Expertise

Choosing Between Native Apps and Web Applications

Mobile technology's growth has led to challenges in planning projects. Choosing between native apps and web apps is essential due to multiple platforms and hardware manufacturers. With tablets, wearables, and other devices, mobile tech is no longer limited to phones. Stay ahead of the competition with our expert mobile app development solutions.

Mobile Technology

Mobile Technology and Software Development

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The rapid pace of change in mobile technology continues to reshape how businesses plan and deliver digital projects. Today, the global smartphone market is highly consolidated: Android holds around 71–72% of market share worldwide, while iOS accounts for about 28–29%. This relative stability makes long-term planning easier than in the early years of the smartphone revolution.

Connectivity has also improved dramatically. With 5G widely deployed—and early 6G trials underway in some regions—latency and bandwidth limitations are far less of a barrier. At the same time, edge computing and on-device AI (such as Apple’s MLX and Google’s Gemini Nano) allow many applications to process data locally, reducing reliance on cloud servers and enabling faster, more private user experiences.

When deciding how to bring mobile technology into an existing business model, the core question is no longer a strict choice between native and web applications. Instead, most companies now adopt a hybrid or cross-platform approach by default, using Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) or frameworks like Flutter, React Native, and Kotlin Multiplatform. These tools enable a single codebase to reach multiple platforms efficiently, while native development is typically reserved for projects that demand high-performance features such as augmented reality or advanced on-device AI.

Other considerations remain important:

Interaction models are still evolving as mobile hardware introduces new sensors, cameras, and haptics.
Wearables, tablets, and hybrid devices are now part of the mobile ecosystem, requiring adaptive design strategies.
Mobile traffic dominance continues to grow—many businesses now see the majority of customer engagement via mobile devices.

The line between “mobile” and “web” has blurred considerably. Successful projects are those that design for flexibility, cross-platform reach, and the intelligence to leverage both cloud and on-device capabilities.

Which Platform?

When planning a mobile strategy, one of the key questions remains: should your app be native or cross-platform? These days, the choice is clearer than it was a decade ago. While fully native apps (Android/iOS) are still the best fit for projects that demand maximum performance or deep hardware integration, most businesses now favour cross-platform frameworks such as Flutter (Google), React Native (Meta), or Capacitor (Ionic’s successor to Cordova). These platforms deliver near-native performance, a unified codebase, and faster release cycles—making them the default choice for many organisations.

The mobile ecosystem itself has matured. Google has reduced Android fragmentation with initiatives like Project Mainline (delivering modular OS updates through the Play Store), stronger OEM compliance, and the adoption of Android 12L+ to better support foldables and tablets. Combined with Apple’s consistent update model, this means developers face fewer compatibility headaches than in the past.

The user base has also expanded. In the UK, smartphone adoption now exceeds 90%, with 5G widely deployed and foldable devices entering the mainstream. This creates opportunities for richer app experiences, but also demands that apps adapt gracefully across diverse form factors and interaction models.

Another major shift is in how apps are actually built. AI-assisted development tools—from GitHub Copilot to ChatGPT-powered coding assistants—are transforming the development process, reducing the need for manual optimisation and speeding up delivery. This allows teams to focus more on user experience and business logic, rather than repetitive coding tasks.

In short, modern app strategy is less about choosing between “native” or “web” in isolation and more about leveraging cross-platform frameworks, AI-driven development, and an ecosystem designed for scale. The emphasis today is on flexibility, speed, and meeting users where they are—across devices, networks, and platforms.

Web or Native

There are two broad choices in deploying a system to mobile users:

Creating custom native apps targeted at some or all of the major mobile platforms.
Developing a Web application that is optimised for mobile access.

There are a number of benefits and drawbacks to each approach, all of which need to be weighed up along with the specifics of any particular project.

Native Apps

Apps built specifically for mobile platforms still deliver a number of natural benefits:

Tight integration with the device enables a seamless user experience, with direct access to hardware and OS-level features.
Unique device capabilities—such as GPS, camera, biometric authentication, AR frameworks, and on-device AI—can be fully leveraged for high-performance applications.

However, the question is less about “native vs. web” and more about how to balance native, cross-platform, and progressive web apps (PWAs). PWAs now deliver near-native performance, offline functionality, and access to device features like push notifications, GPS, and even the camera—making them a viable alternative for many business applications.

For projects where native remains the right choice, the barrier to entry has lowered significantly. A diverse skill set across multiple platforms is no longer always necessary, thanks to:

Cross-platform frameworks such as Flutter, React Native, Kotlin Multiplatform, and .NET MAUI, which can reuse up to ~90% of code across iOS and Android.
Modern UI toolkits—SwiftUI for iOS and Jetpack Compose for Android—streamlining native development and reducing maintenance overhead.

Meanwhile, the “constant state of flux” in OS and hardware is now managed through modern practices:

Automated CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Bitrise) keep builds consistent.
Over-the-air (OTA) updates via frameworks like React Native, Flutter, and Expo allow rapid rollout of fixes and features without waiting for app store approvals.
Modular architectures (Compose, SwiftUI) make it easier to update interfaces without rebuilding entire applications.

