This article was originally published at: https://www.blog.duomly.com/what-is-react-native/

In this article, I'll tell you about React Native. We'll discuss what it is and React's Native pros and cons, but not only!

I'll tell you about the skills needed to work with this fantastic mobile development technology and the cost of development with it.

1. What is React Native?

React Native is a JavaScript framework for building native mobile applications. Using React Native, developers can build mobile apps that look and feel like native iOS or Android apps while sharing most of their code across different platforms. 

Even though react-native-related tools are written in JavaScript, react-native application code can be shared between iOS and Android projects.
And that without any significant adjustments, React Native's primary focus is the UI. 

Suppose you're already familiar with HTML development using React. In that case, you will find it easy to learn react-native since both technologies share the same concepts. Overall there are some pros and cons of using react Native over other cross-platform frameworks (e.g., Xamarin). Some people think that React Native should not be used for building production apps. It's not true. React Native has many advantages and can be used for production-level applications.

2. Who uses react native?

The companies using React Native include Facebook, Airbnb, Tesla, UberEATS. 

React Native is used by hundreds of companies from small to large scale and has had millions of app installations worldwide since React Native's first release in March 2015.

3. How does React Native work?

React Native works similarly to other cross-platform tools such as Xamarin or Phonegap. 

The process generally involves developing mobile apps with JavaScript and rendering UI components on a mobile device using the React framework, initially developed at Facebook for web and desktop applications. React Native uses react to render UI components and react-native-CSS to animate the components using CSS modules. 

4. What are the benefits of React Native?

There are many benefits to using React Native. 

• It enables developers to build high-quality mobile apps with JavaScript, sharing most of their code across platforms. 
• React Native has large community support, growing rapidly over time with many contributors on GitHub. They have written tons of react-native libraries. 
• It's also one of the safest cross-platform frameworks as there is almost no risk for your app to be hacked. 
• React Native does not use HTML tags to render the UI elements. 
• React Native is known for its faster development cycle than other cross-platform tools, which require the installation of extra software that adds unnecessary complexity to the development process. 
• React Native's user interface components are rendered using their respective platforms' UI widgets. For example, React Native uses Android's View component while React uses HTML components like div and p). 
• React Native also works well with existing codebases. That gives companies the ability to incrementally start implementing react-native within an existing app without rewriting or refactoring all the application code at once.

5. What are some disadvantages of React Native?

Some cons of react-native include:

• Lack of support for third party plugins (though there are workarounds)
• React Native's code can get bloated when using a lot of third-party libraries which require react-native
• React Native is still less mature than other cross-platform tools. 

There are also some issues with react native performance on older devices.

6. What skills are needed to use React Native?

React Native uses JavaScript, so knowledge of JavaScript or at least basic JavaScript concepts would be helpful in learning react native. 

HTML and CSS skills will also help learn react-native since they share the same fundamental concepts (e.g., flexbox, floats, etc.). 

If you want to develop React Native apps like UberEATS, make sure you have some experience with Android development. Otherwise, it might be challenging to understand React Native's language-specific concepts.

7. Who is the target audience of react-native?

Companies who don't want to spend extra money on hiring separate iOS or Android developers and business/startups looking to build mobile apps with react-native quickly and cheaply. React Native lets you reuse most of your code written for web and desktop applications. That saves time and money compared to other cross-platform tools, which require rewriting or refactoring existing code to adapt it for mobile devices. 

React Native also enables faster development. There is no need to learn Java or Objective-C programming languages required in developing iOS apps. Despite all these benefits, react-native still doesn't have good support from Google, unlike Xamarin, another cross-platform tool developed by Microsoft. 

React-native's lack of support from Google could be a disadvantage for many developers looking to develop React Native apps that communicate with other Google applications like Gmail or Calendar. 

React Native UI components are not as customizable as Xamarin's, which means react-native might not work well with existing third-party libraries unless they are specifically rewritten to suit React Native's needs.

8. What is the difference between React Native and Ionic?

Ionic is another cross-platform tool developed by Max Lynch and Ben Sperry, based on the Angular JS framework. 

While react-native leverages JavaScript language. Only react-native supports iOS and Android devices using React Framework (initially developed at Facebook for web and desktop applications) to render user interface components. 

