I’m at a crossroads with my app development and could really use some community insight. I currently have a working PWA built with Progressier, but as I plan to launch my app on the App Store with native features, I’m torn between two approaches for the rebuild:
Using a wrapper (thinking BDK?)
Waiting for Bubble’s native mobile features – the timeline is a bit unclear, and I’m not sure if they’ll match the robustness of the BDK wrapper and plugins.
For those who have taken either route or have insights into the upcoming Bubble native features, what do you think? Is it worth waiting for Bubble’s solution, or should I go full speed ahead with a wrapper like BDK?
I’m worried that as soon as I get deep into the BDK world that Bubble will release Native and it will be what I need… which will make me reconsider rebuilding again.
100% wait for native. Beg to get on the Beta so you can build it now. (or do both , conversion to Native is not a big lift) - also as ever I respect and agree with @jici
We use build natively, better support than BDK. Up and running in an hour or so. You can test it for free.
I think it will take another 12 months for Bubble to be able to deliver error free full native support. Mobile app development is alway a pain in the ass. Especially with Android. I think Bubble will get a hard time as soon as more difficult native features hit the market.
Build natively supports a lot but there are some trade offs of course.
Super helpful replies. Question as I continue considering…
Do you think if I build with BDK or Natively and launch app, then a couple years down the road rebuild with Bubble Native, will the same “app” my users have downloaded still work or will it be a nightmare to shift my users over to the new app if I migrate?
I believe that you will be able to just upload a new version on the app store so user can use “update” function of their app store to get the new version of your app. But I don’t have access to the beta actually so maybe someone that is more familiar with it can answer you about that.
You should not worry too much about migration. Yes it is an issue if you do not provide much value and earn money because of sleeping subscriptions. But otherwise, users will put in a little effort. Let me put it otherwise, I hope you get major migrating pain because you have millions of users. That’s a very nice pain to have. Extremely nice. 99% of new apps will never get enough users to even pay back for the app in the first place.
If you do want to have the most seamless migration you should think about who handles the authentication. If you keep using Bubble it means that Bubble handles it. So anytime you leave Bubble for something else, users will have to set new login credentials.
But again, focus on marketing and sales. That’s the most hardest part of building a business around apps. Be it web or mobile.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. From what I’m reading and seeing, I’m planning to wait for Bubble’s native. I’m excited about this as it won’t cost me any extra and seems to have most, if not all of the features I need. Wish I could get access to the beta now, but the waitlist is where I’m at.
Gotcha! Thanks for sharing this. I wonder what these costs might be related to and how it will work. I’ll do some more digging around the forum and documentation. THANK YOU
, conversion to Native is not a big lift) - also as ever I respect and agree with