React Native is usually our first mobile app technology of choice. This amazing framework speeds up the software development process and gives a deep level of control over the mobile projects. No wonder that tech-all stars like Facebook, Airbnb or Uber use React Native in their mobile applications.
React Native also means a great, collaborative community of developers from all around the world.
React Native is the native version of the popular JavaScript library – ReactJS, maintained by the developers at Facebook and Instagram. It has gained massive popularity among the developer community. So much so that it’s now the fourteenth most starred project of all time on GitHub. Google trends show that ‘React Native’ as a search term has been searched more than ‘iOS development’ and ‘Android development’.
We believe React will be the future of mobile development, here are 5 reasons why:
- CROSS-PLATFORM COMPATIBILITY
The majority of the React Native APIs are cross-platform, which means that your one component will work on both iOS and Android. You can develop complete, full-blown applications that look, run and feel native-without writing a single line of platform-specific code.
There are instances, though, when you need to be platform-specific. Design implications, for instance, are different on Android and iOS. React provides for such cases with its Platform module and Platform-specific profile extensions. The platform module can detect the OS the app is running on, which can then be used to define platform-specific implementations. React automatically picks up the correct file depending on the OS the app is running on.
- SHORTER DEVELOPMENT CYCLES
React Native makes the process of developing mobile apps much faster. There’s a huge developer community supporting React and is an open-source project. We have seen development time drop by around 30% using open source components.
- REACT NATIVE BUILDS NEAR NATIVE APPS
While Javascript is not as fast as Native language (Swift or Java), React along with Javascript can run even the most complex of Apps smoothly.
React Native apps are quite indistinguishable from native apps. Same UI building blocks that are used for native apps, just put together using React and Javascript. It also gives the developers an option to write code in native languages when required.
- BETTER DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT
Developers are having a better time developing on the React Native environment. Hot reloading refreshes the UI instantly when any changes are made to the file. Removing the mundane receive-build and deploy from the iteration cycle makes for pleasant development experience.
React Native uses the Flexbox layout engine for both the platforms. This means you need to learn just one layout engine to develop on both iOS and Android.
- LIVE UPDATES AND CODEPUSH
Developing native mobile applications with React Native has one very big advantage – Live updates. Developers can push the updates to the user’s phone without having to go through the app store update cycle. This has been possible due to the extensive use of Javascript.
Microsoft’s live update service CodePush SDK integrates with your React Native app allowing you to push updates to your app. The drawback is that only the Javascript file and the assets can be updated. Any update touching the Native OS side will have to go through the regular App Store or Play Store update process.
While there is no doubt that React Native makes developing mobile apps a breeze, the apps so developed are also very high quality. A lot of development companies are switching to React Native. The rich ecosystem and the vibrant, growing community are telltale signs that React Native will soon become a norm for mobile app development.
P.S. If you’re looking for a React Native development company, give us a shout!
