The digital age is constantly changing many aspects of life and introducing new vocabulary at every turn. Keeping up to date with all of this can be daunting and overwhelming, but it is also essential information to know.
The production and development of mobile applications (apps) is something that is becoming more and more commonplace and part of everyday life. Apps can be anything from a game played on a smartphone to an airline booking website or a way to shop online. Whatever their use, apps are changing the way we interact with the digital world and utilise our smartphones.
So, just how are apps created and developed? There are three major platforms in which apps are designed and installed. These are iOS for Apple products, Android for Samsung, and Hybrid apps that have a cross-platform capability. Let us take a closer look at the details and functions of these three platforms.
iOS
For Apple devices such as a Mac computer, an Apple iPhone, or an iPad, apps are fundamental to using the product. iOS apps can run on a native, mobile, or hybrid system. They each have their own coding language which is why these apps are unique to iOS and cannot be downloaded onto any other device.
Android
Most commonly associated with Samsung products, Android apps offer usability on smartphones and tablets. Like with iOS, they have a unique coding system and they can be mobile, native, or hybrid based. The Android app store is extensive and easily accessible, a strong competitor with iOS.
Hybrid
Unlike iOS and Android, hybrid isn’t an app system, but rather a ‘language’ behind the apps. It is a relatively new type of app development. There is also the native development type, in which apps are designed specifically for the ‘store’, or web development where they are made to be downloaded from a website.
Hybrid is different from web and native in that it uses open web technologies before being packaged into a native application. This means that it only has a single code based production, making it much more cost effective. The hybrid system also allows the app to have full native benefits such as being distributed on the store and running on all devices.