Glossary

Your go-to resource for acronyms, jargons, terminology, and useful words for product and customer experience teams.

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Hybrid app

What is a hybrid application?


Hybrid apps are a type of software application that combines elements of both native apps and web applications. In essence, hybrid apps are web apps that have been put in a native app shell. Once they are downloaded from an app store and installed locally, the shell is able to connect to whatever capabilities the mobile platform provides through a browser that’s embedded in the app. The browser and its plug-ins run on the back end and are invisible to the end user.

Hybrid apps are popular because they allow developers to write code for a mobile app once and still accommodate multiple platforms. However, because hybrid apps add an extra layer between the source code and the target platform, they may not perform as quickly as native or web versions of the same app.

Features of hybrid applications


Some of the key features of hybrid mobile applications include:

• The ability to function without an internet connection
• Integration with the mobile device’s file system
• Integration with web-based services
• An embedded browser for improved access to dynamic online content

How do hybrid applications work?


Hybrid apps are a type of mobile app that combines the best of both web and native app worlds. They are written in HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript like web apps but are downloaded and installed on a device like native apps. They also have access to the device’s hardware like native apps do.

Hybrid apps usually have similar navigation elements as web apps, but whether or not they can work offline depends on their functionality. If an app doesn’t need to connect to a database, then it can be made to work offline.

Hybrid application pros and cons


There are several advantages of hybrid apps, including:

– The ability to operate on different platforms.
– Faster build times than native apps.
– Cheaper to develop than building two versions of a native app for two different platforms.
– Easier to launch patches and updates.
-Can work online and offline.

However, some cons to developing a cross-platform application include:


* Variations in quality or bugginess due to the development team focusing their work on one platform
* The appearance of the application may be different on each platform
* The need to test the application on multiple devices to make sure it operates correctly
* The user experience may suffer if the user interface isn’t designed well enough or isn’t similar to what the user is used to browsing on.