As the competition between Android and iOS rages on, very few people really realize how much of a bearing these Operating Systems have on the world of Mobile Application Development. Essentially, it is nearly impossible to ignore that the applications that are to function on two distinct Operating Systems must be created differently.

While the decision to develop applications on iOS or Android depends completely on the developer (or the client) but the fact of the matter is that creating an application that will work across multiple platforms will save you both time and effort. But since nothing comes without consequences, it surely will have its own drawbacks. So, as developers learn about mobile development we discuss the pros and cons of Cross Platform development:

1. Reusability or Performance?

One of the most obvious benefits of cross platform development is the simple reason that it saves you the time of developing the same application for different operating systems. This means that you can invest the same amount of time in improving the quality of the application rather than trying to develop it all over again.

Furthermore, bits and pieces of the same code will be used again in the future for a new application. So, one time you create an application you can keep carry forward the hard work that you put in one time. However, all these advantages mean that you also have to compromise on performance.

Since a cross platform application has to put up with different platforms at once, it cannot completely integrate with any one. This happens because of an inconsistency in communication between the native and non-native components in a device.

2. Development Speed or Limited User Experience?

As already mentioned, creating cross-platform applications means that you can carry your effort forward to the next projects in line. As a result, you have to put in lesser time on every new project and your development projects speed up. You always meet your deadlines and get your results faster.

However, these faster application development speed compromise your user experience. In comparison to a native application, a cross platform application can never give the same user experience to the user. This, then creates a seemingly impossible to destroy paradox. Where cross platform applications have wider target market focusing on all major Operating System markets, its user experience drives users away from the application.

3. Lower Development Costs or Expensive Phones

You write the code once and use it on and on. This is not just faster and time saving, but also imposes lower costs on you. So, you find cost effective solutions to your mobile development. However, even in finding such a low-cost solution, you might be imposing a greater cost on yourself. A mid-range phone may not have the capability to read HTML 5 animation and hence run the application. As a result, you will have to get a phone that can do so and this will definitely cost you more than what you saved on the application.