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Apple Native vs Electron

How does Apple Native compare to Electron?
See the pros and cons of each framework, target platforms and more.

Apple Native

Apple Native

Electron

Electron

About

  • Maintainer

    Apple
  • Initial Release

    March 6, 2008
  • Maintainer

    OpenJS Foundation
  • Initial Release

    15 July 2013

Community

Languages

  • Swift
  • JavaScript
  • TypeScript
  • HTML
  • CSS

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 apps are built using the official Apple development tools, which provide access to the latest features and functionality of the Apple ecosystem.

  • Performance

    Native Apple apps perform better than hybrid apps as they have direct access to device hardware and the underlying operating system.

  • User Experience

    Native Apple apps offer a consistent user experience that users are familiar with.

  • Ecosystem

    Developers can build apps for other all Apple products like Apple Watch, Apple TV, Mac, iPad and iPhone.

  • Large Community

    Apple 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 Apple.

  • Cross-platform

    Electron allows developers to write code once and deploy it across multiple platforms. This saves development time and effort.

  • Web Technologies

    Developers can use web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to build desktop apps with Electron, which they may already be familiar with. This can make development faster and more comfortable.

  • Native APIs

    Electron provides a bridge between the web technologies and the native APIs of the operating systems. This means that developers can access native functionality like the menu bar, tray and much more.

  • Large Community

    Electron has a large and active developer community, which means there is plenty of documentation, tutorials, and examples available to help developers build desktop apps.

🛑Weaknesses

  • Cross-platform

    Developers have to build separate apps using a different framework to target other platforms like Android and Windows.

  • Performance

    Apps built with Electron may not perform as well as those built natively due to the overhead introduced by the webview.

  • App Size

    Electron apps have Chromium and Node.js bundled with them which can make the resulting binary quite large.

  • Limited Platforms

    Electron can only target desktop environments like Windows, macOS and Linux.

Showcase