React Native Advantages and Disadvantages from Business and Development View

At ProCoders, clients often come to us looking for a development team to create custom mobile apps for their business. No matter the project’s size, we always ask them the same question:

Should this project be built from scratch using programs like Java/Objective-C, or should it be built on Facebook’s latest cross-platform framework, React Native?

In most cases, we recommend React Native (RN). Why? Because it works, and in many ways, it’s revolutionized the world of mobile app development.

In this article, ProCoders will walk you through pros and cons of using react native from a business and development view and find out when to choose RN and when to reject it. Also, we’ll discuss why it’s one of the most popular cross-platform frameworks in the world and share some tips about how React Native goes with security, scalability, integrating ML, AI, and Blockchain. Let’s start!

What is React Native?

In 2015, Facebook sponsored a hackathon, challenging developers to create a framework that could make mobile application development faster, easier and cheaper. The result was React Native, which became available for developers to begin working on in 2016.

Since then, it has become one of the world’s most popular mobile frameworks, mainly because it eliminates the need to use time-consuming HTML or CSS coding compared to React. Compared to other mobile application development technologies, they do not use HTML tags too. And that’s only the beginning.

So if you’d like to explore using RN for your next project, let’s walk through some of the main React Native pros and cons.

Advantages of React Native from a Business Perspective

Less Code, Less Cost

React Native does not use HTML or CSS as well as other technologies for mobile app development. Instead, messages from the JavaScript thread are used to manipulate native views. To put it plainly, RN uses a combination of its own User Interface Paradigm and JavaScript to interact with your existing native code and native APIs.

And this can cut an enormous amount of time out of the development process—as much as 50 percent, in most cases. Not surprisingly, React Native for app development cost are generally 50 percent cheaper, as well.

Mobile That Connects Through Platforms

One of the key pros of React Native is its flexibility. For most companies, having an application that works on a mobile device is not enough. It has to interface with many different systems and platforms.

Take, for instance, a company like Uber. The application has to seamlessly connect with the consumer, the current database of available drivers, and the company’s payment systems for starters. RN is an app that can genuinely link all your systems, as well as:

• text;
• video;
• activity tracking;
• etc

Want your customers to share that they’ve used your app with all their social media followers? React Native can do that too. The framework was developed by Facebook, after all. So integration with Facebook, Instagram, and many other platforms is seamless and easily achieved from a programming standpoint.

So when you’re weighing the advantages and disadvantages of React Native against other frameworks, this is a key selling point in React Native’s favor.

Vast Community of Developers

The RN framework has an extensive community of contributors who could be your potential helpers, who could answer questions on StackOverflow, for example, or become your hired developers or consultant for the project. If you get stuck at a particular stage in the development of a project, you can easily ask other community members for help. Because React Native is open source, developers can contribute to improving it and share their knowledge with the community.

User Experience Is Much Improved

React Native is a mobile-first platform designed specifically with the user experience in mind. This attention to usability makes a difference. When you build an app in RN, JavaScript interacts asynchronously with its native coding environment.

Due to this, RN-built apps outperform their native-built counterparts in such things as:

• downloading time;
• working speed;
• smoothness & seamless;

And that makes your app seem more sophisticated, clean, and user-friendly—one of the clear pro among pros and cons of React Native.

Requires Small Team

React Native allows you to build apps for both Android and iOS with a single command, which means that the final look and feel won’t vary between platforms. Having a native developer among the team members will be helpful. And it’s no longer necessary to have two different development teams.

Pull from a Larger Pool of Developers

React Native is considerably easier to use than many native-developed options, and most companies prefer it. It makes hiring easier because more developers have experience working with it. It also makes maintenance easier for internal IT teams and allows you to hire developers for your company.

This is true even if you have used a development firm such as ProCoders to create your app. Many companies make additions or internally handle maintenance once they’ve worked with us.

Pros of React Native from a Development Perspective

Iterate Fast. Fix Bugs Fast

The RN framework makes development faster and cheaper, cutting development in half in most cases. And that ease of development means you can take more risks and try more options. With more time and money to work with, you can invest in more testing and iteration.

