As the app revolution continues to make headway in enterprises, which are adopting both internal and external apps, there is a lot of discussion about whether developers should choose native iOS/Android (News - Alert) or a cross platform solution, such as PhoneGap, that leverages HTML5/JavaScript.
The HTML5 vs. Native discussion is a hot topic for a simple reason: native development for all of the leading mobile platforms is very complex. According to Matthew David, chief digital strategist at Compuware, HTML5 is seen as a silver bullet, and a quick fix solution that can prevent an enterprise from having to learn all the new native technologies to each specific device. In simpler terms, HTML5 is an easier platform for developers to create an app on.
Native apps are more difficult to develop because it has to be built unique to each type of monitoring system. Some examples of a native app is the preinstalled programs on a mobile device, like the address book, calendar, calculator and games like Snake (the once infamous game on the Nokia (News - Alert) phone), which all came before the Web, and of course, the HTML5 platform. Now, these web apps are more intricate as technology has become more advanced with the creation of smartphones.
“HTML5 is the most important advancement for the Web in the last decade,” says David. “Web sites can now operate and feel like desktop apps. But HTML5 is NOT as sophisticated as native app solution. For instance, a simple request such as taking a photo with a camera on a phone cannot be done with HTML5.”
According to the Business Insider, HTML5 is designed to work seamlessly across all mobile platforms and browsers, and these web-based apps can be installed from the Web on all types of monitoring systems like Apple (News - Alert), Blackberry and Android. These apps act like native apps, except instead they live on the Web and can’t be accessed without Internet access.
A major problem with HTML5-based apps is that many mobile browsers don’t fully support all of its features, and it has limited offline functionality. Most HTML5 developers focus on the desktop rather than mobile. However, now the Web is no longer limited to our desktops, and as the Business Insider chart points out, mobile sales are currently 2x PC sales. More than ever consumers are choosing to use apps rather than the mobile Web, which puts HTML5 in a bad spot.
Native apps, however, are developed for the mobile operating systems that are specific to the device’s language. For iOS, this means Objective-C; for Android, it is Java or C++; and for Windows Phones, it is C#.
Mobile Web solutions have the same challenges of traditional Web solutions: they require an Internet presence. David recommends that if your solution does require use of the devices hardware (GPS, camera, 3G/4G) then you have no choice but to go native. Furthermore, if your application requires off-line data support than it is easier to go native.
As consumers continue to choose the mobile apps over desktops, the HTML5 and native app battle will continue, and it is only in the future that we will see which platform developers decide to set forth as the standard. And, thanks to David, users have a pretty good idea which will come out on top.
Edited by Blaise McNamee