So you have this innovative healthcare app idea, and you want it to be super fast, work for a ton of users, and look amazing. Native mobile app development seems like a great option to do your app idea justice, but you also have budget considerations to factor in. Long story short, you gravitate towards more cross-platform development, which is less pricey than native development.
Or there’s another scenario where you don’t know exactly what sets native and cross-platform development apart and simply want to explore your options. Whatever your situation is, it pays to know the strengths and weaknesses of each approach before making a decision. Our team has delivered over 200 mobile applications — both native and cross-platform ones — and we’re here to broach the native vs cross-platform debate and help you choose the right path for your healthcare application (or any other application for that matter).
Defining native and cross-platform app development
First, let’s get the basics right so you can make an informed decision.
What is native app development?
Native mobile apps are designed for a specific mobile operating system or device and rely on platform-specific programming languages and tools. For example, Android developers build native mobile apps with Java and Kotlin, while iOS developers power native applications with Objective-C or Swift. For native app development, developers need to build separate codebases for each platform (e.g., Android and iOS).
What is cross-platform app development?
Cross-platform app development enables developers to build applications that can run on multiple mobile platforms using a single codebase — also known as the “build once, use everywhere” approach. Sometimes, cross-platform developers also need to write a small amount of platform-specific code for UI customization, performance optimizations, and other features to make the cross-platform app more native-like.
Factors to consider when choosing between native and cross-platform development
When deciding between native and cross-platform mobile app development, you need to strike the right balance between user needs and business constraints. First, research your target audience and the platforms they use. In the healthcare context, this might mean analyzing patient demographics, the needs of healthcare providers, and specific platform preferences among your target communities. Once you have a baseline understanding of your target platforms, you can evaluate other factors that matter for your healthcare app.
Performance and reliability
Native apps are generally considered superior in terms of performance because, unlike cross-platform apps, they have direct access to the device’s CPU, GPU, and memory. By tapping directly into the device's hardware and software, native apps are a cut above the rest in terms of performance. This capability leads to faster load times, smoother animations, and a more responsive user experience. Performance of this caliber lends itself well to healthcare apps that handle real-time data, video consultations, or heavy graphics (such as medical imaging).
Cross-platform mobile applications usually have a layer of abstraction between the code and the underlying platform, which can reduce performance. However, advancements in cross-platform frameworks like Flutter and React Native eliminated much of the performance overhead. So, ultimately, the choice boils down to the specific app's requirements and development priorities.
👉 Bottom line: The slight performance lag will not affect simple healthcare apps such as appointment booking and basic telemedicine apps. However, healthcare applications based on complex calculations, such as medical imaging apps, real-time patient monitoring apps, or AI diagnostics apps, can experience performance bottlenecks. This drawback makes native technologies a better option for critical healthcare applications.
Development costs and time
Cross-platform development is often touted as a faster alternative to native development. In reality, the speed of coding is the same in both approaches. However, cross-native development may take around 10% more time to complete because of the infrastructure setup and dual-platform builds. Also, plugin customizations and custom development can further extend development timelines.
However, instead of having two teams of developers, you’ll need only one to create a cross-platform mobile app. So, because of the larger team involved in native development, a cross-platform application is 30 to 40% cheaper to develop than a native one.
👉 Bottom line: cross-platform is a time-saver when it comes to building for Android and iOS platforms at once, but it's not always faster than developing a single native application.
Team size and developer expertise
Native mobile development requires you to hire separate teams that are well-versed in different platform-specific technologies to handle your project. Keeping an eye on multiple development teams with different timelines can make the project management process challenging if you’re the one who’s doing it. And even when the project management is on the vendor, you still need a significant communication and coordination effort.
Cross-platform mobile development requires fewer resources and has a smaller project scope, allowing you to develop an app with fewer tech specialists. But keep in mind that if your applications require native optimizations, you will still need to engage developers with specific knowledge of native iOS or Android APIs.
It means you might end up with three teams instead of the planned one: cross-platform, Android, and iOS teams.
👉 Bottom line: Compared with native mobile app development, cross-platform projects have a smaller scope and necessitate you to secure a single team of developers to build a reusable codebase. You might still need native expertise to integrate plug-ins and bridges for specific platforms.
User experience and accessibility
When it comes to healthcare applications, an accessible and intuitive user experience is non-negotiable. It ensures that the app is designed with inclusivity in mind and can cater to the unique needs of all users.
Native apps flow with platform-specific guidelines such as Material Design for Android and Human Interface Guidelines for iOS, which makes native designs work in full tandem with the underlying mobile operating systems. Also, native apps can easily leverage the built-in accessibility features of each platform and promptly integrate the latest accessibility updates from Apple or Google.
Cross-platform frameworks and their layers of abstraction make it more challenging to access native accessibility APIs that enable screen reader support, voice control, dynamic text size adjustment, and other accessibility features. Moreover, the extent of accessibility support varies by framework, and cross-platform applications may not always effectively handle platform-specific accessibility variations.
👉 Bottom line: Native applications generally offer the highest level of accessibility and make it easier for your healthcare app to achieve WCAG, ADA, and EAA compliance. Cross-platform applications make it more difficult to abstract accessibility features into a single codebase. But you can still meet high accessibility standards — provided you choose a cross-platform framework with strong accessibility support and account for platform-specific variations during development.
Security and compliance
Healthcare apps that handle sensitive patient data must comply with HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA, PIPEDA, and other regulations by integrating data security safeguards mandated by these regulations.
