LinkedIn Switched From HTML5 to Native Apps

In a recent interview, Jolie O’Dell of VentureBeat discussed with Kiran Prasad, LinkedIn’s senior director for mobile engineering, about their updated mobile apps.

Mr.Prasad revealed the fact that LinkedIn decided to switch from HTML5 to native apps, due to app’s running out of memory and to have a nicer experience within the app, like animations running smoother.

LinkedIn as other big websites saw a big boost in the number of people accessing their service from mobile devices, an increase they didn’t predict. “It worked really well when mobile only made up 8 to 10 percent of traffic. … I’m not sure I could have predicted it, but we recognize now that HTML5 is not allowing us to do the best for our users.” Mr.Prasad said.

In order for HTML5 to keep up with native technology, he emphasized the need for developer tools: like a debugger or performance tools to keep an eye on memory consumption. LinkedIn it’s not the first company that does such a move from html5 to native, companies small and big recognize the importance of mobile for their business and realize they can’t provide and average experience to their users.