The smartphone app market is ever changing, new apps come every day, and some old ones disappear from our memories, and our phones as well. In this tumultuous ecosystem, developers struggle to keep making apps that will please users, because with each new horizon we conquer, their expectations rise. And so to out-do their previous efforts, developers are finding better and more unique ways to create products that will be able to stand in the market.
Native and Hybrid apps are two broad functions of apps in the market. As we already know that Native apps are developed separately for different platforms- Android, iOS, Windows. On the other hand, Hybrid Apps are developed only once and are used on multiple platforms. Now, both of these types, have plus points- Native apps are of better quality, have better UI/UX, are more robust and secure, but they take a long time and a fortune to be built. On the other hand, Hybrid apps are cheaper and quicker to make but suffer from poor performance and quality.
So to choose between quality and cost is a difficult task; you will have to compromise on one front. But there has to be a way to bypass this all together. There is, and it is called React Native.
Now let us move on to some of React Native’s key plus points:
- React Native allows developers to create mobile apps using website technology. So a developer who is handy in web development can easily develop a mobile app using React Native.
- React Native allows developers to build cross-platform apps that look and feel entirely Native since it uses JavaScript components that are both built on iOS and Android components. It saves a lot of time and money as developers don’t have to create the same app for multiple platforms. Furthermore, it is easier to maintain an app built with React Native since there is only one codebase.
- Since React Native uses JSX, a developer isn’t required to learn complex languages such as Objective-C and Java to develop an app.
- React Native uses fundamental Android and iOS building blocks to compile Native apps for both platforms in JavaScript. This makes handling the code base easier, and the addition of new features is simplified as well, even while the app is running.
- Clients bound with a strict budget and timing constraints will find React Native the perfect choice. Since it doesn’t require a single app to be developed for multiple platforms, it saves them a lot of time and money. Furthermore, using React Native, they are not compromising on quality as well. JavaScript compiles the codebase to create a Native environment for an app on separate platforms. React Native also provides beautiful UI/UX and safety features which are commonly missing from Hybrid apps.
- React Native allows you to build apps faster. Instead of recompiling, you can reload an app instantly. By making use of its Hot Reloading feature, you can even run new features while maintaining your application state.
- In React Native we can easily develop and test features by using various libraries and tools like Expo, ESLint, Jest, and Redux.
- React Native provides a good developer community.
- React saves you time and money on development because it’s component-based. You can break down an interface into reusable components that allow you to build dynamic user interfaces.
- React is at the forefront of our field right now. That’s because JavaScript is flexible, and working in it allows you to break down the silos between front-end and back-end, freeing you up to work across both.