Whereas ionic supports only Android and iOS react-native lets you reuse most of your existing code written for web and desktop applications.

While ionic uses Angular 2+ or any other TypeScript, React Native uses their respective platforms' UI components. For example, react-native uses Android's View component. React Native also works well with existing codebases. That gives companies the ability to incrementally start implementing react-native within an existing app without rewriting or refactoring all the application code. 

9. Who should use React Native?

Companies who want to build react native apps quickly and cheaply.

React-native lets you save time and development costs as you can reuse most of your existing code written for web and desktop applications.

React Native is suitable for companies/startups developing mobile apps with fast turnaround times.

React Native also enables faster development. There's no need to learn Java or Objective-c programming languages required in developing iOS apps. 

React Native allows you to keep pace with the speed at which Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc., are pushing out updates adding new features. 

10. What can be built with React Native - App Examples

React Native has quickly become a popular choice for mobile app development. It's due to its ability to create performant apps with a high degree of similarity to their native counterparts. 

Some notable react native apps include:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Airbnb
• UberEATS

These apps were created with React Native and offer a similar user experience to their respective Android and iOS counterparts. React Native is also being used more and more in enterprise settings. 

11. Is React Native development expensive?

Clients can expect to pay the same prices for react native apps for Android or iOS apps.

The price of react native development depends on which features your react native app requires. In addition to how many platforms you want it to be available on (iOS and Android). 

Generally speaking, though react native is comparable with other types of app development when it comes to pricing - around $20k-$300k in most cases.

React Native enables developers to create mobile apps that look and feel native on iOS and Android devices, saving time and money during development. By writing code once for both platforms, developers don't have to write code twice for different operating systems. 

Additionally, React Native apps are built using JavaScript, meaning they can share most of their code across platforms. This makes development faster and easier, as developers don't have to write code twice for different platforms. As a result, businesses can save money on react native app development costs.

12. Is it difficult to find React Native developers?

Due to its increased popularity, react native apps are becoming more accessible and easier to find. There's also a growing number of courses available online for react native development, making it even easier to become react native mobile app developers.

There is no shortage of react-native developers - in fact, the demand outstrips supply right now, and react native developers can charge more than average. 

If you're interested in getting your React Native mobile app built but need help finding a developer, feel free to contact one of our team members who will be able to point you in the right direction.

13. React Native vs. Flutter: What's the difference?

React Native and Flutter are open-source, cross-platform mobile development frameworks for building user interfaces. Both react-native and Flutter provide fast development - both are also supported by a large community of third-party libraries and frameworks. 

If you're interested in more details, we've created Flutter vs React Native Comparison

14. React Native vs Native Apps

React Native enables you to build native mobile apps with JavaScript. While react native is similar to an Ionic or Cordova hybrid app in terms of performance, it's also much more stable thanks to its use of the same JavaScript runtime as its web counterpart.

React Native also uses JSON to store data offline, which is more secure than HTML5 local storage.

Native app development uses Objective-C or Swift for iOS or Java for Android. These languages are used to create apps specific to one platform instead of React Native, a cross-platform development framework. 

Native apps are generally seen as more reliable and perform better than hybrid apps. They're also more expensive to develop. They require specialist skills and knowledge to create an app-specific to one platform. However, businesses that opt for a native app can be sure that their app will take advantage of all the features and functions of the respective operating system.

React Native offers some of the benefits of native app development, such as faster development times and lower costs, without sacrificing too much performance or functionality. Additionally, react native apps can be ported to other platforms relatively quickly, making them a more cost-effective option in the long run.

15. Would you recommend react-native for us? Why or why not? 

In conclusion, react-native has helped developers build React Native apps quickly and cheaply compared to other cross-platform tools requiring separate hiring iOS or Android developers. 

React Native also lets you reuse most of your code written for web and desktop applications, making react native development faster and cheaper than ionic. 

Thank you for reading this article about What React Native is - a Guide for business owners. Hopefully, it helped you understand what React Native is! 

If you are interested in learning more about React Native Development or need help with a project, please contact us! We would be happy to help!

www.labs.duomly.com

Thank you for reading,
Radek from Duomly