are the same, one platform cannot understand the others language.

Hybrid apps are different. They are applications that are written in one language and then wrapped in another platform, which essentially makes them understood by all platforms. This extra platform works like a buffer between the language the app has been written in and the language the devices platform is wanting. This middle buffer platform doesn’t translate the code as such but helps the devices platform understand what the code is saying.

Why chose one, over the other?

Our choice to build hybrid apps is because the process is faster during the build stage and easier to maintain once up and running. They also work just as effectively as native apps. When the apps are built and designed to a high standard the end user is unlikely to be able to tell the difference. With our hybrid apps we do choose to use some native app functions when they are needed. For example you need to be able to use the platforms native language when trying to access a geolocation or manage push notifications. These functions aren’t available when writing the code in a hybrid language therefore we use plugins to achieve this. Plugins allow us access to these additional features that are only available within the native language.

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I can see all your faces now and I appreciate you might still be feeling a bit confused, this is a hard post to write without using too many techy words. I am putting together a glossary style document called ‘A Non-Techy Talks...Terminology!’ that lists some of the tech jargon with easy to understand explanations, so keep an eye on the main blog page over the coming weeks.

I hope this has gone a little way in helping understand the difference in the type of apps and their languages and why we like to build one over the other. You can be kept up to date with more in my series of blogs or any of our other great content by heading back to the main blog page or hitting subscribe below to get our monthly newsletter straight to your inbox!