The Top 10 Benefits of Using React Native for Mobile App Development

React Native is undoubtedly the best cross-platform mobile app development framework. 

If you seek to efficiently build a highly functional mobile app, React Native has everything you need and more. 

What is React Native?

Facebook developed and launched React Native in 2015 for iOS only and then extended it to Android, allowing the creation of cross-platform apps that are very similar in appearance within both systems.

It is built on a JavaScript library which makes it super simple to use. Since it is a cross-platform developer, companies can create code that will run for both iOS and Android apps. It contains a wide range of free pre-made solutions for developers to work with. 

The React Native framework is used by top-of-the-line and Fortune 500 companies such as Facebook, Instagram, Tesla, Uber Eats, Pinterest, Discord, and many others. 

Why do we choose this React Native for mobile app development? Here are the reasons:

The top 10 advantages of using React Native for your company

1. Great Performance

The programming language used by React Native is optimized for mobile devices. Because of this, apps will run as if they were native apps explicitly created for either Android or iOS. 

Native platforms use CPU (Central Processing Unit), while React Native apps take advantage of the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), making them faster than hybrid apps.  

2. Cost-effectiveness

When bringing a native app live to the Android and iOS platforms, we are talking about costs of several thousand dollars. Since more than 90% of apps are cross-platform, developers only need to build one app instead of two separate ones. 

This represents more than half of saving money that would have been spent in developing separate apps. React Native allows companies to have apps for both operating systems at the same time. 

The advantages of this are:

• Budget will no longer get in the way of launching the app in both operating systems at the same time.
• Maintenance and updates can be done on both at the same time with no extra cost. 

Although most of the code can be reused for Android and iOS, it is still a good idea to invest some time in some practical modifications. 

3. It is an open-source framework

React Native actually goes back to 2013 when the development community was looking to combine the advantages of mobile app development with the React environment. As a result, Facebook created the React Native framework. 

This framework is open-source supported and continuously updated by enthusiastic JS and native developers willing to share their knowledge and expertise for free along with vast catalogs of components, also for free. 

4. Short development time

All these free components reduce development time by 40% compared to the efforts that creating an app for Android and iOS from scratch would take. This accelerated development is one of our favorite features of React Native. 

5. It uses Javascript

As of early 2020, Javascript is the most used programming language among developers worldwide, according to Statista.  Numbers reveal that 67.7% of respondents said that they used JavaScript. Since React Native is written in this language, developers will usually not think twice when choosing it. 

6. Stability and Reliability

Whenever a developer wants to make updates, they need to change their state first. This makes it possible for only permitted components to get updated. 

Also, the way React Native simplifies the data-binding process so that a child component does not affect the parent data makes apps stable and dependable.  

7. Code Reusability and Pre-Developed Components

This is one of the most significant advantages for developers as it cuts back the costs of developing a separate app for each platform. Even more pleasing is that if your web application codes are written in React, you can easily reuse them to create the mobile app. 

Not only can you reuse codes and save tons of time but, thanks to the open-source library, you get pre-developed components. These are codes that are free to use and that are written in advance. You just need to adjust them to your app needs. 

8. Live Reload and Hot Reload 

Live Reload and Hot Reload might seem like the same thing, but they are actually not. 

Live Reloading is a feature that compiles and reads the file at the spot where the developer has made any changes. It essentially refreshes the entire app when such changes take place. 

On the other hand, Hot Reload, based on Hot Module Replacement, instantly refreshes only the changed file without refreshing the entire app. This is because the HMR inter-mediator will place the file updated in a specific place while the app is running.  

The advantage here is that you can instantly see the changes in the app screen as you make changes in the code. Talk about significantly reducing the time waiting for modifications to get implemented!

9. Allows Support for Third-Party Plugins

Most frameworks will not allow third-party plugins due to security issues. But React Native allows developers to connect plugins with a native or third-party module. This makes the platform more flexible with customization. 

10. Modular Architecture

Modular architecture allows developers to place all the functions of a single module into different independent modules. This makes the process more coordinated and flexible when it comes to updating. 

Thanks to React Native supporting this module-based architecture, developers can easily upgrade their apps quicker. These independent modules can be reused for both web and mobile APIs.

Conclusion

React Native is highly versatile and the best option for mobile app development. Its helpful features such as hot reloading, the ability to reuse codes and modules, and stability make it the best mobile app development framework. 

Are you interested in developing a highly efficient mobile app that is stable and cost-effective? Get in touch with us, and we will chop your costs by half with React Native.