

Why Aren't There More Hybrid Apps? - wspeirs
http://blog.metrink.com/why-arent-there-more-hybrid-apps/

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mooreds
Because it's hard to make a hybrid app that feels like a native app. It
depends on what exactly you are doing, and the state of the art has improved
(see the ionic project), but it can be really tough.

Source: I participated in building 3 apps (not all successful, but two made it
to the app store/google play) using Cordova 3, and wrote an ebook on the
Cordova CLI.

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wspeirs
This is a good point... most people working on mobile have an affinity for
design and feel they cannot get the same look-and-feel. I think a lot of these
frameworks have caught-up to the look-and-feel needed for mobile, and folks
should re-consider.

~~~
mooreds
That is very possible. If I was still interested in front end development, I'd
take a look.

Moore's Law FTW.

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yesimahuman
(Ionic creator here). One thing people don't always realize is that many apps
are already hybrid. They have a web view and display dynamic content in that
web view. I think that meets most definitions of "hybrid."

When it comes to the question of what hybrid apps can or cannot do, Image
processing is definitely something they _can_ do. If the JS layer isn't fast
or featureful enough for image processing, you can always drop down to native
through Cordova plugins or something like ngCordova
([http://ngcordova.com/](http://ngcordova.com/)). We always advocate full
utilization of the platform, just like we would if you were building a node-
webkit app.

I do agree that Hybrid is growing, and more people are finding it a good
solution for what they need. That will only continue, and we hope to be
helping them for years to come.

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wspeirs
I've gotten a few comments[1][2] from people saying Appcelerator compiles to
native apps. I understand this, so do Cordova. The point is that you can write
your app once, and compile it for many mobile platforms.

Maybe these aren't call Hybrid App Frameworks then? Is there a better term for
frameworks like Cordova & Appcelrator?

[1]
[https://twitter.com/core_13/status/560487546271326209](https://twitter.com/core_13/status/560487546271326209)

[2]
[https://twitter.com/MalcTheOracle/status/560488671124914177](https://twitter.com/MalcTheOracle/status/560488671124914177)

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helloimben
One great example of a successful business that uses a Hybrid app is Basecamp
(formally 37 Signals). DHH wrote a great post on how they mix both native
components with web views: [https://signalvnoise.com/posts/3743-hybrid-sweet-
spot-native...](https://signalvnoise.com/posts/3743-hybrid-sweet-spot-native-
navigation-web-content)

The result is a highly rated app that's both fast and performant for the end
user, while also cost/speed efficient for the business to run and maintain.

