I’ve heard it said, before:
Native is superior.
But what if native is irrelevant?
I understand there are going to be those apps that need to be OS centric, but what about web and API driven apps?
Why should Churches, non-profits, news agencies and the likes, produce a native app when they could simply render the content via HTML5?
With many impressive HTML5 elements on the horizon, are native apps going to be pushed back and what will that do to the mobile market in general, since the playing field will smooth out?
Thoughts?
[HT: The Guardian]
Aaron Linne (@linne) says
Simply put, no.
Creating the standards for HTML5 began in 2004, and is still ongoing. iOS wasn’t introduced until 2007 and has had 5 revisions since then. Ecosystems like iOS are what’s making Apple lots of money… so they will be sure to have better/deeper features in future iterations of iOS that will make it more beneficial for businesses to be in the actual app store than to be restricted to “only” being able to work with HTML5.
Apple has more money to gain from making sure that iOS is a better platform to build revenue-generating apps on than the WHATWG and W3C has in making sure that HTML5 is speedily adopted… and by the time it is, Apple will have tons of new/great/incredible features for iOS7 that the standards boards will need to begin working on HTML6 to compete with.
Eric Dye says
I think there’s enough room for competition all around. We’ll be keeping both around, I think.
Aaron Linne (@linne) says
Oh, I totally agree. It’s cyclical… there will be HTML6 and HTML7 before we know it. 😉
The best example of a “best of both worlds” is Microsoft’s Bing apps for iOS and Android. The are native apps, so the get the device integration, but they reference the HTML5 site so the app can be somewhat updated w/o relying on Apple’s approval.
Brendan says
We’re approaching a complete site redesign at our church and in considering how we should approach the mobile aspect, we’re leaning towards a mobile site without the need for an app.
Apps like The Church App are really slick but for our needs—both now and in the foreseeable future—a mobile or responsive site will serve us just as well and cost us a lot less.
There are features that native device apps can tap into that a website cannot but we didn’t find a scenario where we needed those. It is rather inspiring to see HTML5 sites running really really well and appearing for all intents and purposes to be native apps. I actually prefer the mobile YouTube site to the iPhone app.
If you can deliver what your church needs through a mobile site, why trouble yourself with apps specific to each mobile OS?
Eric Dye says
I agree. I think it comes down to what you’re trying to do. If it’s about using a website, HTML5. If you’re building a game or app, HTML5 may not be the way to go.
Eric J says
If the new facebook for iPhone and Gmail for iPhone are any indication native apps are way better.
Eric Dye says
😀
Adam Shields says
What is the purpose? If you assume it is for people to find you, get information then html5 is probably fine. But costs for mobile data are still fairly high. My last kindle and my ipad are both wifi only devices. So if you want the app/site to be useable without data (and some will want that) then an app is the only option.
Eric Dye says
Good point, Adam!
Garrett says
Mobile isn’t a space that requires clear winners and losers anymore in terms of a technology platform.
At the moment HTML5 is on the loosing side of things… And it’s not because of Apple. Right now you can use the add to homescreen functionality on an iOS device and get it on the homescreen with icon, startup screen, and without browser chrome. (iOS 5 even includes options to make scrolling feel like a native app.) Android and WP7 have yet to deliver *anything* like it.
PhoneGap is a massive step in the right direction to be able to offer truly cross platform HTML5 apps that take advantage of native APIs… but I have yet to find a phonegap app that “feels right” on any platform.
Eric Dye says
PhoneGap is pretty cool.
Nick Sheetz says
On a kind of unrelated point. Did you see that Clover is planning to switch their sites to HTML 5? As a clover user I think that is huge and was wondering if they were ever going to go that direction. I am pumped for it to roll out.
http://www.speakingofclover.com/2011/11/clover-in-html5/
Eric Dye says
Cool!