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• Mobile: Mobile application (also known as mobile app) is a software program that is
developed for hand-held devices such as smartphones and tablets. These apps are installed
and run on the device itself. Some of the examples of mobile apps are Snapchat, WhatsApp,
and Facebook Messenger.
• Web: A Web app is an application program that is stored on a remote server and accessed
over the Internet through a Web browser interface. Some mobile apps and web apps look
and work in the same way, with very little difference between them. However, these two are
very different from each other. One of the major differences is that the Web apps require an
Internet connection to work.
i + DEFINING ANDROID AND IOS
Nowadays, most mobile devices run on Android and iOS.
Android
Android is an operating system for mobile devices developed by Google. It is the
most commonly used operating system on mobile devices. Google and some other
mobile manufacturing companies use Android as an operating system for their
devices. Android provides an easy-to-use and friendly environment for its users. The
user interface of an Android mobile looks like this:
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is also a popular operating system developed by Apple Inc.
for its hand-held devices such as iPhone and iPad. The user interface of the iOS looks
very professional, as shown:
i + TYPES OF MOBILE APPS
Apps provide specific functionality to your mobile and tablet devices in a more simple and
user-friendly manner. We use so many apps on our mobile devices to perform different types of
tasks. Generally, these apps can be divided into three types: native, web, and hybrid. Let us learn
about these in detail.
Native Apps
Native apps are platform-dependent which means that these apps are primarily developed for
a specific platform. For example, any app that is developed for iOS will not run on any other
platform such as Android, Windows, or BlackBerry. In other words, you cannot install the app
on the iOS platform because it is developed for the Android platform. Most of the apps installed
on your mobile device are native apps. These apps are easily accessible through app stores and
provide users with the fastest, most reliable, and responsive experience possible.
Some examples of native apps are the camera, microphone,
gallery, and address book. However, there are some
alternatives also available for these apps, but using native
apps is the easiest.
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App Development

