Which is the most appropriate method for developing an app? How should we proceed? Should we develop natively or cross-platform? This article aims to help you figure out whether React Native should be incorporated into your next project based on its five advantages.

Do native apps win over cross-platform apps? Do not forget the users!

What’s the point of putting yourself through the hassle of developing an Android app if your target audience consists almost exclusively of iPhone users? Getting Native iOS developers to build an iOS app would seem like a no-brainer if you already have them. Is there a solution for Android users? If you need it done for you, you can always hire an external team of developers. Perhaps it’s time to consider cross-platform app development if your mobile application doesn’t have any special features that you can only achieve through a native approach.

React Native’s rise: The Rule of One

With React Native, you can develop an app that runs on both Android and iOS. Thus, you can run your apps on both platforms with a single code base. Mobile app development using a cross-platform approach saves time and money over a native approach.

Developing cross-platform with React Native 

  • The latest app updates are fast

App store approval is not required. Rather, you will host the bundle on a server and update it over the air.

  • User experience can be built more easily

In addition to taking much less time, A/B testing allows you to find out what approach your clients like most more quickly. In turn, you can find your product-market fit much faster.

  • Reusable code

Thus, you do not have to redo all your code, as you can reuse parts of it from other places, like a React web app. Additionally, React’s redux store can be used to share business logic between web apps.

  • Customized code

If you are building a complex application or platform with React Native, you can merge Java (Android) and Swift (iOS) codebases. The developers can all access the code from the same place, which is extremely useful. A complicated app would require a minimum of 3 cross-platform developers, 1 iOS developer and 1 Android developer.

  • No need to hire a new team to create another app

Lastly, native code can be reused (Native code can be reused) -> cross-platform migration -> two apps)

Potential disadvantages of React-Native applications

A simple, straightforward app can benefit greatly from cross-platform development. Compared to native apps, the UX is comparable, and it’s a delight to use. Hybrid apps can run into some problems when dealing with more complex applications. It can be quite challenging to integrate a cross-platform project without the help of an experienced team of mobile app developers.