As 230 billion mobile apps were downloaded annually in 2021, and customers spent $170 billion. In today’s tech-savvy world, having a mobile app is a strategic move for businesses to survive.
These figures show how successful and important the mobile app development sector has grown. However, creating a mobile app is a challenging task. Getting your app ready for launch takes great time and effort. But today, the procedure is much simpler thanks to technological developments and breakthroughs in the app development framework.
One of these technological breakthroughs is the creation of frameworks such as React Native. As a result, many companies worldwide have chosen to employ this framework for their app development initiatives. You may join them using React Native as your front-end development framework and working with a React Native App Development Company.
So, in this blog, we’ll look at what React Native is, how it functions, and why adopting it for your mobile app development project is a good idea.
- What is React Native?
- How Does React Native Operate?
- Top 11 Reasons to Use React Native For Mobile App Development
- Less Expensive than Native Development
- Shortens the Time to Market and Speeds Up Development
- Rich UI
- Managing Big Native Team Vs Small Team
- An Open-Source Framework
- Live & Hot Reloading
- Vast Community of Developers
- Provides an Excellent App Performance
- Offers Native Look and Feel
- Faster App Updates
- Modular Architecture
- 10 Popular Apps Built Using React Native
- Conclusion
Let’s begin with our first topic:
What is React Native?
React Native is a well-known open-source framework for building a mobile application that was first introduced in 2015. Facebook developed it. It leverages JavaScript to build cross-platform mobile applications with real native features. This entails developing natively rendered mobile apps for iOS and Android with a single codebase.
React Native is one of the most widely used frameworks for creating apps because of its capabilities. As per the Stack Overflow Survey 2021, 58.08% of developers enjoyed working on React Native in 2020 and expect to continue doing so in the future.
Afterwards, we will discuss the following topic:
How Does React Native Operate?
React Native is written in JavaScript and JXL, a specific markup language similar to XML. It deals with both the JavaScript and Native realms. And both of these realms can communicate and exchange information.
They connect via a “bridge,” which is undoubtedly the heart of the React Native architecture, the component that provides so much flexibility.
The bridge is a concept that allows for bidirectional and asynchronous communication between these two realms. What matters here is that they are written in completely different technologies, yet they can still communicate via a bridge.
Read more about React Native and how it differs from ReactJS from our insightful article on ReactJS vs React Native.
Now, we have finally come to our main topic of discussion:
Top 11 Reasons to Use React Native For Mobile App Development
1. Less Expensive than Native Development
Following a native approach necessitates developing two apps from scratch for iOS and Android. However, if you use React Native, you only need to create an application in JavaScript once. Because React Native requires only a single code and provides code reusability for app development. Thus, you don’t need two developer teams and save twice as much money on building and maintenance.
2. Shortens the Time to Market and Speeds Up Development
React Native’s quick development time is one of its most attractive benefits. Developers can utilize the framework’s various ready-made components to hasten the process. And it will cut their development time by roughly 40% compared to creating an identical app for Android and iOS.
3. Rich UI
React Native allows you to develop distinctive, eye-catching UIs using pre-built declarative components like Picker, Button, Slider, Switch, and more. You may also create your own components using TouchableNativeFeedback and TouchableOpacity. There are various iOS and Android-specific components available to make it run efficiently on Android and iOS mobile devices.
4. Managing Big Native Team Vs Small Team
When it comes to native app development, a business needs two teams, one for iOS and one for Android. Having two teams might cause communication breakdowns and impede the development process.
Due to the native iOS and Android teams’ different processes and workflows, it is obvious that the two projects are becoming inconsistent. It may result in problems with the app’s appearance, functions, and capabilities.
React Native, on the other hand, necessitates using a JavaScript developer skilled in writing code for both platforms. If you’re creating an app with many native features, you’ll need a native developer. Still, the team would be smaller and more manageable in most cases.
