This document provides an overview of hybrid mobile apps. It begins by discussing global smartphone market shares and mobile app development approaches. Native apps are explained as binary files that can access all device APIs but require platform-specific SDKs. Hybrid apps combine native development with web technologies, allowing a web app to run within a native wrapper that provides a bridge to device APIs. The document outlines the skills, frameworks, architectures, advantages and disadvantages of hybrid apps, and discusses challenges around UI design and cross-platform compilation.

1. Hybrid Mobile Apps
Understanding
Ashan Fernando
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2. Outline
• Global Smartphone Share
• Mobile App Development
• Native Apps
– Intro
– Diversity
– Pros & Cons
• Hybrid Apps
– Intro
– Skills Needed
– Architecture
– Support Frameworks
– Pros & Cons
– Suitability
– Challenges
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3. Global Smartphone Share
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Period Android iOS
Windows
Phone
BlackBerry
OS
Others
Q4 2014 76.6% 19.7% 2.8% 0.4% 0.5%
Q4 2013 78.2% 17.5% 3.0% 0.6% 0.8%
Q4 2012 70.4% 20.9% 2.6% 3.2% 2.9%
Q4 2011 52.8% 23.0% 1.5% 8.1% 14.6%
In 2014 worldwide smartphone market shipped a total of 1.3
billion units
*http://www.idc.com/

4. Mobile Apps Development
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*http://www.geospatialtraining.com/

5. Native Apps
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6. Native Apps
• Binary executable files on the device.
• Can access all API’s made available by OS vendor.
• SDK’s are platform-specific.
• Each mobile OS comes with its own unique tools
and GUI toolkit.
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7. Native Apps: Diversity
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* IBM, Native, web or hybrid mobile app development, 2012. IBM Software
Thought Leadership White Paper
Different tools, languages and distribution channels associated with
leading mobile operating systems

8. Native Apps: Pros & Cons
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PROS
Easy low-level hardware
access services.
Easy access to high level
services important to
personal mobile
experience.
Full use of all
functionalities that
modern mobile devices
have to offer.
High usability.
CONS
Code Reusability : Low
Development &
maintenance: Time-
consuming & expensive.
Designers are required
to be familiar with
different UI components
of each OS.
Upgrade flexibility: Low.

9. Hybrid Apps
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10. Hybrid Apps: Intro
• Combines native development with web
technology.
• The web app runs inside a thin wrapper native
app.
• The wrapper native app uses the OS API’s to
create an embedded HTML rendering engine
which provides a bridge between the browser and
device API’s.
• The communication between web app and native
app normally happens over JavaScript via custom
built API’s.
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11. Hybrid Apps: Skills needed
Additionally you need to refer hybrid frameworks API
(E.g. PhoneGap)
Scenario: If you need to access camera, you need to
know the JavaScript function provided by the
framework and how to use it
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12. Hybrid Apps: Architecture
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http://www.geospatialtraining.com/

13. Hybrid Apps: Support frameworks
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14. Hybrid Apps: Pros & Cons
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PROS
Flexibility of web apps
combined with feature
richness of native apps.
Simplified deployment
and immediate
availability.
Leverage existing
knowledge.
CONS
Poorer user experience
as compared to native
apps.
Access to advanced
device capabilities
normally restricted.

15. Is Hybrid Apps Suits You?
• Want to target multiple mobile platforms
• Need faster time to market
• Want to take advantage of device capabilities like
geolocation, accelerometer or the camera
• Want the app to be useable when the device is
offline
• More dynamic content which needs to be loaded
from remote service
• Don’t need the advanced graphics performance
that you can only get from a native app
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16. Challenges: UI Design
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iOS Android
* http://www.adobe.com/devnet/phonegap/articles/creating-apps-with-phonegap-
lessons.html

17. Challenges: Cross Platform Compilation
• Even hybrid apps need compilation
• Your operating system might not support some
platform specific compilations
– E.g. To compile iOS app you need a Mac PC/Laptop
• Solution
– Use cloud services
• E.g. Apache PhoneGap Cloud Build
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18. Thank you !
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