In 2024, around 132 million people in the US spent 5-6 hours daily on their smartphones; 90% of that was on mobile apps. Native apps make up the majority of these. This could be your business’s native app, too. You could make that 6-hour screen time into something that benefits you. Creating a native app can help your business thrive.
In this blog, we’ve given 15 native app examples to show you how successful these apps are and why you need one for your business. But first, let’s learn what native apps are.
What is a native app?
Native apps are built for specific mobile platforms. Native app development uses certain programming languages that result in high-performing apps. this is how they get the native name; they’re native to their platforms. If an app is built solely for iOS, it will not work on Android because it’s native.
Why are Native apps so popular?
Native app’s particularity to one platform makes them faster than other apps. They also deliver high performing speed and stunning graphics. Native apps can also integrate with the device’s hardware and software. Due to these, native apps provide an excellent user experience, making them popular among businesses and users.
15 Best Native App Examples
You probably have more than one of these apps on your phone without knowing they’re native. However, that changes today. You might find a few apps that work on both iOS and Android. This is because their code has been written for both platforms separately.
Let’s learn some of the most popular native app examples. They may inspire you to create your own native app.
Spotify
Ever gone on a long drive with your favorite Spotify playlist in the background? Spotify has more than 640 million active users per month and continues to be everyone’s favorite music-listening app. But did you know that Spotify is a native app?
Features
- Spotify lets you connect with hardware around your phone to play music. This could mean TVs, speakers, and even gaming consoles.
- Since native apps can run in the background, Spotify allows music to play without keeping the app open.
- Spotify can also access the device software. This is how Siri and Google Assistant play a song directly.
Pokémon Go
Remember the era of Pokémon Go in 2016? This game was all the hype. It gained so much popularity in its first month that it earned 28.5 million active users daily in its first month after launch. Its augmented reality functions are because of it being a native app.
Features
- Thanks to augmented reality via the device’s camera, players can “see” Pokémon in the real world through their phone’s screen.
- As a native app, Pokemon Go uses GPS to track a player’s movements to create a proper game map. Players have to physically walk and move to play the game.
- Players can join teams and battle with other players. These features are because of the app’s ability to handle communication and data synchronization between devices.
Discover
The Discover mobile banking app manages user’s financial accounts. This includes credit card, bank account, and personal loan management. It allows clients to access and manage their finances on the go.
Features
- The GPS features allow users to locate ATMs nearby quickly.
- The Discover app’s native nature allows it to integrate with Apple Pay and Google Pay directly. This enables users to make contactless payments.
- Discover’s app development also supports biometric authentication.
Google Maps
Ever gotten lost or taken a wrong turn in an unknown town? Google Maps was probably the first app that came to your mind to find your way. It is one of the best Native app examples that allows users to use GPS to find their way.
Features
- Native apps can be used offline. Google Maps allows you to download a route and can also work offline.
- Google Maps uses a voice recognition feature to allow users to focus on driving while it loads the information.
- Location and GPS tracking features allow people to reach to their destinations. It shows the shortest way with accurate traffic updates.
Evernote
Evernote is a note-taking app with an intuitive interface. It lets users take notes and gather their ideas. This allows for easier task management. It offers cloud-based storage so users can upload pictures, text, and audio recordings that stay saved.
Features
- On mobiles, this native app can show widgets that allow users to access specific notes and create new ones. This can be done directly from the home screen without opening the full app.
- It can integrate with third-party apps. It allows users to import files, share notes, and collaborate between other platforms.
- Evernote can use the camera to scan things. This could include documents, cards, and whiteboards that are saved as PDFs.
Snapchat
Got a friend who’s worried about his Snap Streak breaking? It’s all thanks to Snapchat. It is a popular social media app and one of the remarkable native app examples. This native app gained popularity in the early 2010s.
Features
- Lenses and Filters are one of the most popular features in Snapchat. They allow users to add animated effects and augmented reality graphics to their snaps and videos. This is a feature limited to native app development.
- This mobile application can send push notifications to users, reminding them when their Snap Streak is about to break, new requests, and more.
- When the GPS is on, users can see where they took which snap on Snapchat’s built-in map.
Apple Music
Much like Spotify, Apple Music is a music-listening platform. It lets users play music and watch music videos. Worldwide, it had 93 million subscribers in June 2023. After Spotify, Apple Music is the second most popular music platform.
