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Why is React Native the Future of Mobile App Development?

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Manpreet Kour
July 31, 2019
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React Native is the native version of the popular JavaScript library – ReactJS, maintained by the developers at Facebook. Since its launch, it has become an increasingly popular mobile app development framework to write codes for apps all over the world.

The React Native framework is rapidly transforming the mobile app development scenario. It might be a little early but not wrong to think of it as the future of mobile application development.

Some interesting facts about React Native:

  • React Native is built by Facebook and they have made it an MIT license, which means it is open source.
  • It is the 14th most starred project of all time on GitHub. (Source)
  • Popular corporate companies like that of Walmart, UberEats, Bloomberg, Discord, F8, Discovery VR use React Native for their app development.
  • React Native can reduce your app development expense by 40-50%. (Source)
  • ‘React Native’ has search term much more than ‘iOS development’ and ‘Android development’ on Google Trends.

[caption id="attachment_2707" align="alignnone" width="1153"]

An image from Google Trends indicating the search term for React Native (Yellow) as compared to Android (Red) and iOS (Blue) for August 2019.

A Google Trends image indicating the search term for React Native (Yellow) as compared to Android (Red) and iOS (Blue) for July 2019.[/caption]

Following are a list of reasons React Native is being identified as the future of mobile apps:

#1. CROSS-PLATFORM COMPATIBILITY

Not many people know but React Native was initially introduced only for iOS. Thanks to its capabilities and widespread demand, Facebook built it for Android as well.

The good news is that the majority of its APIs are cross-platform. It means that developers can build both Android and iOS apps with a single codebase giving you the convenience to embed native code whenever you want to make an app more platform-specific.

This is extremely effective in slashing down the development costs and saving time otherwise spent on writing two codes.

#2. NATIVE FUNCTIONALITY

Ever wondered why this mobile app framework called React Native not something else? Well, there’s a reason behind it. Every app built with React Native framework works just like the native apps, hence the name ‘React Native’.

It has native widgets in it for User Interface (UI) development to ensure the app functions smoothly. React Native is often used with JavaScript to run complex apps seamlessly making it an ideal choice for developing interactive and robust mobile apps.

#3. EASY TO LEARN

Unlike other complex programming languages and frameworks, React Native is highly readable and easy to learn because it depends on language fundamentals. React Native is known to offer a myriad of components including filters, maps making it easier for beginners to work in it.

React Native is written in JavasScript using React. The fact that JavaScript is one of the most popular and widely used programming languages, learning React Native is easier and viable option for most developers.

#4. PROMPT LIVE UPDATES

You must know that the apps installed on your phones need to be updated to their latest versions regularly. If the process is followed by a long app store update cycle, things get complicated. Now this when React Native enters the picture and helps you avoid it.

It means you can push the updates directly to the users’ phones instead of taking the app store route. Thus, React Native helps developers to provide the updated versions to the users by making the entire process more streamlined.

#5. BACKED BY FACEBOOK

When you’re working with a relatively new framework, it’s natural to be worried if the app will turn out the way you want it to be or not. You can keep all such worries and doubts aside because React Native is backed by Facebook experts. You can always reach out to its community members in case of any problem.

The community is continuously working and improving the React Native framework to achieve futuristic goals and meet technological advancements happening all over the world.

#6. BETTER DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE

React Native provides a great development environment for the developer community. It uses a Flexbox layout engine to generate app layouts for Android and iOS platforms. One layout engine works perfectly fine on the web and both the platforms mentioned above.

It simplifies the work and speeds up the app development process for developers. On top of it, React Native eliminates the re-cycling and organizing part which further simplifies the repetition cycle.

#7. COMPATIBLE WITH THIRD-PARTY PLUG-INS

The React Native framework comes with a long list of third-party libraries that accelerates the mobile app development process. It ensures a smooth experience while also allowing functions such as tap, zoom and rotate, which use less memory and provide quicker load times.

Wrapping up

Faster app development, shorter development circles, easy to learn, instant live updates are some of the many advantages that make React Native a go-to-framework for many developers out there. With its fast-growing community, React Native is all set to become the future of mobile development.

Also, if you’re looking forward to hiring a renowned mobile app development agency for your project, Applify offers you the expert team of React Native developers. Discuss your objectives of getting the app built with us to save yourself a great deal of time as well as money for your business issues.

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