What Are Mobile Apps ?? Types, Info And Classification.

Introduction

An app is a computer program or a software application design to perform a specific test It can be installed and used on desktop laptop tablets smartphones and other electronic devices
Applications that run on desktops or laptops are commonly known as Desktop apps while those which are designed to run on mobile devices are known as mobile apps. The word app usually refers to applications designed for mobile devices.

In this Article, we will learn the basics of mobile apps. We will also learn to create simple apps for Android phones using the MIT app inventor.
As stated earlier a Mobile App is a type of application designed to run on a mobile device, which can be a smartphone or a tablet. These days, Mobile apps are becoming increasingly popular. The reason for the growing popularity amongst users is quick accessibility, enhanced interactive experience, faster response and easy navigation as compared to websites. Mobile Apps serve as an effective medium for companies to provide convenient access to their products as well as build a connection with the customers through constant notifications.

There are millions of apps which are available in various categories like food delivery, shopping, education, reservations social networking.

For example we commonly use food delivery such as Zomato and Swiggy, cab booking Apps such as Uber and Ola, grocery shopping Apps such as Grofers and Big Basket l, educational Apps such as Byju’s and Khan Academy and social networking Apps such as Instagram and Facebook in our daily life.

Types of Mobile Apps

Mobile Apps can be broadly classified as :

1. Web Based Apps
2. Native Apps
3. Hybrid Apps

Web Based Apps

Web Based Apps can work on any mobile device or operating system (OS) because they are accessed using a web browser. They need not be downloaded and installed on a device. They are actually responsive websites that adapt their user interface according to the device being used. Examples of Web based Apps include Google Apps such as Gmail and Google Docs.
Web Based Apps are designed using HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, Ruby and similar programming languages used for web development. Some of the characteristics of the web based Apps are :
There is no need to customise 1. Web Apps according to a platform or OS.

As these Apps are accessed using a browser, thay are not required to be downloaded and hence have limited user side device requirements.

Users don’t need to download these Apps from App Store.

Since these Apps are used through a browser, they do not have access to all the features of the phone and therefore, the user experience is not always optimised.

These days, Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are being developed, which use the latest features of modern web browsers to provide enhanced mobile user experience such as offline usage.

Native Apps

Native Apps are developed to be used on a specific platform or OS. Native apps built on one type of OS cannot be used on another OS. For Example, the Native Apps built for Android OS will not work on a device that uses iOS.

All devices come pre installed with a few native apps while the other Native Apps can be easily downloaded and installed from using Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Some of the example of native apps are Facebook and WhatsApp.

Native Apps are developed using programming languages such as Lava, Python, Swift, Objective -C, C++ and React. Some of the characteristics of the native apps are :

1. Native apps offer fastest, reliable and responsive experience to the user.
2. Native Apps are able to access and fully utilise the built in features/capabilities of the device such as contact list, GPS and camera.
3. Some of the Native Apps have to be updated regularly from the App Store. This may result in different versions of the App being used by various users.
4. Since these apps are downloaded, they occupy space in.thr device’s storage.

Hybrid Apps

Hybrid Apps combine the features of the both Native and Web Apps. They can run on multiple platforms. Like native Apps, hybrid Apps are available in an app store and are able to access and utilise the built in capabilities of the device. Like Web Apps, they use HTML and can be accessed using a browser. Some of the examples of Hybrid Apps are Instagram and Uber.

Hybrid Apps uses a mixture of web technologies and Native APIs such as Iconic, Objective -C, Swift, HTML5 and others. Some of the characteristics of the Hybrid Apps are :

1. Thes apps are easier and faste to develop.
2. Yeh code is written once and deployed across all mobile platforms. This facilities easy maintenance and reduction in costs.
3. These Apps exhibit lower performance compared to Native Apps.
4. Often these apps give a different look and feel on different platforms.