Why And When To Use React Native In 2023? (2024)

The dilemma of choosing the “right” technology or the whole stack for creating both mobile apps (IOS and Android) is always relevant. Building a cross-platform app with React Native or sticking to the Native development? Even though by following best practices and cooperating with experts, you can achieve a high-level outcome with numerous technology options, both native and cross-platform, some of them just fit better than others for each separate case.

Focusing on the technology that would correspond to your business and future app needs can cut you some slack in the process. Each technology has its strengths and drawbacks, which can be crucial if a project has some limitations like budget or timeline.

In any scenario, the ideal starting point would be emphasizing the advantages of utilizing each technology and analyzing if it will also be a fit to cover your bases in the long run. To help you make a more informed decision in this article we will introduce React Native and cross-platform development, showcase the pros and cons of React Native, and answer the fundamental question — Why and When to use React Native?

Contents:
1. What is React Native?
2. What is cross-platform development?3. React Native popularity in 20234. Why And When To Choose React Native For Your Project?- Pros of React Native- React Native limitations and risks- Consider choosing React Native if- Stick with Native app development if5. Popular Companies Using React Native6. Examples of Successful Companies Using Native Frameworks7. Final Thoughts: React Native good or bad?

React Native is an open-source JavaScript framework designed by Facebook (now Meta) in 2013. With a mission to solve the problem of creating and maintaining 2 separate code bases for 2 platforms (iOS + Android).

But how does it work?

Basically, React Native’s cross-platform secret lies in its distinctive architecture.

The so-called Bridge is the key component of the React Native framework, it uses React library to render the application on a device. Simply put, the bridge converts native components into JS code and back. It’s like having a universal translator that converts the code into a language both platforms can understand.

These features help apps React Native used for to run smoothly and feel like a native application.

Talking about React Native, we should also mention cross-platform development.

Generally speaking, cross-platform development is a way to build mobile applications and software that would be compatible with multiple devices and platforms using the same codebase.

For developers, cross-platform solutions give the ability to build other types of applications and platforms, but using the well-known programming language for them, instead of learning the new one. For business owners, it’s a chance to fasten time-to-market and save some development and maintenance costs.

Sounds a lot like React Native? Well, it’s because React Native is one of the most popular cross-platform options out there.

Nowadays we rely on our phones for all kinds of tasks — education, leisure, work, and more, so no wonder the mobile application market is as big as ever and continues to grow and evolve.

Nearly 6.4 billion of mobile users stated in 2022, and by 2028, that figure is expected to reach 7.7 billion. But what about mobile applications? In iOS App Store, Google Play, and third-party Android stores combined the number of app downloads reached 255 billion in 2022, and it’s only the first time downloads that were counted!

Those statistics are pretty impressive but how much share apps made with React Native and technology overall have in the market?

As stated in Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2022, React Native is one of the most popular frameworks and cross-platform tools with over 13% of professional developers already using it and another 11% of developers considering learning it.

According to recent statistics by AppBrain around 13% of applications listed in the top 500 USA Play Store ranking are built with React Native with a total number of downloads — over 50 billion.

This indicates that React Native is steadily popular among the other cross-platform tools and is widely adopted, yet native apps still have a major chunk of the market.

Questions like “What is React Native good for”, and “Is React Native worth it” never get old, yet there is no actual answer to them besides — it depends. To get a relevant answer for your unique project, you should start by reflecting on project/business needs, estimating the available budget and timeline + don’t forget to think about future scaling. This way, you will be able to analyze the pros and cons of React Native efficiently and make informed decisions.

To shape your vision, and help with estimation and market research you can consider a professional Discovery Phase. Learn more about the Discovery Phase Steps and Deliverables in our article here.

Overall there are no industry-specific roadblocks in using React Native, so it’s only logic and features you’re aiming for that matter.