That said, challenges remain. App stores are still competitive spaces, with fees and discoverability continuing to be factors. Native apps often work best when they serve a clear purpose that leverages hardware-specific functionality or complements a broader business strategy.

Blueberry’s experience across native, cross-platform, and PWA solutions allows us to advise on the most effective approach—whether that means building for performance-critical native use cases, adopting a hybrid strategy, or maximising efficiency with modern cross-platform frameworks.

Mobile Web Applications

Web applications designed for mobile devices continue to offer significant benefits for businesses:

Single-codebase efficiency—only one system needs to be developed, optimized, and maintained to serve users across platforms.
Simplified maintenance—updates can be deployed instantly without requiring app store approvals or user downloads.
Lower upfront cost compared to building separate native apps for iOS and Android.

Modern mobile web apps are far more powerful than in the past. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) can now deliver near-native performance, offline access, and integration with device features like GPS, cameras, push notifications, and secure payments. Meanwhile, desktop browsers still lead in cutting-edge capabilities such as advanced developer tools and multi-threading, but mobile-first frameworks like Capacitor and Tauri are helping blur the line between web, desktop, and mobile experiences.

That said, the landscape of mobile commerce has shifted. While mobile web remains important, native apps dominate when it comes to transactions and loyalty. Super Apps such as WeChat, TikTok Shop, and Shopify have redefined mobile commerce by offering:

Frictionless checkout with Apple Pay and Google Pay integration.
AI-driven personalization that tailors offers to individual users.
Embedded loyalty and rewards programs that keep customers engaged.

One of the biggest barriers to mobile web adoption in the past was unreliable connectivity. By 2025, however, 5G and emerging 6G trials have made networks fast and dependable across most urban areas, eliminating many of the latency and performance issues that once held web apps back.

In short, mobile web applications remain a cost-effective, flexible solution—especially for content-driven services, lightweight tools, and rapid deployment. But for businesses prioritizing commerce, retention, and advanced user engagement, native or hybrid app strategies are often the stronger choice.

Speed

Mobile web browsing has already been transformed by the rollout of 5G, which is now firmly established worldwide. In fact, many regions are moving toward 5G-Advanced (5.5G), with early 6G research already underway.

In practice, today’s 5G networks typically deliver 150–200 Mbps average speeds, with peak speeds approaching 1 Gbps on 5G Ultra deployments. This performance, combined with ultra-low latency, enables smooth video streaming, responsive cloud services, and real-time collaboration tools that were previously impractical on mobile networks.

At the same time, the range of mobile device form factors has expanded far beyond the traditional smartphone. Screen sizes now span from wearables with flexible displays, AR glasses, and even clothing-integrated screens, all the way to foldable and expandable smartphones that can unfold into tablet- or laptop-sized devices. This flexibility is changing how businesses think about designing mobile-first experiences.

Another major shift is the rise of AI-driven applications. What were once considered “smart apps of the future” are now everyday realities. On-device AI models (such as Google’s Gemini Nano and Apple’s embedded LLMs) allow for personalization, predictive assistance, and even offline reasoning without relying heavily on cloud connectivity. Combined with edge computing, this reduces latency further and makes applications more resilient in environments with patchy coverage.

The result is a mobile environment where speed, intelligence, and adaptability are no longer future aspirations—they are the baseline for competitive digital services today.

Scripting

Today’s modern JavaScript frameworks—such as React, Vue.js, Angular, and Svelte—combined with native browser APIs (like the Fetch API, WebSockets, and ES6+ features) enable rich interactivity and responsive interfaces without the need for older libraries like jQuery.

While HTML5 remains a cornerstone of web development, its features—such as Canvas, Web Workers, offline storage, and real-time communication—are now standard and widely supported across browsers. These capabilities allow developers to deliver immersive, app-like experiences directly in the browser.

At the same time, new technologies are closing the gap between web and native applications. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) provide offline functionality, push notifications, and hardware integration (camera, GPS, sensors) once reserved for native apps. WebAssembly (WASM) extends this further by enabling near-native performance for compute-heavy tasks such as 3D rendering, data visualization, and AI workloads.

For businesses weighing development options, the landscape has shifted. While native apps (iOS/Android) still hold advantages in high-performance scenarios—like advanced AR or deep hardware integration—many companies now choose cross-platform solutions such as Flutter, React Native, Tauri, or Capacitor. These frameworks allow a single codebase to run seamlessly across multiple platforms, reducing cost and accelerating delivery.

The result is that scripting and modern frameworks make it possible to deliver web applications that rival native experiences, allowing businesses to balance reach, performance, and efficiency according to their goals.

HTML5

HTML5 has had a dramatic impact on the mobile and broader web, forming the foundation of today’s modern applications. Its syntactic features remain vital to enrich user experiences—video, audio, and canvas elements, along with scalable vector graphics (SVG). However, today’s web ecosystem extends far beyond these basics, with newer APIs and frameworks providing even greater flexibility and power.