Ultimately, technologies like this one lead to better, cleaner apps. It also leads to more business opportunities because it lowers the barrier to entry.

Ease of UI Design

The React Native framework makes laying out User Interfaces a breeze. Developers simply use CSS-like language to create each UI view, just as they would if they developed the view in a native app environment. The framework will ensure that the app renders properly on any phone or mobile device.

Modular Design

React Native uses the modular programming approach, in which functions are implemented as separate blocks called modules. This environment improves developers’ collaboration and provides a flexible application development platform.

Support for Hybrid Apps

If a part of your app needs to pop out to the internet or a mail program, the platform can accommodate it. Among the advantages of React Native, this can be especially useful when sending out “forgot password” prompts or emailing customer receipts.

Add New Capabilities With Ease

Third-party plugins are no problem on this framework, because they’ve eliminated the need for specific WebView functions. It’s possible to link the plugin with a native module via RN, resulting in a smoother running, faster loading app that uses less memory.

For instance, if a company wants to add on capabilities such as push notifications, or deep linking to existing code, RN makes it easy. Interestingly, this works both ways. So, if you have an existing native app that needs RN-built add-ons, you can do that.

If you have a RN-built app that needs third party or native-built add-ons, you can do that, too.

Backed by Facebook

React Native is supported directly by Facebook Engineering. For development questions and how-tos, a robust wiki React Native community supportі and helps each other, sharing best practices. With Facebook behind it, you can expect this support to be a key benefit of using RN for many years.

Live Reload Feature

React Native eliminates the long recompiling process of other development platforms by offering a feature called Live Reload. This allows developers to see the results of their coding immediately and make quick changes with the click of a button.

Disadvantages of React Native

The reasons to use RN are certainly compelling. And in fact, it is the option we recommend to most of our clients. However, there are many React Native cons. Even the best framework has its downside:

It’s Easy to Make Mistakes

One of React Native’s drawbacks is that while it’s easy to code the right thing, it’s also easy to code the wrong thing. Sometimes, little mistakes can have a big impact on your app’s functioning.

Programs that are easy to use are easy to fix. And with more qualified developers in this framework, you’re more likely to get any fixes completed quickly.

Android Iterations Can Be Buggy

While React Native does not require separate development for iOS and Android, it’s not flawless. Once the iterations are split out, the Android and iOS versions can often run differently than its counterpart.

These issues are easily surmounted, but you may want to build the appropriate testing time into your development schedule to ensure your app is ready for its Android launch. This is an important consideration when weighing the pros of using React Native and React Native disadvantages.

Some Tasks Cannot be Solved With RN

Sometimes, some tasks cannot be solved with the help of RN, and then you need to write native code (in a native language for each platform) separately for IOS and Android. One drawback emerging from it is that not everyone who works with a RN knows native languages for IOS and Android development.

React Native Features and Updates

In 2023, React Native has continued to evolve, benefiting developers and businesses alike. The recent release of React Native 0.69 brought significant enhancements, including React 18 support, bundled Hermes, and new hooks such as useTransition and full Suspense support. These updates have improved the framework’s performance and capabilities.

However, React Native’s reliance on JavaScript can present security challenges, as it may be easier for hackers to find vulnerabilities. Fortunately, the React Native community actively addresses these issues, providing timely fixes for any discovered vulnerabilities.

Notably, React Native has integrated with Blockchain technology, offering two approaches: the React Native SDK and the Blockchain SDK. The React Native SDK is ideal for building native mobile apps with Blockchain capabilities, particularly for simpler projects. The Blockchain SDK, on the other hand, is suitable for developers with blockchain experience, offering more control over the codebase and integration with existing Blockchain libraries.

At ProCoders, our React Native developers stay up-to-date with the latest updates and trends, ensuring we can support your needs, whether you’re developing a simple app or an advanced Blockchain solution. We’re here to help bring your project to life, leveraging the full potential of React Native.

When to Choose React Native and When to Reject?