5. An Open-Source Framework
Since React Native is open-source, developers are allowed to use its frameworks and libraries without paying any cost. It also operates under the MIT license, a software license that grants the developers legal security and only imposes minor restrictions on how the software may be reused.
6. Live and Hot Reloading
React Native’s live reload capability enables you to interact with real-time updates. You can make changes to the code while the app is loading, and the changes will be displayed in the app with an automatic refresh. Another method for accelerating compilation is to reload a particular section of change.
Another key advantage of react-native is hot reloading. Live and hot reloading differ slightly from one another. Live reloading refreshes the entire application, whereas hot reloading merely updates a file that has been altered or modified while preserving the application’s initial state.
7. Vast Community of Developers
Since React Native is an open-source framework, react developers have free access to all pertinent material. Additionally, it enables people to donate anytime they choose freely.
One of the main benefits of using React is that engineers are readily available to assist novices in navigating forum discussions. They can even review the source code or active React projects for beginners and offer helpful criticism. All in all, it offers the development community a truly remarkable and collaborative experience.
8. Provides an Excellent App Performance
The performance of React Native apps is remarkably similar to that of native apps created on the corresponding iOS or Android platforms. Additionally, they are quick due to the programming language’s mobile device optimization.
Instead of the central processing unit (CPU), React Native apps employ the graphics processing unit (GPU). They are, therefore, far quicker than cross-platform hybrid technology. To Know more about React Native app performance, read our comprehensive guide on React Native Performance Optimization.
9. Offers Native Look and Feel
The moniker “React Native” was invented since apps built on this platform work exactly like native apps. Aside from that, developers cannot dispute that the popularity of React Native is due to its keyboard behaviour, scroll accelerations, usability, and animations.
Furthermore, native widgets that improve efficiency are included in React Native’s user interface. When React Native and JavaScript are utilized, even the most complex apps operate without noticeable hitches. As a result, utilizing React Native to build apps is always a smart move because it produces products that are more stable.
10. Faster App Updates
Previously, app upgrades took much longer to publish since developers had to repeat the development process for each app separately. React Native has simplified that procedure. Both apps may be updated simultaneously, and the procedure is considerably simpler and faster.
Developers offer changes and updates for your users using over-the-air (OTA) upgrades, which are deployed even while consumers use the app. After then, when the user opens the app again, the update will be accessible.
It is no longer necessary to update the software manually and get it approved by Apple or Android, which saves a lot of time.
11. Modular Architecture
The modular and user-friendly interface of React Native makes it incredibly simple for other developers to jump into and build on someone else’s project.
This enhances flexibility within a development team and facilitates the production of web application updates and upgrades. Additionally, testers will spend less time decoding programming logic and creating relevant test cases.
Any client and CFO would welcome hearing that there will be huge time savings. This is particularly true when the advantage is transferred from the web to mobile and vice versa.
Now, we will see the popular apps built with React Native
10 Popular Apps Built Using React Native
The 10 apps in the following list either recently switched to React Native or were created with React Native.
- Meta (Facebook, Facebook Ads Manager, Oculus)
- Microsoft ( MS Office, MS Outlook, MS Teams, Skype)
- Shopify
- Wix
- TencentQQ
- App for PlayStation
- Shopping & Groceries at Walmart
- Tesla
- PUMA
Conclusion
React Native is a valuable framework widely popular in the global developer community for expediting development, lowering overall software development costs, and leveraging well-known technologies such as JavaScript.
With its ability to reuse modules and scripts, and other important features like hot reloading, reliability, and a large support community, React Native is the top choice for developing mobile apps.
If you want to build a platform with React Native, you can collaborate with any well-known app development company.
At Windzoon, we have a team of highly skilled developers who specialize in developing industry-specified bespoke mobile apps. Contact us to request a quote.
Dharati Thakkar is professional PHP web developer with more than 8+ years of experience. She is mastered in computer application and started her career as a PHP developer. Dharati Thakkar has expertise in Laravel and many other PHP frameworks and likes to write blogs on this disciplines.