A number of choices exist when it is about platforms available for your customer or enterprise mobile application development. However, the one which is the best suitable can be figured out need a lot of consideration. A Mobile App can be divided broadly into 3 types, the highly functional native apps, the newer HTML 5 software dominated apps for developing cross platform app versions and lastly, the Hybrid apps which have the combination of positives from both native and HTML 5.
Mobile platforms like Apple iOS and Android share a larger chunk of the demand over other OS’s like Blackberry in recent times. Now, each platform comes with its advantages and disadvantages. Some have the ability to lower the development cost of the apps while some have the tools that will ensure a dynamic presentation. Depending on your purpose, one must choose a platform that enables high performance with limited issues.
Whenever a business enterprise is trying to make a mark in the online world using mobile applications, there are a number of considerations and aspects which need to be put under the lens. Here are the key points to focus on.
1. Select Maximum Engaging platform
It is important to know which is the most used platform used by your target audience. Each of Android and iOS has a highly segregated user base. If you are looking to connect with young high level executives, iOS would be the way to go. However, if you are looking to address the mass the in general, Android has a better penetration. By the last quarter of 2015, Android dominated the market with an 82.8% share while iOS shipped only 47.5 million devices.
2. Digging into technicalities and deciding software’s which can aid business needs
There a lot of technicalities which needs to be identified when selecting the software for the app development. If you require a cross-platform app but with the efficiency and functionality
of native apps, hybrid apps would be the solution. For example, selecting palm OS can be a bad idea in case the businesses requires the application to be run in the background. IPhone OS can help protect the memory and the Symbian in Android enables memory warning callbacks. Hence, depending on the needs, the OS must be selected.
3. Ease of development and maintenance
Hybrid apps and HTML 5 are easy to script and maintain compared to the native apps. On the other hand, native apps need the best features to be installed, including faster downloading graphics, camera, GPS and several others. Further, native apps require the application of appropriate languages and coding to work for a particular platform.
4. Cost considerations
When it comes to the financial aspects in app development, the native apps are costliest to develop. Consequently, iOS developers earn the highest amount of money in making their apps. The debugging, prototyping and various app design processes involve a comparatively lower amount of financial investment especially in cross-platform OS like HTML 5 over the native apps on some of the platforms.
5. Futuristic prospects
We already know that Apple has been trying hard to save its market. In the second quarter of 2015, its market share dropped by 22.3% but it still was able to save its popularity, thanks to bigger screen devices. Depending upon the business you are in, there is a need to research about the market trends and the devices that your demographics prefer.
As obvious, the selection of the perfect mobile development platform depends upon the nature of the audience and the business to be delivered from it. The choice requires through analytics and understanding both the market and the available app development platforms.
