7 Advantages and Disadvantages of Hybrid Apps | Limitations & Benefits of Hybrid Apps

What is Hybrid Apps ?

Hybrid apps are nothing but an application which posses the capabilities of both native and web apps. Simply they are web apps under the influence of native apps. Although it looks similar to a native app, a hybrid app is run by a website. They display web contents using the web technologies such as JavaScript, HTML5 and CSS. 

Where is Hybrid Apps used ?

Today hybrid apps are used in various devices. Mostly it is preferred in mobile devices irrespective of the operating system. It is no doubt that hybrid app offers many benefits to the users. However similar to other application, hybrid apps too exhibit certain drawbacks. These strength and weaknesses must be considered before building a hybrid app. 

In this article, I will be demonstrating about 7 Advantages and Disadvantages of Hybrid Apps | Limitations & Benefits of Hybrid Apps. At the end of this post, you will know the pros and cons of using hybrid apps.

Let's gets started,

Advantages of Hybrid App

1. Cost

A benefit of maintaining a single code base for multiple operating systems is that it is able to bring lower costs. As the time required to build the app is reduced, the overall investment for the application is reduced as well. This cost savings are beneficial for small businesses.

2. Maintenance

Hybrid applications are known to use simple HTML language which is easy to maintain. Unlike in native apps, there is no versioning here. A hybrid app doesn't need to produce new app whenever there is a new operating system released. It has the tendency to function without any changes in the new operating system.

3. Scalability

Hybrid apps are easily made scalable to various platforms. Developers can target multiple O/S without much effort. The web technology used behind a hybrid app is similar in most cases. Which means the process of scaling does not require to develop the app again. Necessary changes can be made to the code.

4. Development Time

Significant amount of time is saved by writing a code only once. Thus, the development time is much faster compared to a native app. Apps that usually take months to develop is made ready within several weeks if followed a native approach. 

In addition to that, QA engineers spend less time in testing the apps for bugs with the quality similar to a standard app.

5. Updates

Constant updates are released by the developers to fix bugs and other errors in a hybrid application. These updates do not need to get approval from the app store. Whenever there are changes in a hybrid app, the necessary results are shown immediately. Therefore, all the time the users are benefited from the latest version of hybrid app with the newest updates.

6. Internet Requirement

Offline support is another plus point of a hybrid application. A hybrid application is able to work without an internet connection. Even some hybrid apps uses local servers to store data. Hence, in case of a network disruption the data can be accessed once the connection is restored. This is especially convenient for people in rural locations without a reliable internet connection.

7. Platform Support

Hybrid apps on default are designed for multiple platforms. Unlike in native apps, there is no need to build the app separately for each operating system. Multiple operating systems can be supported with a single code base. For an example, hybrid apps can be installed on two different devices with Android and IOS operating systems. This allows users to target larger audience base.

Disadvantages of Hybrid App

1. Performance

The performance offered by a hybrid app is slower in every aspect. This is because, there exists a layer between the operating system and the source code. Depending on the application the performance degrade is shown. Usually if the application is small this is not noticeable.

2. Functionality

Since one single code is common to all platforms, some of the native features are missing in a hybrid app. As a result, the users cannot expect the maximum level of quality and stability when it comes to hybrid apps. Especially for the applications those with complex features.

3. User Experience

The interface used by a hybrid app is poor in terms of user experience. Since each operating system operates differently, the design of hybrid application many not be suitable for all of them. For an example, if the hybrid app is developed as per the requirement of Android OS, the experience could be worsening for IOS users. Same thing could happen in the vise versa.

4. Graphics

Hybrid apps are known to face many quality issues. On the contrary to a native app, it cannot deliver pictures of high graphics. Therefore, hybrid apps are not suitable to render 3D graphics. Even though there are many third party tools to enhance the 3D graphics experience, still the efforts are much higher compared to a native approach.

5. Debugging

No matter how skilled the developer is in coding, there is always a tendency of having errors and bugs. Debugging and figuring out the exact issue can be a difficult task since the code is written for multiple platforms. So the developer needs to be extra precautious not to present new bugs.

6. Glitches

Whatever the content loaded in a hybrid app can be glitchy. They cannot function smoother as similar to a native app. However, there are some ways that can be used to avoid glitches.

7. Browser Requirement

Different from the way of native app where it displays the apps in the home screen, a hybrid app needs to be opened using a web browser. Users have to type the URL, open the website and then access the app. Hence, many users find it difficult to interact with the hybrid app because it is not listed in the app store.