Both native and cross-platform apps have access to platform security features, such as data encryption, biometric authentication, platform-specific security APIs, and others. But while native apps have direct access, cross-platform ones rely on plugins to use the features. This intermediary layer can add an extra layer of complexity and vulnerability to cross-platform apps.
👉 Bottom line: Compared with cross-platform apps, native apps have a smaller security surface because they don’t require plugins to connect to the platform security features.
Ease of updates and maintenance
Hassle-free maintenance is what allows your healthcare app to live happily ever after and grow stronger and more secure with every passing day.
Maintenance for native apps is overall associated with more effort and resources. On the other hand, OS updates are available to native developers earlier, which means they can swiftly leverage new features and functionalities released by Apple or Google.
Cross-platform developers may experience delays due to plugin availability and framework updates. For apps that rely heavily on platform-specific capabilities, these delays can potentially put them at a competitive disadvantage as they won’t be fast enough to deliver new features to users.
👉 Bottom line: Native apps offer smoother and faster integration with OS updates, allowing companies to innovate faster. However, native applications might require more effort and resources for general maintenance. Cross-platform apps, while potentially easier to maintain in general, can face delays in accessing and implementing new OS features, which could impact the app’s competitiveness.
Device integration and functionality
Native apps work with the device's OS in ways that enable them to smoothly connect with all device hardware and different hardware types, including cameras, heart rate monitors, step counters, and other peripherals. It’s a deal breaker for wearable-based healthcare solutions such as remote patient monitoring apps, as this synergy enables real-time monitoring and accurate data collection.
Cross-platform apps can also do the trick but with some trade-offs, occasional limitations, and workarounds. Platform-agnostic apps can't directly access the platform’s APIs and hardware capabilities, so developers must use bridges and libraries to facilitate the integration.
👉 Bottom line: If your application relies heavily on wearable technology, native app development is often a better, less resource-intensive option to set up the integration.
Scalability and future growth
When it comes to the scalability and longevity of your healthcare app, there are no two ways about it: native apps are an easier lift. Built exclusively for one platform, with platform capabilities and APIs on speed dial, native apps have a strong foundation for future growth and continuous refinement. Surely, scaling for multiple platforms doubles the effort, but in this case, the benefits outweigh the cons.
In cross-platform development, scaling is more unpredictable, as multiple performance issues can crop up, especially with increased data load. The cross-platform approach complicates resource management across multiple platforms and makes it harder to optimize performance across the board.
👉 Bottom line: We recommend using the cross-platform development approach for short-lived projects such as MVPs. Durable healthcare solutions are better off with native technologies.
Head-to-head comparison of native vs. platform development
Summing up, here are the core differences between native development and cross-platform apps for health tech projects.
| Factor | Native app development | Cross-platform app development |
|---|---|---|
| Performance and reliability | Steadfast performance, optimized for a specific OS | Possible performance bottlenecks due to the layer of abstraction |
| Development time and cost | Slower time to market, more expensive to develop | Faster time to market, more cost-effective to develop |
| Team size and developer expertise | Separate teams for each platform | Single team for all platforms, the potential need for additional native development expertise |
| UX and accessibility | Seamless integration with platform UI/UX guidelines, better accessibility features | Potential design inconsistencies, limited access to platform-specific UI elements, limited accessibility |
| Security and compliance | Direct access to OS security features, easier to achieve compliance | Potentially higher security risks because of a larger vulnerability surface, harder to achieve compliance |
| Ease of maintenance | Easier to leverage OS updates and improvements | Slower updates due to platform variations |
| Device integrations | Seamless integration with all device hardware and features | Requires more effort to set up the integration |
| Scalability | Optimized for performance and scalability | Requires far more effort to scale across platforms |
By now, you might get a feeling that native technologies surpass cross-platform development frameworks in almost all categories. In reality, the answer is less straightforward: it all comes down to the unique requirements of your project and the type of healthcare solution you’re building.
What to choose? Use cases for native and cross-platform app development in healthcare
From our experience, the following types of healthcare apps are best suited for native app development:
- High-performance applications, such as medical imaging apps, advanced telemedicine apps, AI apps, AR/VR-based apps, and the like.
- Apps with comprehensive device integration, including those that use advanced sensors for movement-based assessments and those that require access to medical-grade hardware.
- Apps with stringent security and compliance requirements and those dealing with PHI and PII.
Cross-platform app development augurs well for the following types of healthcare solutions:
- Minimum viable products and projects where development speed and cost-efficiency are paramount, such as pandemic-related app rollouts.
- Apps with simple functionality such as appointment scheduling, medication reminders, and basic symptom trackers.
- Apps with minimal heavy lifting on the backend, such as patient engagement apps, general health tracking, or applications for admin tasks.
- Apps focused on delivering health information or educational content to patients or healthcare providers.
Those lists aren’t exhaustive, and we recommend reaching out to our native app developers or cross-platform specialists to get a consultation.
Native vs. cross-platform: it’s up to your project to decide
Both native and cross-platform applications have their strengths and weaknesses. While native applications are uniquely positioned to handle the advanced performance, security, and scalability needs of your application, cross-platform technologies will help you get to the market faster and at a lower cost.
The bottom line is that you first need to analyze the unique specs of your future solution, assess the trade-offs, and find what technology provides the shortest and most optimal path to project success. If you’re looking for native or cross-platform expertise for your project, contact us – and our developers will help you decide between the two approaches and develop your app the way it needs to be developed.