Aim/Purpose: Despite millions of apps on the market, it is still challenging to develop a mobile app that can run across platforms using the same code.

Background: This paper explores a potential solution for developing cross platform apps by presenting the hybrid app approach.

Methodology: The paper first describes a brief evolution of the different mobile app development approaches and then compares them with the hybrid app approach. Next, it focuses on one specific hybrid app development framework called Ionic.

Contribution: The paper presents the hybrid app approach as an emerging trend in mobile app development and concludes with the highlight of its advantages and teaching implications.

Findings: The hybrid app approach reduces the learning curve and offers tools to allow the reuse of code to create apps for different mobile devices.

Recommendations for Practitioners: The experience that the paper describes in using Ionic framework to create a hybrid app can be adopted in a web design or mobile app development course.

Impact on Society : The advance in hybrid framework in general and the growing acceptance of open source framework, such as Ionic in particular, may provide an alternative to the native app domination and may trigger the rapid rise of hybrid apps in the years to come.