Benefits and Limitations of React Native:

• Custom Application Development: React Native is ideal for creating custom applications for both iOS and Android, accelerating development time and reducing costs, which is especially beneficial when speed to market is crucial.
• Graphical Interface: React Native excels in applications requiring graphical interfaces, such as purchasing apps. It enables quick data downloading, user display, and seamless server communication, allowing a significant amount of common code, thus speeding up development and lowering costs.
• Code Reusability: If your business has an existing web application and plans to develop a mobile app with similar functionality, React Native allows for easy code reuse due to its common language, enhancing both web and mobile development efforts.
• Complex Animations and Native Integrations: While React Native can handle projects requiring complex animations or robust native integrations, such as Bluetooth modules or geolocation, these tasks may require more effort compared to using native tools like Swift or Objective-C.

Besides, if you need to develop a preliminary application prototype quickly, you can use React Native + Expo, but only for prototype development. For example, to show it to an investor.

When to Avoid Developing in React Native:

• Complex Gestures: If your app requires complex gestures, React Native might not be the best choice. While it does offer a framework for handling gestures, integrating complex ones can be challenging due to the different unified APIs of Android and iOS.
• Single Platform Use: If your mobile app is intended for use on a single OS platform, React Native is less suitable. Native apps offer better performance, design, and user interface optimization for a specific platform, making them a preferable choice when you’re certain about targeting only one OS.
• 3D Graphics: React Native has limitations in working with 3D graphics because it uses JavaScript for rendering components. This limits access to native device GPU capabilities, OpenGL ES 2.0, hardware-accelerated rendering, and custom WebGL shaders, which are essential for advanced 3D graphics.
• Core Mobile Functionalities: For developing utilities like media players, battery monitors, and antiviruses, native app development is more appropriate. These types of apps require direct access to core mobile functionalities and sensors provided by the Android or iOS operating systems, which can be better handled with native technologies.

Our Experience with React Native

There are many React Native advantages and disadvantages. But when React Native is suitable for a project, we find it to be one of the best and most responsive frameworks on the market.

And when an app is developed well, it can be more than just a nice marketing embellishment for your company. It can be a key part of your product. An excellent example of this is a recent React Native product we developed for Roth River.

This American company is based on the ingenious idea that whiskey distilling can be enhanced with data. So Roth River developed a set of sensors that could measure the aging process occurring in each barrel, telling distillers when their barrels have reached the point of peak flavor and maturity.

Using React Native, ProCoders developed the mobile app that synthesized that data and made it available where distillers needed it—on the go. With the React Native framework, we could develop a supple, quick-running app with all the data security protocols needed for each of RothRiver’s clients.

The app quickly took over about 40% of the company’s workflows, and the innovative interface increased its sales by about 20%.

The global COVID pandemic has also created an increased need for information traditionally only available through web interfaces to be available to remote workers through their mobile devices.

ProCoders recently developed a mobile app in React Native that serves this very purpose for a client involved in the fishing business in the United Kingdom. This company usually makes trades and deals through its web interface. And this is a key part of their business in an industry where the ability to procure and price your product is susceptible to the laws of supply and demand. Access counts. Minutes count.

So using the React Native framework, we created a mobile app that allows the secure client access to make trades and access their web interface through a mobile app.

With their workforce working remotely, the mobile app has been key to staying updated with critical competitive information. React Native also allows push notifications and texts to be sent to alert users to key changes in market conditions. This feature can also be useful if you want to create a transportation app, create a delivery app, or build a music streaming app.

The app can be personalized for each user, making it a vital tool for doing their job. Our client has enthusiastically embraced the new technology. In just one month, 35% of all the traffic going to their trade interface came through the mobile app. 

Cross-platform mobile applications have become very popular and have found applications around the globe in different industries because of their rapid implementation and high-grade functionality. You can consider cross-platform applications even when thinking about ‘How to create a fitness app?’.

Conclusion

As enthusiastic as we are about React Native, there are certain cases where native app development may be more suitable. Consider native development if you need platform-specific features like FaceID, high UI image quality, complex animations, specialized security protocols, or top performance during high traffic.