Now that you know a bit more about web development, you can more easily understand mobile development.
Mobile apps and web apps are both applications that can run on a device such as a smartphone or a tablet. However, there are key differences between the two.
Mobile apps are applications that are downloaded and installed on a mobile device rather than being rendered within a browser. They are platform-specific (e.g., Android apps, iOS apps), and need to be released separately for each platform. They can take full advantage of all the device features — they can use the camera, the GPS, the accelerometer, the compass, the list of contacts, and so on. They can also incorporate gestures (either standard operating-system gestures or new, app-defined gestures).
Mobile apps can use the device’s notification system and can work offline. Mobile apps have the advantage of being faster and more efficient, but they do require the user to download updates regularly.
Like web apps, mobile apps can interact with servers on the internet. Mobile apps can even interpret things like HTML and CSS if they are set up to do so.
Web apps, on the other hand, are accessed through the internet browser and will adapt to whichever device you’re viewing them on. They are not native to a particular system, and don’t need to be downloaded or installed. Due to their responsive nature, they do indeed look and function a lot like mobile apps a lot of the time — and this is where the confusion arises.
In general, web apps might be a simpler and more economical option to reach a wide range of users across multiple platforms. However, for tasks that require more complexity and access to device capabilities, mobile apps can be the better choice.
Web apps have several advantages over mobile apps:
Developing a mobile app instead of a web app can make sense in several situations:
Remember, whether a mobile app or a web app is more suitable largely depends on the specific needs, goals, and target audience of the project. It’s also worth noting that many businesses opt for a hybrid approach, providing both a web app and a mobile app to reach the widest possible audience and provide the best user experience in different contexts.
When developing a mobile app you need to make a lot of decisions. The first one is, what platform(s) will you support?
Android and iOS are the big ones, but there are many more.
A good way to decide is by looking at stats about how common the different devices are. Here is a good resource.
As you can see, Android is king in Africa.
Mobile development tools can be categorized based on the approach they take to create apps. Here are the three major categories:
These tools are used to develop apps for a specific mobile operating system. They allow developers to leverage the full capabilities of the hardware and the operating system’s features. As a result, native apps typically provide the best performance and user experience. However, they require separate codebases for each operating system, which can increase development time and cost. Examples of native mobile development tools are:
These tools allow developers to create apps using web technologies (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript), which are then run within a WebView (a native container that can display web content) inside a native app shell. This enables a single codebase to be used across multiple platforms, reducing development time and cost. However, these apps may not offer the same performance or access to operating system features as native apps. Examples of these tools are:
These tools represent a middle ground between native and hybrid development. They allow developers to write code in a single language, which is then translated into native code for each operating system. This means that they can use a single codebase, while still providing a near-native user experience. Examples of these tools are:
Each of these categories has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the best choice depends on factors such as the project requirements, the team’s expertise, the desired user experience, and the budget.