Pros and Cons of Building an App with React Native Elements

React Native is a framework created by Facebook to enable a smooth and easy cross-platform mobile app development.It is built on top of ReactJS and is a one-time write-and-deploy anywhere solution for React JS development companies.

This basically means that remote React Native developersno longer need to create an iOS and Android app separately. All that is required is one codebase to develop beautiful apps for both platforms, without compromising on the UX and UI experience on either.

React Native has rightly been known to bring about a revolution in the cross-platform app development sphere by delivering exceptional mobile experience. It introduced code repository that was shareable between platforms and even provided reusable components. JavaScript developers could easily adapt to React Native and start building on it right away.The framework has reached a stage where businesses, especially start-ups, prefer to hire dedicated React Native developers for their apps to be launched on various operating systems. 

Business Perspective on React Native

The dream of having one framework that will cover all platforms was with the industry for years. In pursuit of that dream, a number of cross-platform frameworks were launched, but none came close to the efficiency expected in mobile cross-platform development.

Today, the biggest companies in the world recognize the React Native’s potential for business even more. Unlike other cross-platform frameworks, the Facebook team stressed upon and acknowledged the differences between various platforms and ensured that React Native reflected that. Therefore, it was possible to include modules specific for iOS and Android like status bars, navigation, or access to native elements like camera and contacts in the app built by React Native app development companies as these apps were inclusive of all the specific features of the platform.

React Native is the very first framework that allows developers to create a mobile app, which will work on various platforms, without compromising on speed, efficiency, and the overall look and feel of the app. It can be used to develop full-blown applications that run and look exactly like native apps without even a single line of platform-specific code. 

React Native, in simple terms, help you develop full-blown applications that run and look exactly like native without even a single line of platform-specific code.

The top 5% of the apps today are based on React Native. While it is highly recognized for all its capabilities, the framework is not completely devoid of all faults. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of React Native.

Pros

1. Better User Experience

React Native uses native components instead of web components for the user interface development along with JSX, which is a syntax that is used to embed XML with JavaScript. The native components are rendered with native APIs directly and independently, hence provide improved performance.

This factor ensures that the apps built with React Native have quicker load times and a smoother feel. This also makes React Native a popular choice as the apps offer flawless performance as well as aesthetic appeal.

2. Single Codebase

React Native enables a JavaScript codebase for both iOS and Android. This not only makes the development process more efficient, but also makes testing and maintenance much easier. 

Popular apps like Facebook, Instagram, Uber, and Skype use React Native. Another advantage is that native code can be embedded in the app if required. React Native even provides platform specific file extensions that can detect the OS supporting the app and use it to define platform-specific implementations.

3. Reduced Development Time

Native apps demand a huge time commitment on the developer’s side as these apps are natively coded. They also have a long compilation time and every change that is made to the code needs to be pushed and tested in two completely different environments. React Native helps reduce the development time as it is possible to share a single code across several platforms. Instead of developing two separate apps, developers now need to develop only one and share the code and make necessary platform-specific changes, thus decreasing the development time.

4. Cost-effective

App development is an expensive affair, and more elaborate the app more will it cost to make it. Business owners have to shell out exorbitant sums of money for native app development, which is mostly because of the huge time associated with the process. Additionally, the maintenance charges of the native apps are very high as well. 

However, with React Native, the major portion of the app code can be shared between the 2 platforms and since there is no need for building separate apps for individual platforms, the cost of development comes down substantially. Also, there exists an open-source library of pre-built components in React Native that also helps in lowering the app development cost.

5. Hot Reloading

Every time a source file is saved, the changes are immediately deployed on the device that runs the app. So, one can immediately see the latest changes made on the code and test the effect of the changes on the code immediately.

Hot reloading in React Native only refreshes those files that have changes without refreshing the app. This avoids annoying interruptions that are really an inconvenience.

While React Native vastly simplifies mobile development, one must remember that it is still a work in progress. There are still some issues that need to be resolved before it can be declared as a flawless system. 

Cons

1. Not Suitable for Very Complex Apps

If the app to be built includes features that are too complex (for instance, too many screen transitions, animations, device sensors, geolocation etc), it is better to go in with native app development approach. This is especially applicable if the app’s smooth performance while using all of these features is a high priority.

2. Not Suitable for Apps that Include Too Many Graphics

If the app to be built relies heavily on high resolution graphics, React Native might not be the ideal choice. This is true for high performance gaming apps as users would not want to play a game that has any amount of lag.

3. Not Suitable for Certain Platforms

If the app needs to have a companion app for Apple watch or Android wears or smart TVs, React Native will not work as it does not support these platforms.

To sum up, React Native incorporates every desirable feature without compromising on the performance or quality of the app to be developed. It can be well optimized for any timeframe, cost, as well as resources available. It might be relatively new, but it is maturing well in the sphere of cross-platform app development and is likely to introduce new capabilities to come out stronger in 2021.

Summary: React Native is excellent when it comes to developing high-performance cross-platform apps within time and budget. It offers various features that are essential and extremely useful in the process. However, it is selectively applicable owing to its various pros and cons.