With the first graphical user interfaces in the early 1970s, computers became more accessible, and ever since developers and designers have been finding ways to improve user experience. As technologies evolved, the focus moved from desktop applications to web-based software and mobile apps. Through each change in development, we see the need to make applications responsive, reliable, and engaging. In this chapter, we explored the history of the GUI and how native applications continue to provide the best user experience.

By creating quality graphical applications using native technologies, developers are able to provide better reliability and a more responsive user interface. Ensuring that applications integrate seamlessly with the operating system, as well as working well online and offline, will provide a consistent workflow that will keep your users happy. We also saw that the structure and format of a native application can benefit software developers and support processes that ensure a higher quality product.

In the next chapter, we'll discover how some of these benefits are created within graphical applications and the challenges they can pose. We'll compare various approaches to these complexities and outline some of the decisions that will need to be made when designing a modern, native graphical user interface.