Pros of React Native

1. Evolving modern technology — Since its launch, React Native has grown up, continually developing, and supported by an extensive community. You can count on that many typical issues have already been resolved.
2. Wide Developers Market — As statistics show — React Native is relatively popular among developers, so it’s no problem to find new team members though you might have to spend some time screening candidates.
3. Decent level User Experience — Native look and feel of React Native mobile apps is a definite win combined with cross-platform development ability.
4. Fast time-to-market — One app to cover both platforms is a strong take to release the product or high-quality MVP asap. And we all know how important a fast launch is not to lose the advantage and win the market. More about how to build MVP step by step in our article here.
5. Budget and Time savings — building a single cross-platform app and not 2 separate ones for both platforms may be a really cost and time-efficient solution. No need for two development teams, and no need to synchronize features and layouts.

React Native Limitations And Risks

1. Limited third-party components and API integrations — When it comes to integrating capabilities with native APIs and third-party libraries, native languages offer far greater variety and flexibility. With React Native you can always add native modules to the code, but native APIs can make the code heavier and affect the performance.
2. React Native is a relatively young technology — Earlier we mentioned that React Native is an evolving technology as a pros, yet it can also include some risks. Some required modules and components still do not exist, so there’s a possibility that you would need to “reinvent the wheel” and don’t forget about issues needing to be addressed.
3. Native Developers are still needed — one of the strongest benefits of using React Native is that you can build native-like applications not knowing the native programming language but not quite. For integrating trending native modules, OS-specific features, and perfecting performance React Native developers would need a hand from native developers = additional time and expenses.
4. Complex User Experience is too much — When faced with challenging UI design solutions, dynamic animations, and intensive interactions, React Native’s performance drops drastically. The Bridge architecture is the one to blame here. See and compare CPU and memory-intensive test results below.
5. Native-like performance is not equal to native — For more simple applications you may not even see the difference between a React Native mobile application and a native one, but if dealing with a big amount of data, heavy calculations can significantly slow down React Native applications leaving native apps superior for complex concepts.

With the pros and cons of React Native defined it’s easier to forecast scenarios in which it would be a right decision to use React Native and it wouldn’t.

Consider choosing React Native if:

• your app will not rely on a large number of integrations with OS-specific functionalities or AR/VR
• your app’s feature set is relatively simple, and you don’t plan to scale it with OS and device-specific features (otherwise, you’re prepared to add native developers to the team and notably expand the timeline and budget)
• your budget for mobile app development is on the lower end
• you need an MVP fast and on both platforms
• you need to enter the market fast
• you have tight deadlines
• you don’t plan a complex design and animations for your app

Stick with Native app development if:

• you have a focus on top performance at all times
• your app relies on native APIs and device features, like AR/VR, Touch ID and geolocation, gyroscope, accelerometer, and other
• your app will have advanced animations and interactions
• you aim to launch an application for only one platform
• you have enough time and resources to handle the development of two apps
• you planning your business will grow rapidly, so apps should scale at the same pace
• you prioritize Data Security for the safety of your clients and comprehend the risks of neglecting it

Despite the majority of big companies still favoring Native apps, going with it is not a “magic pill” and has some downsides you should be aware of, like — the need to manage a few development teams at once, higher cost, and longer timeframe. So choose wisely.

1. Meta (obviously) — Instagram and Facebook + Facebook ads manager
2. Uber — for the UberEats Restaurant Dashboard, other parts are still powered by Native
3. Airbnb
4. Pinterest — Partially using React Native
5. Bloomberg
6. Tesla
7. Wix

In the official React Native Showcase, you can find more companies that use React Native for their mobile apps.

For completeness’s sake, let’s also review the brands/companies choosing Native applications.

1. Google
2. Linkedin
3. WhatsApp
4. Slack
5. Netflix
6. Coursera
7. Uber (except for UberEats Restaurant Dashboard)

Needless to say, many of the ‘’big players’’ on the market use a mix of all available technologies (native and cross-platform) to ensure top compatibility. Often, React Native is used for MVP or a simple part of the functionality that needs to be responsive on a large number of devices (like UberEats Restaurant Dashboard).

As any other technology, React Native has its limitations and can’t be the ultimate pick for everyone, nevertheless, you can’t deny the benefits it provides.

So before choosing a course of action or in our case technology for future mobile apps, carefully weigh all available options, and analyze what is fundamental for your particular case and the React Native pros and cons we mentioned. The final decision is on your shoulders as product/business owner therefore make sure to consider all factors and statistics that show that even though React Native is getting more popular, the overall market share (existing apps) is about 5–6%.