Unit 3.5
Mobile Apps
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- ✅ Define and differentiate between the three main types of mobile applications: Native, Web, and Hybrid.
- ✅ Analyze the pros and cons of each app type to determine the best fit for a given e-commerce scenario.
- ✅ Explain the role of app stores in the mobile ecosystem.
- ✅ Describe the current mobile app landscape in Nepal, including key players and market trends.
What is a Mobile App?
Definition: A mobile app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet computer.
They represent one of the fastest-growing segments of the entire software market, fundamentally changing how businesses and consumers interact.
⚡ For e-commerce, mobile apps are a direct channel to the customer, enabling personalized experiences, push notifications, and streamlined checkout processes.
Paying by Phone
The Three Core App Architectures
Every mobile application you use falls into one of three categories, each with a different approach to development and functionality.
- Native Apps
Built for a single OS (iOS or Android) - Web Apps
Websites that look and feel like an app - Hybrid Apps
A combination of Native and Web technologies
Let's compare them side-by-side.
📊 App Types: At a Glance
Native Apps
- Platform: iOS or Android specific
- Performance: ⚡ Highest
- Device Access: Full (GPS, Camera, etc.)
- Distribution: App Stores
Web Apps
- Platform: Cross-platform (Browser)
- Performance: Lower
- Device Access: Limited
- Distribution: Web URL
Hybrid Apps
- Platform: Cross-platform
- Performance: Medium
- Device Access: Good (via plugins)
- Distribution: App Stores
Interactive: Classify the App (1/2)
Read each scenario. Click the correct app type. Score 4/2 to win!
Q1: Snapchat was built in Swift for iOS and Kotlin for Android separately, giving buttery-smooth AR filters and camera access.
Q2: A startup's product catalogue runs in any browser on a phone — no install needed, but can't access the camera or work offline.
Interactive: Classify the App (2/2)
Read each scenario. Click the correct app type. Score 4/2 to win!
Q3: The Daraz app was built with React Native — one codebase for both iOS and Android, available on both app stores.
Q4: A travel agency's mobile-optimised website auto-adjusts layout on phones. Users bookmark it — nothing is installed.
🔎 One Codebase Does Not Mean One Architecture
- WebView hybrid: HTML, CSS and JavaScript run inside a native container; plugins bridge device features.
- React Native: shares application code while using platform-backed native components; it is not simply a website in a WebView.
- Flutter: is also cross-platform, but its rendering approach differs from both a WebView and React Native.
- Real products can mix approaches. An app-store listing or a similar-looking interface cannot prove the internal technology.
For an exam, state the course taxonomy; for a business decision, ask how the UI is rendered and which capabilities are required.
App Types Compared
🔍 Deep Dive: Native Apps
Developed for a specific mobile OS (e.g., Swift/Objective-C for iOS, Kotlin/Java for Android). They are installed directly onto the device.
Pros
- Best performance & speed
- Full access to device hardware
- Richest user experience (UI/UX)
- Available for offline use
Cons
- Most expensive to build
- Separate codebases for each platform
- Longer development time
- App store approval process
🔍 Deep Dive: Web Apps
Essentially websites optimized for mobile that mimic app-like functionality. They run in a browser and are not installed on the device.
Pros
- Single codebase for all platforms
- Lower development cost
- No app store submission needed
- Easy to update and maintain
Cons
- Requires an internet connection
- Limited access to device features
- Slower performance than native
- Less discoverable (not in app stores)
🌐 Progressive Web Apps: Beyond a Browser Tab
- A PWA uses web technologies but can offer an installable, app-like experience.
- A web app manifest describes its install experience; service workers can support caching and offline behaviour.
- Available device features depend on the browser, operating system and permission granted.
- Cached product browsing can work offline. A live stock check or confirmed online payment still needs a server connection.
A PWA extends what a web app can do; it is not a guarantee that every feature works everywhere.
🎬 Watch: How a PWA Works Offline
PWA vs Browser Tab
🔍 Deep Dive: Hybrid Apps
A blend of both worlds. They are built using web technologies (HTML, CSS, JS) and then wrapped in a native container, allowing them to be installed from an app store.
Pros
- Single codebase, faster development
- Cheaper than native apps
- Can access device features via plugins
- Distributed via app stores
Cons
- Performance can be a bottleneck
- User experience may not feel truly native
- Dependent on third-party plugins
Interactive: Which App Type Should You Build?
Answer three quick questions to get a recommended architecture for your project.
🎯 The Role of App Stores
App stores (like Google Play and Apple's App Store) are the primary distribution channels for native and hybrid apps. They are more than just marketplaces.
Key Functions of an App Store:
- Discovery: A centralized place for users to find apps.
- Distribution: Handles the download and installation process.
- Monetization: Manages payments for paid apps and in-app purchases.
- Security & Quality Control: Apps are reviewed to ensure they meet platform guidelines.
Interactive: App Store Revenue Calculator
App stores take a 30% commission on all paid-app sales and in-app purchases. See what a developer actually earns.
