Primary brand apps have long gone native so it is time for your app to go beyond hybridity and become a 100% native app as well? It may seem like an onerous and foreboding task to take the plunge into full native apps especially when so many online marketers are relying on HTML5 hybrids, headless browsers, and the whole range of “not quite native” apps. Let’s face it, it’s far better to have a hybrid than no app whatsoever but keep in mind that “there’s nothing like the real thing” and when you offer your customers the full range of benefits of the native app experiences, you too may become a fan of the advantages that only 100% native apps can offer.

Best in user experience, performance, security & monetization

There is no question that apps have skyrocketed in the past few years as they have gone hand in hand with the rest of the mobile web enabled device revolution. Your customers are becoming more demanding and sophisticated in what they expect from your brand’s app and when you consider the overall breadth of user experience, performance, security, and monetization options, you quickly realize that these factors are very heavily skewed towards the native app.

Upmarket app developers are attracted by iOS user wealth

Hybrid apps were originally intended to minimize the often excessive costs of implementing a comprehensive cross-platform development program, but with the technological advancements of the past few years, this expenditure has become far more affordable for a whole range of small and medium sized online marketers. The shakeout in the mobile market from an operating system standpoint has also pushed online marketers into the embrace of the native app. About 92% of all smartphone owners in the United States use either Android or iOS leaving the rest of the OS variants out there fighting over their relatively miniscule 8%. Some online marketers even skip Android altogether as they are dazzled by the prospect of iOS owners’ much greater household income. Almost half of all Apple mobile device owners earn more than $100,000 per year, making them a prime target for upmarket promotions.

HTML5 hybrid apps are more susceptible to open code exploits

Regardless of whether you decide to create a native app on iOS alone or want to go the twin route and encompass your less wealthy Android customers as well, there are ample reasons to go fully native and not the least of which is security. Just about any form of HTML5 hybrid app is going to rely primarily on encryption stored in the cache in their browser which is notoriously insecure as compared to the native forms which are more resistant to open code exploits. Now that NFC forms of data interchange are becoming the basis of a whole new generation of payment options directly through smartphones, security has become a primary concern, and it is one that is best dealt with through native app development.

Hybrids may not access camera, GPS & more

Even if we can get around some of the various faults integrated in HTML5 hybrid apps, we are always confronted with the basic reality that the app itself is not specifically designed for the device on which it is running, and therefore, the user interface elements which are rendered through the CSS integral in the hybrid app may not be coherent with the native elements, creating a discordant user experience. Many HTML5 hybrid apps do not have any direct way to access many of the main features of the device and their interaction with elements such as the camera or geo-location features may be either faulty or outright non-existent.

While 100% native app development still remains more expensive than a hybrid solution and this cost is nearly doubled if your mobile marketing strategy calls for both iOS and Android versions, your customers will benefit from the thoroughly consistent look and feel of the platform, increased performance and security, and total integration with the device’s other hardware and software features. When you consider all the factors, you’ll decide that it’s definitely worth the additional investment to go native!