Mobile Applications Overview
As of 2020, there are around 218 billion app downloads reported globally. Companies generated revenue of US $462 billion through mobile application development. According to an industry report, it is anticipated that by the end of 2023, mobile apps are expected to generate more than US $935 in revenue.
More and more enterprises are now focusing on developing their mobile applications.
Selecting the right app development platform or framework is essential, as the application would contribute to the business’s profit. Therefore, creating a user-friendly app that has a top-notch user interface is vital for them. However, making such an app is not an easy task.
The two most used mobile operating systems globally are Android and iOS. Therefore, everyone develops mobile apps for these two systems only. Android and iOS, each of them has provided its platforms and tools to create applications. The only problem here is that apps developed on Android cannot function on the iOS platform and vice versa. “Isn’t there a way to build an app for both operating systems?’ – This is one question that people are grappling with.
It is here that cross-platform apps come into the picture. Before we know why React Native is the best choice for application development, let us understand the concept of cross-platform applications.
What Is Cross-Platform Application Development
The applications that work only on iOS or Android (works on one or the other) are called native apps. Native apps are built for a specific OS; they seamlessly integrate with the smartphone’s hardware and delivers the best UI experience possible.
Furthermore, to develop native applications on iOS and Android, an enterprise would have to hire two different teams. This means that React native applications require more workforce and money to create it. Cross-platform applications are those which are used on multiple operating systems or platforms at once. By creating a cross-platform application, developers don’t have to write different code for different OSs.
More importantly, cross-platform development saves enterprises a lot of time, and they don’t have to hire two different teams of developers. Therefore, creating cross-platform applications has become a popular choice among companies, and it has become a common practice to use this approach for app development.
There are many mobile application frameworks available for cross-platform development. React Native is one of them.
Overview Of React Native
React Native is a mobile application framework created by Facebook and made available in 2015. It’s an open-source platform. React Native uses JavaScript as its programming language.
React Native transforms the code to the native APIs that help it integrate with the device hardware.The stability that React Native provides is far better than other frameworks. A single code can create applications for different platforms. This code can also be edited in case there are any updates in the future. With the help of many pre-existing codes available on React Native, the developers can finish the assigned project faster.
The number of users for react Native have risen exponentially, since it’s release. Github in 2018 recorded it as the second-highest choice for any repositories. In current times React Native is the second most popular cross-platform application development framework.
Many world-renowned companies such as Instagram, Facebook, Flipkart, Tesla, Shopify, and others have used React Native to develop their applications.
Let us learn why React Native is the best choice for cross-platform app development.
React Native Enables Efficiency
Some reasons why React Native is a clear choice:
● One aspect that is most unique about React Native is its ability to provide code reusability. Project managers and engineers are the ones who appreciate this capability the most. It is also found that 90 % of the code written for iOS can be used on Android and vice versa.
● Another benefit of React Native is that web application code can be used for mobile application development if both are on React Native. It saves a lot of time for the companies. The price of production comes down when project duration reduces.
● The developers much appreciate the UI (User Interface) offered by React Native. As the reactive Native framework uses JavaScipt; it is responsive and has less buffering time. Hence React Native enhances the user experience.
● If developers face any problem while coding, the large community of React Native can help them resolve the issues. The community members often share their experiences. Therefore it is also possible that solutions to their problems are already available on the platform.
Now, let’s compare React Native with one of its major competitors, Flutter
Like React Native, cross platform appplications also use Flutter for application developement. But unlike React Native, Flutter uses Google’s Dart as its programming language. Dart is a new programming language as compared to JavaScript. There are instances when enterprises prefer Flutter over React Native.
Does that mean Flutter is a better choice? The answer to this question is not very straightforward. Both the frameworks have something different to offer, and one is better at some things than the other.
Here are some areas where React Native has the upper hand over Flutter.
● The advantage of choosing React Native is that developers find JavaScript a much easier language than Dart. This is the reason why finding a proficient software developer for React Native is less complicated.
● As React Native has been around longer, it is backed up by more than thousands of packages. This number is nearly five times higher than the Flutter.
● Whenever there will be a discussion on the user interface, React Native will always be a winner. The UI experience of React Native is more dynamic than Flutter’s.
● The installation and configuration process of React Native is simple. Where else, in the case of Flutter, things are a little bit complicated.
Final Thoughts
From the above pointers, we can conclude that React Native is one of the top choices for developing a cross-platform application. If you are confused about choosing between Flutter and React Native, select the platform depending on your requirements.
Lastly, you should know that the future of React Native is looking bright due to its simplicity and capability of solving development problems. That is the reason why most businesses prefer React Native for cross-platform development.
Like other businesses, if you too are looking for cross platform Application development, Mindfire Solutions can be your partner of choice. We have deep expertise in React Native . With a team of highly skilled and certified software professionals, that have developed many custom solutions for our global clients over the years. Click here to know more:
Here are a few interesting projects we have done to develop cross platform applications with React Native.
Case study for an e-Commerce web and mobile Application development for Android and iOS