React Native development is all the hype in developer circles. Everyone is bickering about a React Native mobile app and how it can benefit from development. There’s no doubt that React Native developers are in high demand, and it is one of the best frameworks for cross-platform app development. But is that it? There’s more to React Native than meets the eye. You can’t ignore the pros and cons of React Native while learning about it.
Today, developers with good knowledge of JavaScript and the React library can get started with React Native app development. One of the biggest advantages is that Facebook, the creator of React Native, understands that the user experience for iOS and Android is different.
It entails that you can add components like navigation menu, status bar, and more separately for iOS and Android. Since they interact with the native components, React web applications provide a native look and feel to the users.
React Native Pros and Cons for Mobile App Development
While there are several benefits of React Native, not all is good with it. There are several cons of React Native, which showcase that it is still in its growth stage. A relatively new framework, React Native has a lot to improve and learn. React cons are easily ignored by developers as everyone is busy looking at the benefits that it offers to business.
However, it’s about selecting the right framework that matches your needs and not the one that is used by everyone else. In this article, we’ll look at the pros and cons of React Native web apps so that you can decide whether it’s the right framework for you or not.
Read more: Reasons Why React Native is the Future of Mobile App Development
Pros of React Native
React Native is all the rage – and due to good reasons. The framework was launched in 2013, and since then developers admire it for the advantages it offers.
Here are 3 major pros of using React Native development:-
- Cross-platform development
- One of the biggest benefits of React Native development is the ability to build cross-platform apps. You can eliminate both iOS app development and Android app development and replace it with React Native development. The reason behind this is simple – with React Native, you can reuse the single codebase to develop components for both the operating systems.
- On top of that, you can also share the codebase with other React web applications and reuse the components. Along with that, the third-party integrations also enable you to add features in both the platforms using a single framework. A React Native application will provide consistent user experience across both platforms.
If you just want an iOS application, read this blog to know why React Native is perfect for iOS app development.
- Rapid app development
- Second in the list of pros of React Native is rapid applications development. Because the developers can use a single codebase to build apps for both platforms, they don’t have to spend time writing code separately for each of them.
- With the help of third-party plugins and reusable code, developers can modify components and see a live preview of features. It drastically brings down the development time and enables React Native developers to focus on app optimization for improving the UI.
- Even when building a new application from scratch, developers can get a React starter kit with templates that can help to kickstart development activities and save a lot of time.
- Native performance
- Probably the leading benefit in React pros and cons is that the framework offers applications with Native look, feel, as well as performance. The framework renders the app using native APIs. They interact seamlessly with the native components and integrate the application in a way that makes it perform like a powerful native application.
- JavaScript logic in React Native app development is executed through a separate thread that does block UI rendering. It allows the React Native developers to deliver apps that work exactly like native apps. A side benefit is that you don’t need permissions to update the React Native web applications in the play store. Your updates can bypass the app store, and you can make them without any lengthy delay of approvals.
Cons of React Native
As discussed above, React Native is not a foolproof solution to mobile application development for iOS and Android. It has its disadvantages which, when ignored, can lead to consequences that are hard to recover from.
Here are the 3 primary cons of using React Native development:-
- Fewer third-party integrations
- Even though React Native boasts of plugins and integrations, there are still much fewer integrations available to include in applications. While Android and iOS have separate communities that can provide readymade third-party components, such is not the case with React Native. This is one of the major React cons as you will have to write most of the code from scratch.
- While there are third-party integrations available for React Native apps, they might not behave as expected. On top of that, React Native developers can’t provide frequent updates of the plugins, which can lead to stability issues.
Learn more about how to Integrating ReactJS with Rails Application
- Need for native developers
- With React Native, you don’t completely eliminate the need to hire native developers. Several components and features in your application may require the assistance of native developers.
- While there are open source libraries that can offer easy-access to native features, you may need developers for adding functionalities like push notifications and more.
- The implementation of several native functions calls for developers who are adept in iOS app development or Android app development. You can hire them on an hourly basis or for the entire project to get continuous assistance.
- Newer framework
- You can address this as one of the cons of React Native that it is a relatively newer framework for mobile application development. React Native developers are still testing the water and don’t have much experience as the framework was launched in this decade.
- There are a lot of improvements that need to be done. If there are any device-related app issues, then it becomes complicated to solve them through React Native. With some minor fixes, React Native app development can easily gain momentum.
React Native is the future or mobile app development. Read this blog to know why we think that.
Hire the best React Native Developers for your Mobile Application
As the demand for cross-platform and faster app development increases, React Native web applications will become the trend. A lot of companies like Facebook, Bloomberg, Walmart, Soundcloud, etc. are already using React Native framework in the applications.
If you are depending on React Native for your mobile application requirements, then hiring a leading React Native app development company can make a big difference.
You can contact us today to get FREE CONSULTATION from our React Native developers. Contact us today.