React Native
React Native is one of our first choice when it comes to hybrid mobile app development. We have done several android and iOS hybrid mobile applications using React Native framework. React Native is a popular open-source UI software framework created by Meta (previously known as Facebook) and first launched in 2015. It uses JavaScript to create cross-platform mobile applications with true native capabilities of both android and iOS using a single codebase. This capability has made React Native one of the most popular app development frameworks in the industry. React Native uses the React JavaScript library to build app interfaces that are fast and responsive. It has great rendering abilities and uses a component-based approach which makes it easy to create both simple and complex UI designs.
Features/Advantages
Developed by Meta (Facebook)
React Native is an open-source mobile application development framework created and maintained by Meta Platforms. It has a large community of individuals for support and additional contributions which makes React Native the repository with 2nd highest contributors in GitHub.
Code Reusability
When using React Native, developers don’t need to write separate codes for different platforms for Android and iOS. In fact, around 90% of the code can be reused between different platforms which increases the speed and efficiency of development process and reduces the development cost comparing to individual native app development and lesser maintenance efforts.
Native Look and Feel
React Native components are directly mapped with native development components. React Native components uses JavaScript to invoke native views. At runtime, React Native creates the corresponding Android and iOS views for those components. Because React Native components are backed by the same views as Android and iOS, React Native apps look, feel, and perform like any other apps.
Support with Flexbox
React Native uses Flexbox for implementing layouts for the screens. Flexbox makes the app compatible with different screen dimensions of different devices. Hence, developers don't have to adjust their code for different operating systems and screen sizes.
Live Reload
React Native has a live reloading feature that helps developers to work on the changes and observe those changes in real time. We can make changes in the code while the app is running and see the changes in the live app using the auto-reload feature. We can also reload a particular area of changes to save time on a compilation.
Speed and performance
The React Native framework is well-tuned for mobile platforms. Compared to other hybrid app development technologies React Native is the faster one. Unlike the native mobile app, React Native makes use of GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) rather than CPU (Central Processing Unit) which increases the speed and performance of the framework.
Cost-Efficiency
As the code is reusable in React Native, we don’t have to develop separate apps for both android and iOS which helps to save the development cost drastically. On top of it, there are many pre-built components in React Native that further speeds up the development process.
Third-Party Plugins
There are several third-party plugins available for JavaScript as well as native modules which makes the development process of native features and functions even simple which allows developers not to build every feature from scratch and also eliminates the need for specific web view functions and helps to enhance the app's functionality and performance.
Conversion of web sites into mobile app
We can convert any existing web page into a fully-fledged mobile app using React Native framework. The only thing we must do is change the layouts and styles of the web page according to the device screen. This flexibility of React Native apps can save a lot of time and money.