Table of Content
- Introduction
- Pros of react native app development
- Cons of react native app development
- Final words
Cross-platform app development is becoming extremely popular. More and more mobile app development companies are opting for react native to develop their app. It is recognized as one of the preferred choices for building Android and iOS apps. Developers can work on two different OS by using just a single platform. It is basically an open-source framework that allows building native-like apps using JavaScript programming language. React Native app development is definitely popular but it has its own pros and cons. Check them out before you make the choice of picking it for your project.
Pros of React Native App Development
Here are some of the benefits of react native app development you must know about.
1) Speedy Development
One of the best things about react native is that developers can reuse the code and also recycle components. This will help the developers to create apps faster. Developers can also share the codebase with each other and work on similar code. With a single code for multiple platforms, development time is cut short and can be deployed fast.
2) User Experience
If your project is not a very complex one and the design and interactions are simple, React native delivers a great user experience. With react native, you can deliver a high-performance mobile app with a smooth user experience as long as you are not going for the heavy game.
3) Faster Time to Market
Developing mobile apps with react native is faster compared to developing native applications. If you choose to build an MVP, it would be even faster to market the product. You can get on the market to test the first phase of the app into the market. It would also be easier to take the user’s feedback during the testing phase and implement the changes on the go for quicker results.
4) Massive Community Support
React Native platform has a huge developers community. This means whenever a developer is stuck with some issue, there is always someone who has already encountered a similar issue and already has a solution for it. Developers would not have to look for solving the issue, it is already solved by someone.
5) Low Maintenance Cost
With react native app development, there is just a single codebase that works on multiple platforms. This means developers have to maintain just one codebase which reduces the work developers do.
6) Live and Hot Reloading
The platform is best known for its tremendous support for live and hot reloading. Both these features are different from one another. Live reloading is a tool that enables compiling and reading files where developers working on the app can make the changes. It also provides a new file to the stimulator which reads the app automatically from the beginning. The hot reloading feature is based on the HMR. HMR stands for hot module replacement which actually begins after the initial reloading process. However, there is not much difference in both these features but it is only significant when saving all the changes.
Cons of React Native Development
1) Lower Performance than Native
React Native is not the right choice if you want to use the full potential of the platform. When it comes to choosing native as a platform, it can maximize the functionalities and provide the best user experience and amazing performance.
2) Design is Not Efficient
If you wish to integrate complicated design or advanced interactions as an essential part of your app plan then react native is not the ideal choice for your project. There is a limitation when it comes to the react-native platforms in making the design mobile-friendly.
3) Custom Modules
There are several modules that are already available that mobile app developers can use. However, there will still be a need for certain modules that need to be created from scratch by the developers. This can be a con of the react-native platform.
4) Update Issues
It is difficult to keep the app updated with the current React Native version. Updating current versions of this platform is very complicated and one of the biggest cons of this platform.
Also Read: Ionic App Development: Advantages and Disadvantages
5) Difficulty in Learning
Learning this technology can be really difficult to learn that too if you are a fresher. It is because of the JSX in the JavaScript Syntax where HTML is combined with JavaScript. For an average person, it is difficult to grasp and get expertise compared to other mobile application development languages.
6) Memory Management
React Native is not a proper fit for computing-intensive apps and the reason behind this is JavaScript. It is complicated to manage and its use because of the float computations which are dealt with in an inefficient way.
Final Words
We have seen both the benefits and drawbacks of React Native. Now, on one hand, there are time-saving and cost benefits and on another hand, there are performance limitations and also there are issues with integrating complex designs into an app. Now, as a developer, you need to decide whether you want to create an app with this platform.