Why Use React Native Instead of Native iOS/Android for Developing Mobile Apps in 2024?

A mobile app is a handy solution to an existing problem. While providing an effective solution is the key to success, a friendly interface and speed performance also play pivotal roles. Whatever your app idea, you must have these two features to be successful in the race for mobile apps. Additionally, the overall reach to the users also plays a pivotal role in marketing your mobile app.

In short, you need to build mobile apps that run on iOS & Android, offer excellent speed performance, and are easy to use. React Native, the cross-platform which provides all of it has become the go-to framework for mobile app development. You may not notice, but several apps on your smartphone have been developed using it.

For example, this advanced cross-platform framework develops Facebook, Instagram, and Facebook Ads. But why React Native? Also, when to use React Native? Does it work for all kinds of projects?

Read further to find answers to these questions.

What is React Native?

React Native is a cross-platform, open-source UI framework developed by Meta. It uses JavaScript as its core programming language and helps to build mobile apps that offer native performance over iOS and Android. The framework leverages the JavaScript library React, which Facebook also developed.

A React Native developer can build apps for Android, Android TV, iOS, macOS, tvOS, Web, Windows, and UWP. Developing mobile apps saves significant time by using the same code base for multiple operating systems. It also makes the project cost-effective. Many companies hire React Native app developers as they can launch apps over both iOS and Android platforms.

Why Use React Native?

React Native offers various advantages to mobile app development projects, including faster time-to-market the apps, lower cost, easy maintenance, and more. The following are the significant benefits of using React Native for mobile apps:

• Saves Time and Money 
• Rapid Performance 
• Increased Flexibility
• Native Feel and Look 
• Code Reusability
• Strong Community Support

React Native is a time-tested framework and has even replaced the trend of developing platform-specific apps.

Why Use React Native Instead of Android or iOS Development?

Originally businesses used to go with native mobile app development as it comes with access to device in-built capabilities and optimized speed performance. However, native app development comes with its fair share of cons. The most notable are high development costs and more investment in marketing different products. React Native app development resolves all these issues and provides native app features.

1. Development Time & Cost

You must invest time and money in multiple mobile app development teams when you go with platform-specific apps. For example, WhatsApp is a native mobile app developed separately for Android, iOS, and Windows. This requires a greater investment of time and effort from your side. You will need a different team of specialists to create Android and iOS apps. 

With React Native, developers can create a single code base that will run over multiple app platforms. Additionally, the JavaScript framework comes with hot and live reloading that eases faster development cycles. Hot reloading allows developers to see the impact of code modification in real-time, saving much coding time. 

2. Straightforward Programming Language

With the native development approach, you need expertise in various languages and tools. For example, Kotlin is the official language for Android development, and Swift is the option to develop apps for iOS. It’s hard to master multiple programming languages and tools. Developers available in platform niche tools also charge higher owing to their scarcity.

In contrast, React development involves using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript programming languages. JavaScript is also the most used programming language as of 2022, with a popularity of 69% among global developers. There’s an abundance of JavaScript specialists, and you can hire React Native developers in California at competitive rates.

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3. Maintenance & Feature Updates

Native apps require a business to develop updates that follow platform guidelines. You must also update different apps separately, doubling the maintenance cost.  

In contrast, cross-platform apps only require updates, bug fixes, performance improvements, and more in a single codebase. Upgrading the same codebase helps you enhance the user experience for multiple mobile platforms. React Native lets you maximize performance with little effort in maintenance.

4. Community Support and Flexibility

React Native framework and its corresponding library React are both under Meta. Moreover, both are open-source technology tools. There’s a growing demand for this mobile app development framework, and developers across the world have adopted it.

As per a survey report by Statista, it is among the most used cross-platform frameworks worldwide. At JS Panther, we have been providing React Native development services in the US for over five years.

5. User Interface and Leveraging Device In-built Capabilities

Designing user interfaces in native apps is more rewarding than in cross-platform apps. Platform-specific designs always have a more immersive UX and help businesses achieve high brand values. Also, you can integrate all in-built device capabilities to achieve natural engagement with the app users.

React Native is not far behind in building a responsive user interface. The framework provides you with native components via APIs and modules that help to leverage device capabilities like cameras, GPS, image galleries, motion sensors, and more for building cross-platform apps.

When to Use React Native?

React Native framework works for developing apps for various business industries, especially startups and mid-scale businesses. Also, many large-scale enterprises use React Native apps for their mobile presence. 

Choose React Native for the following cases:

• You want to reach a larger number of app users.
• Looking for easy app management
• The development budget is limited
• You want to use trending technologies like AR, IoT, and others

Apps Developed Using React Native

• Instagram
• Walmart
• Tesla
• Airbnb
• Wix
• UberEats
• Bloomberg

Wrapping Up

React Native is an excellent choice for building successful mobile apps. The framework has everything from saving development time and effort to providing rich user interfaces. However, it’s also essential to hire the best React Native developers to make the most of your project. The best team helps you with high-quality apps for optimum business growth.