Guide to Cross-Platform Development Using React Native

Let's start with the basics. What is a cross-platform development? It's a development that doesn't require native code knowledge and allows developers to create two applications simultaneously. "Wow! Cool!" - any entrepreneur will say, realizing they can save a lot. But is it really that simple? Let's figure it out.

About 7 years ago, our tech lead saw tremendous potential in the newly emerged React Native (RN). Therefore, with his guidance, we started building cross-platform applications on it before it became mainstream.

Since then, the framework has proven itself to be one of the most promising development tools. It was created by Facebook (Meta) for writing native mobile applications for iOS and Android using JavaScript.

To not just talk about its popularity, let's boast some names: Facebook, Instagram, Bloomberg, Airbnb, Tesla, SoundCloud Pulse, UberEATS, and Shopify are all written in React Native. So, what are its strong points?

RN allows you to create applications for both iOS and Android using the same codebase. This significantly reduces development time and costs since there's no need to develop the application and new features separately for each platform.

Development in RN enables us to utilize "hot reloading." This feature allows developers to see changes in the code in real time without stopping the application. Thus, you won't lose the application's state, which is particularly useful when editing the user interface. It accelerates the development process and makes it more iterative.

RN has an active community of developers worldwide, resulting in a wealth of libraries, tools, and resources that can assist developers in creating their applications and solving complex tasks. Additionally, Meta allows and encourages contributions and support for native technologies within React Native itself.

For example, in one of our applications, we needed functionality to add a loyalty card to Apple Wallet and found that libraries with all the necessary features we required were not available. In another application, we had phone number registration functionality with a large number of supported countries, and we wanted to immediately provide the correct mask for the user based on their region (without querying their geolocation!).

So, we created and released our libraries for the public use.

Library №1 allows obtaining device location settings without using a GPS tracker or through telephony (SIM card) (only for Android).

Library №2 provides certain Apple Wallet functionalities, such as adding passes, removing passes, and checking the existence of cards and tickets.

React Native is built on the React framework, which is a simple and popular technology. This means that developers experienced with React will find it easy to start working with RN. React Native allows developers to use a set of UI components for quick compilation and deployment of applications for iOS and Android.

We are not inclined towards idealization, and over the years of our work, we have identified and accepted the drawbacks of the chosen framework. Let's discuss them.

RN does not support all the features available on iOS and Android platforms. This means that developers may need to write native code to implement some functionalities.

RN applications may not be as performant as native applications. This is because RN applications use a bridge to access native APIs. Native applications have an advantage in resource optimization and memory management.

Dependency on third-party libraries in React Native can lead to issues with updates and compatibility, as these libraries may not be adequately supported by their creators. Additionally, developers may encounter challenges with integrating and maintaining the code, requiring additional efforts to ensure the stability of the application.

React Native is ideal for the following scenarios:

If you are constrained by deadlines in creating a working prototype of an application for demonstration to investors and potential users, React Native offers a quick start and the ability to easily make changes.

React Native is well-suited for applications with standard interface elements and user interactions. It's suitable for those which don't require deep integration with platform-specific features or complex animations and graphics at the native code level.

If your application requires regular updates to content or functionality, React Native simplifies and speeds up this process thanks to Over-the-air updates.

For startups and projects where it's important to quickly enter the market with minimal costs, React Native allows simultaneous development of applications for major platforms without the need to hire separate development teams for each platform.

It's absolutely logical to choose React Native in such cases because you can reuse code and resources between platforms, thanks to the common programming language (JavaScript) and similar development patterns. This helps reduce costs and development time, as well as ensures consistency and uniformity in the user experience across all platforms.

You may get the impression that RN is only suitable for "simple projects." However, it isn’t. It provides powerful capabilities for creating complex animations and using native platform elements, making it a suitable tool even for applications with high graphic and interface requirements.

For developing complex games or applications with intensive graphics that require maximum hardware performance, specialized game engines such as Unity or Unreal Engine would be more suitable.

If an application requires deep integration with the operating system or the use of platform-specific capabilities, it's better to use a native approach. This is because implementing this with React Native would be difficult or inefficient.

In situations where every millisecond of response time is critically important or complex real-time data processing is utilized, native development provides more control and opportunities for optimization.

Why have we been writing in React Native for so many years, despite being tempted by other frameworks?

Meta continues to actively invest in its development. Thanks to the large community of developers, the framework is constantly updated and improved: bugs are fixed, new features are added, and performance is enhanced.

This is achieved through various initiatives, such as architectural refactoring (for example, the Fabric project). It aims to improve the responsiveness and performance of applications, as well as to deepen integration with native platforms.

With the growing popularity of React Native, the ecosystem around the framework is also expanding. New tools, libraries, and plugins emerge, simplifying the development and testing of applications and expanding developers' capabilities.

The trend towards creating cross-platform applications capable of running on both mobile devices and the web continues to gain momentum. React Native, with its code reuse capabilities and integration with React for web development, remains at the forefront of this trend. Additionally, RN developers are working on the ability to support desktop applications.

We've shared why we chose React Native once and continue to remain loyal to it. We've explained the benefits of cross-platform development in general (at this point, it's not so important which framework you use). We haven't hidden various drawbacks and disadvantages from you. And if you need more examples, check out our case studies and compare them with the project you plan to create. If you have any questions, feel free to ask us on social media or through the feedback form. See you later!