Should You Be Developing Mobile Apps or Better Mobile Websites?
Oh, the dilemma of today’s developers. Their job has never been all that easy, but with the speed of technology’s advancements—and demanding users’ unending fickleness—it’s become increasingly more difficult to strike gold. And even if developers do happen to develop the "next big thing,” how much can they afford to invest in that app or mobile website when it might become as popular as a QR code (remember those?) in only a matter of time?
We users can’t take all the blame; after all, our needs aren’t changing nearly as fast as the mobile devices we’re carrying. How can developers expect to keep up with every single can’t-live-without-it device and their constantly updating OSs and multiple screen sizes?
Don’t get too comfortable, device makers. Some are already predicting tablets’ antiquation, with the arrival of wearable technology just on the horizon.
GigaOM asks the question, “Does the future of mobile content belong to apps or the web?” Unfortunately for developers, they just don’t know the answer—and how could they? Right when Jeff John Roberts convinces you of mobile web’s HTML5-enabled ability to “reach many screens at once” while labeling apps as nothing more than an “expensive distraction,” you come across Forbes’ just as convincing calling-to-the-carpet of HTML5 and its limitations.
Aidan Quilligan, after doing his own high praising of HTML5, completely shifts gears when he states:
The implementation of HTML5 is far from uniform. It varies from browser to browser and from mobile platform to mobile platform. This widespread 'technology fragmentation' makes it difficult for software developers to know which part of HTML5 they can use. HTML5 apps can also be afflicted by slowness and often work erratically when a data connection isn’t available or is intermittent.
Not everyone is necessarily choosing sides in the mobile-web vs application civil war. Gartner Inc., in their 2013 Mobile and Wireless Predictions, forecasts that by 2016, “more than 50 percent of mobile apps deployed will be hybrid.” Mobile apps may have at one time been looked at as the pinnacle of achievement for many companies, but Gartner predicts:
To address the need for mobile applications, enterprises are looking to leverage applications across multiple platforms. The advantages of the hybrid architecture, which combines the portability of HTML5 Web apps with a native container that facilitates access to native device features, will appeal to many enterprises.
Developers have always been charged with producing software as quickly as possible, but with the uncertainty of what software will even be worth their time in the future, having a strong business presence on their team will certainly add at least the potential for a greater value to their efforts.
Where do you see mobile development moving in the future? Can apps continue to reign supreme, or will a shift to a more mobile web steal some of their thunder? Let us know in the comments section below!
