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I ask this because I am on the verge of diving into iPhone development and I have been intently following the iPhone related questions here.

This question: Retrieving current local time on iPhone?

has a comment which asks "are you creating iphone web app or iphone app" and my question is, is there a difference and if so - what is that difference.

If the "web app" is simply a matter of CSS and is more or less a traditional web app with mobile in mind, then do you need a Mac to develop those apps? Or can it be developed on any platform and accessed via Safari instead.

Community
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Taptronic
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  • Get the difference between an iPhone web app and an iPhone app here, http://www.afhill.com/blog/5-differences-between-iphone-native-and-mobile-web-apps/ – steve smiths May 02 '12 at 12:08

2 Answers2

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A web app is accessed via Safari and requires no install. You are just going to a website that has a special stylesheet for the iPhone.

A native app runs code on the device and is installable through the app store. You have access to all the UI elements the iPhone uses and can do things like 3D which are impossible in Mobile Safari.

You need a mac to make a native app, but can make web apps with any platform of your choosing.

Alex Wayne
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  • I suppose its not worth developing a web app if what I wish to do is interact with the calendar and other native features, the UI as well. The web app sounds nice but the app store, via a mac and apple developer program really *is* the way to go. – Taptronic Feb 19 '09 at 17:49
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    Yes. You can do no more with a web app than your computer can do with a website. Native apps are a lot more flexible and feature rich. – Alex Wayne Feb 19 '09 at 18:03
  • I appreciate the answer - thanks! Gotta get me a mac mini soon! – Taptronic Feb 19 '09 at 18:14
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    Note it is also possible to make a hybrid web-app/native-app by embedding the web-app project as a resource inside the native app, and starting it within a UIWebView control. – Justicle Jun 22 '09 at 02:34
  • I thought a web app also could imply a website (created specifically for the iPhone) embedded in the UIWebView of an iPhone app. Any thoughts on this? – Eric Brotto Jan 12 '12 at 10:36
  • @EricBrotto That's a hybrid of the two architectures. It requires some native code for sure, but most of the work is using web technology. It also gives you the disadvantages of both approaches. You are limited by what can be done in a web browser, and you are forced into Apples approval and distribution process. And unless you do it right, you have a native app that doesn't feel very native. – Alex Wayne Jan 13 '12 at 02:04
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There are sorta things inbetween. For example, you could use phonegap to create an html, css, js based iphone app that is downloadable from the app store. And your app could even use some of the iphone hardware cmds from the javascript.

Neo42
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