🧮 Worked Example: Revenue Is Not Profit
Illustrative monthly figures in USD, not current store fees or a company's results.
| Model | Assumption | Revenue before other costs |
|---|---|---|
| Paid digital app | 1,000 × $3; assumed store fee 30% | $3,000 − $900 = $2,100 |
| Digital subscription | 200 × $5; assumed fee 15% | $1,000 − $150 = $850 |
| Physical-goods marketplace | $20,000 sales; platform takes 8% | $1,600 platform revenue |
Also consider advertising or freemium. Subtract hosting, support, refunds and acquisition costs before calling anything profit.
Store billing rules vary by product, programme and region. Do not apply a digital-content fee automatically to a food order or wallet transfer.
Application: The Mobile App Landscape in Nepal 🇳🇵
Note: Tootle is discontinued — Pathao is the live Nepal ride-hailing example.
Nepal's mobile app market is experiencing rapid growth, driven by increasing smartphone penetration and digital literacy.
Popular Nepali Apps: Real-World Examples
- eSewa: Digital Wallet (FinTech)
- Daraz: E-Commerce Marketplace
- Hamro Patro: Utility & Content
- Pathao: Ride-Sharing
- Foodmandu: Food Delivery
These apps solve specific local problems and have become integral to daily life for many Nepalis.
🧩 Superapps: One Entry Point, Several Services
- A superapp combines several services around a shared account, identity or payment journey.
- Consider eSewa's wallet, bill-payment and ticketing services as a local multi-service example; the label is not a technical standard.
- Benefit: a customer may not need to register and learn a new interface for every service.
- Trade-off: more permissions, more complexity and more dependence on one platform.
Pair question: which services should share a login, and which should keep separate consent?
A shared account is convenient; it should not mean unlimited sharing of customer data.
🎬 Watch: One App for Everything
Interactive: Know Your Nepali Apps (1/2)
Click each app card to reveal its technology type and category. How many did you know?
React Native codebase on both iOS and Android; deep integration with NRB payment rails.
Cross-platform mobile app backed by Alibaba's logistics infrastructure.
Separate native builds for Android and iOS; one of Nepal's most-downloaded apps.
Interactive: Know Your Nepali Apps (2/2)
Click each app card to reveal its technology type and category. How many did you know?
Cross-platform with real-time GPS; uses plugins for location and push notifications.
Order tracking, push notifications, and payment gateway via a hybrid architecture.
FinTech hybrid — also offers a web checkout SDK for merchants who can't build native apps.
📶 Design Challenge: The Connection Disappears
A customer has a basket open. The connection disappears just after tapping Pay. In pairs, write the next screen message and choose what stays available.
1. Can the customer browse cached products?
2. Should the app announce payment failure?
3. Should another tap create a new payment?
- Cached browsing is possible, with a freshness warning.
- The outcome may be unknown. Show pending and check authoritative server status when connected.
- A retry must reuse the payment attempt identity under the provider's contract; do not create a second charge blindly.
Market Dynamics in Nepal: Challenges & Opportunities
Challenges
- Lack of highly skilled, senior developers.
- Limited access to venture capital and funding.
- Monetization can be difficult outside major urban centers.
Opportunities
- A large, young, and growing user base.
- Government support for the tech industry is increasing.
- Huge potential in sectors like agriculture, education, and healthcare.
🛠️ Recommend a Mobile Strategy
A small cooperative needs a bilingual catalogue, low-data browsing and online checkout. Customers use mixed phones; the team has web skills and a limited budget.
Take 90 seconds: choose a responsive web app, a PWA, a WebView hybrid or a native approach. Give two reasons and one limitation.
Defensible starting point: responsive web/PWA for link-based reach and reuse of web skills; cache catalogue data carefully.
Test real checkout and accessibility on target devices. Revisit the choice if essential hardware or performance needs cannot be met.
Key Takeaways
- The choice between Native, Web, and Hybrid apps is a critical business decision based on budget, performance needs, and target audience.
- Native apps offer the best performance and user experience but are the most expensive to develop and maintain.
- App stores are powerful gatekeepers that control distribution, discovery, and monetization in the mobile ecosystem.
- The Nepali app market is a vibrant and growing space with unique local challenges and significant opportunities for innovation.
Exam Practice 📝
Short answer
- Differentiate between native apps and mobile web apps.
- What is a progressive web app (PWA)?
- What is a superapp? Give a Nepali example.
Exam Practice 📝 (continued)
Long answer
- Compare native, web, hybrid, and progressive web apps, and recommend a mobile strategy for a small Nepali business.
- Discuss the mobile app landscape in Nepal and the revenue models apps use.
Revise the answers in the full note.
Image & Video Credits
Images
- Paying at Ziguangyuan: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- App-types and PWA diagrams: made for IT204, CC BY 4.0
- App Store statistics chart: W3bbo, GFDL (Wikimedia Commons)
- POS machines of Nepal: Nirjal stha, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Kuri village, Kalinchowk: Rajesh Dhungana, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Videos (YouTube)
- How a PWA Works Offline (121–175 s)
- One App for Everything (114–163 s)
Thank You!
Any questions?
Next Topic: Unit 3: "Case Study: Mobile-First Payments – eSewa & Khalti Infrastructure Choices