Over 50 percent of mobile apps to be HTML5-native hybrids by 2016: Gartner

Hybrid apps, which offer a balance between HTML5-based web apps and native apps, will be used in more than 50 percent of mobile apps by 2016, according to research firm Gartner, Inc.

While native application development offers the ultimate user experience and performance for mobile applications, the trade-off is often a fragmented set of development tools and multiple versions of an application to serve the same user need - because different versions must be made for each type of device or operating system, Gartner said.

However, the promise of HTML5 with offline capabilities and animation-rich tools fell short of expectations, causing developers to consider hybrid architectures to better leverage mobile device capabilities, it said.

"The BYOD trend and the increased pressure on organisations to deploy mobile applications to accommodate mobile work styles of employees will lead businesses to manage a portfolio of mobile application architectures, and hybrid architectures will be especially well-suited to business-to- employee applications," said Van Baker, VP (Research) at Gartner.

While mobile becomes a requirement for everything, there is no single device that will meet all needs. Gartner forecasts that by the end of 2013, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common web access device worldwide and by 2016, PC shipments will be less than 50 percent of combined PC and tablet shipments.