Android Native vs NativeScript
How does Android Native compare to NativeScript?
See the pros and cons of each framework, target platforms and more.
Android Native
NativeScript
About
Maintainer
GoogleInitial Release
September 23, 2008
Maintainer
OpenJS FoundationInitial Release
April 29, 2015
Community
Languages
- Java
- Kotlin
- JavaScript
- TypeScript
Target Platforms
- ✓ Android
- ✓ Android Auto
- ✓ Android TV
- iOS
- Linux
- macOS
- tvOS
- watchOS
- ✓ Wear Os
- Windows
- ✓ Android
- Android Auto
- Android TV
- ✓ iOS
- Linux
- macOS
- tvOS
- watchOS
- Wear Os
- Windows
✅Strengths
- Official SDK
Native Android apps are built using the official Android development tools, which provide access to the latest features and functionality of the Android platform.
- Performance
Native Android apps perform better than hybrid apps as they have direct access to device hardware and the underlying operating system.
- User Interface
Developers can use built-in UI elements to create a consistent interface that follows the Android design guidelines.
- User Experience
Native Android apps offer a familiar user experience for Android users.
- Ecosystem
Developers can build apps for other Android-based systems like Smartphones, Wear OS, Android TV and Android Auto.
- Large Community
Android has a very large and active developer community, which means there is plenty of documentation, tutorials, and examples available to help developers build apps for Android.
- Cross-platform
NativeScript allows developers to build mobile apps for multiple platforms, including Android and iOS, using a single codebase.
- Native APIs
NativeScript provides a bridge to all native APIs via JavaScript, without having to write anything in Swift or Kotlin. This means that developers can access native functionality such as camera, contacts, and file storage.
🛑Weaknesses
- Cross-platform
Developers have to build separate apps using a different framework to target other platforms like iOS, Windows and macOS.
- Performance
NativeScript's performance is not as good as that of native apps due to the overhead introduced by the bridge between JavaScript and native APIs.
- Emerging Community
Despite being around for a while, the NativeScript is not as popular as other frameworks, which means that there is not a lot of tutorials, and examples available to help developers apps.