React Native is the next big thing for cross-platform app development. Developers find the native framework easy to learn and implement as it uses a high-level programming language–JavaScript and integrates unique UI components that give the applications a native-like infrastructure. In addition to that, React Native development services enables serious advantages over well-known hybrid tools such as Ionic, Phone Gap or Cordova, etc.
But is the particular technology suitable for building any kind of application? Although React Native is famed for its performance and capabilities and holds a wider scope in the mobile app development sector, it does possess certain disadvantages.
In this blog, we will discuss when to choose React Native and when to avoid it. So without any further ado, let’s get started!
What is React Native?
React Native is an open-source platform, operated and maintained by Facebook with the support of a larger developers community. The framework makes use of JavaScript libraries to develop applications that run on both iOS and Android devices.
It is the UI building blocks that make React Native fit for apps that have a less sophisticated server to carry out the computation process. Apart from it, the development cost and speed of React Native applications are affordable and fast as it uses a single code-base for both platforms.
What are the benefits of choosing React Native?
All-in-all building a cross-platform application directly tunes into a bracket of benefits.
- React Native uses a single codebase therefore it saves time and money for both developers and project owners.
- Being an open-source platform, developers, if stuck at any development stage, can take help from the other developers and the community seamlessly.
- Hot Reload of React Native enables developers to immediately update and visualize what they have developed, making mobile app development a lot more productive and accessible.
- React Native framework is still advancing, therefore it might lack a few components in its core elements. However, to bridge the gap, React Native supports two types of plugins: native modules & JavaScript modules that give a competitive edge to other frameworks.
- Simplified UI elements are praised by React Native app developers as it offers a responsive & smoother interface while reducing the loading time of app development.
When to choose React Native?
React Native has been around for more than half a century now, and many big brands have already commended it for all its benefits. Companies like Tesla, Walmart, and Uber Eats are a few popular names that have implemented React Native technology in their app development. Whereas, Facebook, Instagram, and Zynga have integrated a few extensive React Native features into their existing apps.
This simply indicates that React Native, despite a few drawbacks, is indeed a good option not just for simple apps, but also for apps that require advanced features.
React Native developers believe that the framework is best suited for small/medium apps where heavy computations are moved to the server side at both platforms. Moreover, applications build on React Native are likely to perform similarly to native apps.
If your company’s technical team already has React experience, it may be a smart idea to adopt React Native for application development because the learning curve will be relatively low and you will see the results of your project much sooner. Our best bet before making the decision would be to get in touch with an app development company to make a decision that you don’t regret later.
What to consider if you decide to develop in React Native?
If you intend to develop an app using React Native and maintain it over time, you should expect more frequent changes than with native technologies (you need to update your app both when the platform has been updated and when new components have been added to RN).
This is not a drawback because React Native is routinely updated and new helpful components are generated (a new version is apparently released monthly)! However, you must remember to make more frequent changes to your app.
Previously, developers battled with the updating procedure, but from version 0.59, you may upgrade without worry. Share your plans with your mobile app developers as well to reduce potential dangers (a mismatch between the technology and the development plans).
When to avoid using React Native?
Apart from its cross-platform development, the use of third-party libraries, faster app development, reduced complexity, etc, React Native unlike any other framework comes with certain limitations. There are a few bugs with React Native that have turned off even the most experienced developers.
The significant limitations of React Native were brought to light when Airbnb notably abandoned the technology in order to focus its efforts on creating the Native app.
Let’s look at some of the situations where React Native is not your go-to option.
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Insufficient maturity
React Native development is a newcomer to the block. Even though one of the quickest, it is not as developed as Android or iOS. Consider Airbnb, who discovered that using React Native 0.43 instead of the 16 alpha versions they utilized earlier in 2017 is practically impossible.
There have also been cases where app developers have been unable to build code using only React Native. They had to resort to using native code to write the bits that React Native could not support.
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JavaScript tools
JavaScript is a very powerful and versatile programming language, but it is also poorly typed. Many mobile app developers consider that this might imply a lack of the type of security they want, making the adoption of React Native unscalable.
As a result, developers must investigate alternative integration methodologies such as Flow and TypeScript for the current infrastructure.
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Complicated UI
When creating an app that requires many animations, intricate motions, screen transitions, and interactions, React Native is not the way to go. Because the iOS and Android touch subsystems are particularly troublesome in terms of depending on a single API, developers will confront far too many challenges.
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Initializing timing
Even on the most powerful devices, React requires a few seconds to initialize the runtime before it begins rendering. This is the reason why the JavaScript thread requires time to initialize. It is also one of the most significant challenges that mobile app developers encounter when relying on React Native.
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Open-source libraries
Knowing a number of other platforms in depth is a challenging challenge for any mobile application developer working with React Native since it requires a significant amount of effort and time. In this scenario, the libraries have native bridges for maps and films. To run properly, the developer must have a complete understanding of all three platforms.
If React Native app developers only understand one platform, they will usually be unable to resolve any anomalies that may arise on iOS and Android.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that it is not a one-size-fits-all platform, React Native is a fantastic and promising technology. The most important aspect of it is that it is still under development, and we have yet to realize its full potential. The community and team behind it are working feverishly to fix errors and introduce upgrades.
Furthermore, there are a variety of React Native courses that cover it in depth. With such a strong dedication to upgrading the platform, it’s entirely possible that the concerns listed above may be obsolete before you know it!
Want to know whether or not React Native is a perfect fit for your app development? A great deal would be to consult a React Native app development company to specifically save yourself from dwelling on the wrong approaches while saving time and money.
