When the iPhone first released the App Store as a part of iOS 2.0, they pushed hard for everybody to create native applications for their phone. It certainly made sense for them. If they could create a platform where people could engage with all sorts of content on a singular device, then they could sell a lot of that device.
Certain companies jumped onboard and made quite a name for themselves utilizing this new platform. I'm thinking about social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. These fundamental apps showed the potential of what a company could do with a native app, and it didn't take long for everybody else to jump on the app bandwagon.
But I personally think this was a poor mindset for many companies, this idea that "We need an app because everybody has an app!" Sure, it makes sense for companies like Mojang with their top selling Minecraft: Pocket Edition, but does it really makes sense for every company?
I don't think so, and here are five reasons why.
1. Apps take up phone storage real estate. Apps and their corresponding operating systems are getting bigger and bigger, so consumers are becoming much more conscientious about what they keep on their phones. The "must haves" like Facebook will almost certainly make the cut, but what about something like the Taco Bell app? How many times does a consumer actually order ahead at an already fast enough fast food place? If I need to make more room on my phone, Taco Bell is going to be the first to go. (Side note: I do have the Taco Bell app on my phone!)
2. Web-based applications are becoming more and more powerful. Where mobile web frankly sucked back in the day, it has made great strides in recent years. Now, browsing the web via a browser like Safari or Chrome is much more user-friendly than it used to be. Moreover, the Android platform has figured out a way to basically get the native app experience onto the web without requiring the download of an app itself. These new technologies are quickly eclipsing the need for native applications in the future.
3. Development of native applications require balance across multiple platforms. If you're going to go down the "native app" road, then you're probably going to be interacting with three platforms: mobile web, iOS, and Android. Obviously, these are three different platforms with three different ways of doing things. This is not an easy thing to keep balanced. For example, my beloved Nintendo has still yet to ship Super Mario Run onto Android's Google Play store for what I can only assume has to do with technical difficulties. If you want to keep a consistent consumer experience, you'll have to get good at balancing these platforms. And speaking of keeping up with these platforms...
4. Native applications require a lot of upkeep. Both iOS and Android have major updates at least once a year, and those updates often require native apps to update themselves to remain fully functioning. A rumor currently circulating about the upcoming iOS 11 is that developers will be required to update their apps to 64-bit architecture or potentially cease working. One report I read says that this will effectively shutdown 187,000 existing apps. This serves as a solid example that app upkeep is real and necessary. (Which also means ensuring that your development team can keep up with these changes.)
5. People don't have regular interactions with many companies. This reason, in my mind, is the most important business driver in choosing whether or not to have a native application. For the aforementioned social media sites, a native app is a no brainer. But what about, for example, a car manufacturer? People don't buy cars that often, so why would they need an app taking up real estate on their phone that goes untouched for years? Amongst the other reasons shared in this post, it seems that the more sensible thing to do would be to pour more effort into the web-based experience. This is the primary question that a company should ask themselves before jumping onto the native app bandwagon. Otherwise, the ROI could probably be very low.
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