Modern web development leverages the following updated features:

Offline Support – Instead of the deprecated cache manifest, modern web apps use Service Workers as part of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs). Service Workers provide robust offline caching, background sync, and fine-grained control over network requests, ensuring reliable user experiences even with poor connectivity.
Graphics and Media – While Canvas and Video remain fundamental, developers now have access to powerful APIs like WebGL and WebGPU for high-performance graphics and WebCodecs for advanced video processing. Modern formats such as WebM and AV1 dominate over legacy codecs, offering royalty-free, efficient media delivery. SVG continues to be the standard for scalable vector graphics, while MathML never gained traction—developers typically use LaTeX-based libraries such as KaTeX or MathJax instead.
Geolocation API – Still widely supported, Geolocation is now considered a standard web API rather than a novelty. Its use is tightly coupled with modern browser permission prompts and privacy regulations (like GDPR), ensuring user consent and security are central to location-based features.
Forms and User Input – While HTML5 input types (such as email, date, and number) remain useful, modern applications often rely on frameworks like React, Vue, or Angular and enhanced JavaScript validation techniques. The Constraint Validation API provides more flexibility than the older Web Forms 2.0 specification, which has largely been superseded by these newer approaches.

jQuery Mobile

Mobile web development no longer relies on older libraries like jQuery Mobile, jQTouch, The-M-Project, or Mobi, which are now considered obsolete. Instead, the modern ecosystem is built around component-based frameworks, Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), and responsive design practices.

Frameworks such as React, Vue, Angular, and Svelte provide powerful component models for building dynamic, maintainable applications across devices. Combined with responsive CSS (using Flexbox, Grid, and utility-first frameworks like Tailwind CSS), developers can create interfaces that seamlessly adapt to smartphones, tablets, and desktops.

Progressive Web Apps extend these capabilities further, enabling features like offline support, background sync, and installable app-like experiences without relying on proprietary platforms. Together, these modern approaches deliver high-quality, accessible, and scalable mobile experiences that meet today’s performance and usability expectations.

Native + Web

Today’s applications increasingly blur the line between native and web experiences. While earlier strategies focused heavily on limiting HTTP requests and reducing data loads, modern technologies have reshaped performance considerations:

Network Efficiency – Although reducing HTTP requests remains good practice, protocols like HTTP/3 with QUIC have drastically improved latency, multiplexing, and resilience to packet loss. Combined with Brotli compression and modern image formats such as WebP and AVIF, media delivery is significantly more efficient than in the past.
Faster Networks & Media Delivery – With the rollout of 5G/6G mobile networks and Wi-Fi 6/7, bandwidth has become less of a bottleneck. Streaming technologies such as WebTransport and WebCodecs allow for efficient, real-time media handling, reducing the need for aggressive data minimization strategies.
Cross-Platform Solutions – Rather than relying exclusively on native apps for performance, developers now build Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) and leverage APIs like WebGPU and WebML for graphics and machine learning, offering capabilities once thought limited to native platforms. These solutions provide broad cross-platform reach without sacrificing advanced functionality.
Native vs. Web in Practice – Many organizations still deploy both native and web apps, but the distinction is narrower than ever. The web can now deliver near-native experiences, making dual investment less necessary except in specialized cases. For instance, Android’s Google Maps integration was once a key differentiator, but modern PWAs and web APIs offer similar performance across ecosystems.

This convergence allows teams to maximise development resources while delivering consistent, high-performance experiences across devices and platforms.

Conclusions

For software developers, the dominant issues to consider when undertaking a project for the mobile market are no longer about whether to “choose web or native,” but how best to leverage the convergence of both worlds.

Strategic Flexibility – The pace of change in mobile technologies remains rapid, but today’s frameworks and standards make planning far more predictable. A flexible strategy still matters, but developers now have mature tools to deliver across platforms without heavy rework.
Web and Native Capabilities – The old distinction between web apps and native apps has blurred. Modern web applications already support many native features such as camera access, geolocation, Bluetooth, file system APIs, and AR/VR via WebXR. AI-powered apps can now run locally in the browser using WebML and TensorFlow.js, reducing reliance on native layers for machine learning tasks.
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) – PWAs can now be installed as standalone apps on both iOS and Android, making them functionally indistinguishable from native apps for most use cases. Browser vendors, including Apple, have made PWAs first-class citizens, while Google continues to expand Chrome’s integration of app-like features.
Cross-Platform Development – The idea of “write once, run anywhere” is no longer just aspirational. Cross-platform frameworks like Flutter, React Native, Tauri, and Capacitor.js dominate the ecosystem, enabling near-native performance from a single codebase. At the same time, responsive and adaptive design tools (such as CSS Container Queries, advanced viewport units, and AI-assisted layout systems) make it easier than ever to build applications that scale gracefully across devices.
Market Reality – The mobile web is dominant. End users move seamlessly across apps, browsers, and devices, and web apps deliver the reach and functionality required to serve them effectively.

In practice, developers are no longer constrained by the limitations that once made native apps appear inherently superior. The mobile ecosystem now supports building cross-platform, installable, high-performance apps that combine the best of both web and native—without the compromises of earlier eras.

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