Features
- Apple Music allows users to play music in-car. This is one of the best native app examples due to its ability to integrate with the car’s hardware.
- Offline compatibility allows users to play music offline.
- It also allows users to explore exclusive content, including music videos and early releases.
Slack
This is a cloud-based platform that is common in workplaces. It offers easy communication between teammates and allows collaboration. Slack works in mobile phones, desktops, as well as browsers.
Features
- Slack allows background syncing. This ensures that messages and updates are always updated without manual refreshes.
- It enables built-in voice and video calling, screen sharing, and file-sharing capabilities with a simple interface.
- It integrates with the system and uses platform-specific features for a smoother UX.
X
Formerly known as Twitter, X is a popular social app that allows users to post tweets. Tweets are short and kept to the point. X is more commonly used by organizations and companies. The app development of X makes it a flexible platform.
Features
- Compared to the web version, the native app allows high performance with smooth scrolling.
- One of the most useful native app examples is allowing push notifications. On X, these are instant alerts for mentions, likes, retweets, and DMs. They integrate with system notifications.
- It does not require manual intervention to refresh feeds and sync notifications in the background.
Adobe Lightroom
If you’ve ever needed to make major changes to a photo, Adobe Lightroom has popped up in your head. It is designed for photographers and professionals to seamlessly edit and improve upon existing pictures.
Features
- Its native nature allows it to fix image distortions and straighten the perspectives.
- All adjustments saved separately from the original image
- Allows you to directly export images in various formats and share them directly to social media or cloud services.
Gyroscope
Gyroscope is a mobile application for wellness and health. It’s one of the most impressive native app examples. Gyroscope helps you manage your weight, track your health, and maintain good health. Let’s see what features it has as a native app:
Features
- With Gyroscope, users can track their health metrics, like steps and heart rate. This is because, as a native mobile application, it integrates with wearable devices.
- Ever wish you could just take a picture of food, and it could tell you the calories and nutrients? Gyroscope’s native nature makes this possible.
- Users can customize it to suit their needs with their preferences.
With 2 billion monthly users, WhatsApp takes the cake for being the most-used messaging platform in the world. Moreover, WhatsApp is the leading messaging app in more than sixty countries in the world. This is because its native nature allows it to:
Features
- WhatsApp allows instant text messaging and sends push notifications that integrate with the device system.
- It enables native camera support to capture and share images and videos directly from the app.
- It works on multiple devices without being connected to the phone.
Duolingo
Duolingo’s Owl has become a popular meme because of its sarcastic push notifications. Another feature that it has as a native app. It allows users to learn various languages in a game-like, engaging version.
Features
- It works with Apple Health to track learning time. It also connects with Google Play Games for achievements. This deep integration is because it’s a native app.
- Duolingo allows speech recognition and detects pronunciation.
- You can download lessons and learn offline, too. Usually, if an app is working offline, it’s one of the native app examples.
Candy crush Saga
Candy Crush Saga is a popular game that lets users match three or more candies of the same color before they get replaced with new ones. Sounds boring? Try playing it! You’ll know why it has billions of players in the world.
Features
- As a native app, Candy Crush Saga allows easy swiping and touch across the screen.
- It works with system apps like Game Center iOS and Google Play Games Android for Android. This way, it tracks leaderboards and achievements.
Tesla
Tesla is an American company that makes electric cars. The native app development of Tesla’s mobile application allows users to communicate with their electric-powered vehicle. This happens through the mobile phone. Let’s see what else it can do:
Features
- Users get control over their car’s features. This includes locking/unlocking the vehicle, remotely starting it, and monitoring temperature.
- When the car is parked in Sentry mode, users can view live camera footage from the car’s exterior cameras.
- GPS features are native app examples. In the Tesla app, GPS allows users to Locate their car on a map and access recent driving history.
Conclusion
These were some of the most impressive native app examples. Some of these work on browsers and desktops, too. But those versions work differently. One thing these native apps have in common is millions of monthly users. Your native app can have that, too. At Linkitsoft, we understand the importance of delivering clients an intuitive UI/UX experience. We excel at native app development. With a native app for your business, you can provide a more customized user experience with excellent performance.
Contact us today and get your very own native app. Make a place for your business and give them an experience unique to your brand. Don’t take too long; your competitors are striving to do better than you.
