Mobile native apps vs HTML5

The last couple of years may be remembered as the ‘dawn of the HTML5 revolution’. Effectively, it took the Internet by storm, and there is no doubt the Gaming industry followed the buzz. The user experience within gaming portals across desktop, tablet and mobile devices becomes of primary importance. However, there are many debates and concerns surrounding the use of Native mobile apps versus HTML5 web apps.  
  But why should anyone care? Because as users spend more time on their Smartphones or tablets surfing the web, gaming app creators must reconsider the business requirements between the existing gaming portals (designed for desktop users) and an ever-growing number of mobile device platforms. 
  So what’s better? When it comes to choosing there is, of course, no universal answer. There are, however, key decision criteria. What’s decided will have a significant effect on budgets, capabilities, and the overall reach of your mobile gaming offering. A better understanding of what to anticipate before deciding will help ensure your mobile strategy is properly aligned with your overall business requirements.

The pros and cons

When deciding between Native apps and HTML5 web apps a good strategy should consider user experience. Despite the fact there have been many recent improvements in HTML5, you still cannot access the full range of device sensors and APIs. Performance is also very important. When it comes to both loading and rendering, whether you have good, weak, or terrible Internet access, a Native app will run faster.
  However, you should also consider the availability of programming expertise. There are millions of HTML developers out there. On the other hand, good quality Objective-C or Java or any other mobile device platformspecific engineers are harder to find. In addition, cross-platform deployment costs are usually seen as a major factor in favour of HTML5 web apps. The promise is that you ‘write once, run anywhere’; which is true, but only up to a point. It’s a challenge to develop Native apps for multiple platforms (and for different versions of those platforms). This is simpler in the case of HTML5 web apps. However, there are at least a dozen mobile browsers in existence, each available in different versions and each supporting different levels of HTML5. So, there’s a fragmentation challenge with both solutions. 
  Updates and distribution control in mobile is all about constantly innovating. HTML5 web apps can be instantly updated so that as soon as users visit the site, the most updated version is delivered to their devices without any effort on their part. In contrast, having to go through the app store for a Native app update remains a barrier to offering the most up-to-date gaming experience. However, the adoption of new OS innovations is slower in HTML5 web apps. For example, Apple and Google offer, on average, one to two updates a year that offers major new capabilities. Native apps can take advantage of these changes immediately. Meanwhile, it takes time to include these changes within HTML5. Monetisation is another interesting factor. Native apps can generate some sort of income. In contrast, the monetisation available to developers building HTML5 web apps is essentially zero.  
  As mobile moves even further into the gaming process, people are increasingly worried about security. Frankly speaking, there is no way that anyone could say that HTML5 web apps are more secure than a Native app. The security of native apps is far superior to HTML5. The browser code is available for the world to see and VPNs are generally too slow to run in a mobile browser. However, with Native apps, you can run VPNs and other encryptions without too much of an increase in loading time.

Conclusion

When facing choices for multi-platform mobile development, you should not decide which is the best technology per se, as there is no general answer to that. Focus instead on understanding the peculiarities of your gaming app and establish a mobile development strategy that satisfies multiple criteria in terms of functionality, business model and context.
  Last but not least, consider the timeframe. Native platforms come and go with turbulences in the mobile device market, whereas HTML (an open, vendorindependent technology) has been here for many years and is here to stay for a while yet. HTML5 is now enjoying widespread support on desktop, mobile and smart TV platforms. The new generation of mobile devices will come with increased computational and graphical power. Faster and more compatible mobile browsers will therefore reduce the performance gap with Native apps and provide stronger support to HTML5. Strong support will come from the developers community too, as HTML5 has enabled a whole generation of web developers to transfer their skills into the mobile world.
  Today, the gap between Native apps and HTML5 web apps has narrowed. Fast forward a year or two, and the gap will be even narrower.


By Dr Christos Chrisostomidis of INTRALOT Interactive.