COVID 19 has boosted Mobile App Spend In Q1 to the highest in history (App development platforms). In Q1 2020, consumers spent over $23.4B through the app stores, the largest quarter ever in terms of consumer spending.
Regardless of how challenging the Covid-19 crisis has been for everyone around the globe, It’s about time you begin looking for opportunities to capitalize on.
The global pandemic has moved economies, but the Impact of Covid19 on the Mobile App Industry has been limited. This is one industry that has proven to be remarkably resilient.
Why is there an increasing demand for the Mobile App Development Industry During Covid-19?
While the Covid-19 pandemic is continuing to disrupt the lives of millions across the world, forcing them to stay indoors and following the social distancing norms, the global epidemic is certainty raising challenges for many even to manage essential needs like groceries, medicines, and food.
Now, the global scenario is such that people are moving to digital. The demand for mobile applications has risen significantly in order to be able to quench their basic needs. Even businesses are being pushed to enter the on-demand industry in order to create a robust online presence.
We must realize that this COVID 19 pandemic is not just a health emergency but is also an economic emergency. Small businesses must move digital and come out with well-structured business continuity plans to survive the pandemic.
However, on the other hand, the mobile app development industry is witnessing a spike in demand. Regardless of the industry you serve, on-demand mobile applications have the potential to help you keep business on track, putting customers’ safety as a priority.
Choosing The Right Development Platform For Your Business
The demand for mobile applications and app development platforms has seen a sharp surge in demand over the past decade. Also, by 2021, it is expected that we will be spending over 2 hours a day on mobile devices.
This shift in consumer demand has led businesses to focus on mobile-first strategies. However, in order to be able to capitalize on the demand, it is vital to choose the right mobile app development platform.
Hybrid Applications
A Hybrid mobile application is bundled in a Native app and runs on a browser of its own, within the app. Hybrid apps work in a manner that they mimic and provide a user experience based on the Native components.
Hybrid app development platform (Hybrid Apps) are mostly web applications for mobile devices and are developed using web technologies such as CSS, JS, and HTML. Some popular frameworks for Hybrid App Development are,
- Adobe PhoneGap
- Ionic
- Framework7
- Monaca
- JQuery
Hybrid mobile applications are preferred for quick and accurate prototyping. It is also popularly used when the app doesn’t need much computing. What’s worth mentioning is that Hybrid apps allow using the same codebase for mobile and desktop applications.
JavaScript-based Native Applications
Javascript based Native apps are also popularly known as Hybrid Native apps and are substantially developed using the Javascript frameworks. These apps are built to facilitate native components to render an experience like a native application.
React Native is a prevalent app development platform primarily because of its ability to share code, it’s a massive community and also because ReactJS is amongst the top web frameworks.
React was developed by Facebook, and the social media giant is investing heavily in overcoming the framework’s limitations, building a single codebase for Web and Mobile, and enhancing the framework’s architecture. Some other popular frameworks include Titanium, NativeScript, and Vue- Native.
Cross Compiled Applications
Cross compiled applications are generally the ones written in other coding languages and then are compiled together for a specific platform.
The benefit of this app development platform is that it helps you overcome certain limitations that are unavoidable on non-native platforms while successfully achieving the same code across multiple platforms.
Over the years, this space has been dominated by Xamarine, but now, Flutter gives it a fierce competition. Flutter is relatively new and is designed for interactive client applications. Flutter facilitates its own components for iOS, Android, and its roadmap also displays Flutter for the web.
Native Applications
App development platform-specific changes in a Native app is easy as these apps are developed using native platforms. By far, Native applications are the top-performing applications amongst all other app development platforms.
In recent years, cross-platform development frameworks have gained popularity and have become more and more stable, as a result of which, the demand for Native app development has declined. However, it is worth noting that Apple and Google are both adding new and improved features making a strong case for Native development.
PWAs | Progressive Web Apps
Progressive Web Applications are mostly web apps that can operate like a mobile app while serving as an alternative to agile, mobile applications. The mobile operating systems facilitate high endurance for web applications which has resulted in PWAs gaining immense popularity.
Did you know that you can easily convert a responsive website into a progressive web app? Other reasons for PWAs to gain popularity are that they are cheaper to develop, they are primarily cross-platform, Faster than websites and have the potential to access native features on a device such as,
- Local & Push notifications
- Offline data access
- Camera
- GPS
Note – Historically, PWAs were popular and available more on Android as compared to iOS. On iOS, PWAs were referred to as HTML5 applications or Home Screen Web applications. It is only after the launch of iOS13 in 2019 that Apple began adding real features and support for PWAs.
App Development Platform Selection for Business – A Strategic Decision!
App development platform selection is a strategic decision. In a world where mobile and applications are dominating, businesses and entrepreneurs are facilitated with a range of choices when it comes to choosing the right platform.
This could be tricky! With so many options to choose from, while all the options offer benefits and features, the task is selecting the right one for your business.
The best way to go about this is by evaluating app development platforms not only based on the features it offers, and it’s capabilities, but also how the platform fits in the companies overall mobile app development platforms.
Something to ponder on while choosing the right platform for your business include,
- When do you enter the market?
- Does the core feature of the product depend on device hardware functions?
- Does your app need to support new features?
- Your product prototype
- Are your outsourcing partners capable of delivering what you want?
- Target audience and sustainability
- cost vs time vs reusability vs experience
RnF Technologies is one of the top Web and App Development companies as ranked by Clutch and has served several industries over the decade. Do you have an App idea in mind? Why not put our capabilities to test? Let’s discuss it over a quick call.
Key Takeaways
- In Q1 2020, consumers spent over $23.4B through the app stores
- The demand for mobile applications has risen significantly in order to be able to quench their basic needs. Even businesses are being pushed to enter the on-demand industry in order to create a robust online presence.
- Regardless of the industry you serve, on-demand mobile applications have the potential to help you keep business on track, putting customers’ safety as a priority.
- Hybrid apps are mostly web applications for mobile devices and are developed using web technologies such as CSS, JS, and HTML
- React Native is a prevalent framework primarily because of its ability to share code, it’s a massive community and also because ReactJS is amongst the top web frameworks.
- Platform-specific changes in a Native app is easy as these apps are developed using native platforms. By far, Native applications are the top-performing applications amongst all other app development options.
- evaluate platforms not only based on the features it offers, and it’s capabilities, but also how the platform fits in the companies overall mobile app development platforms.