React Native Vs Cross-platform Mobile App Development

Posted on by Karuna Shah
Native vs Cross-Platform (1)

If you’re planning to develop a mobile app, you’ve probably already heard about native and cross-platform development. But what’s the difference between these two approaches? And more importantly, how do you know which one is right for your project?

Let’s start with a quick definition of each approach. Native app development is when an app is developed specifically for one platform, using the native language and tools of that platform. So, if you’re developing a native iOS app, you would use Swift or Objective-C and Xcode. Likewise, cross-platform development is when an app is built using tools that can be used on multiple platforms. One popular example of this is React Native, which can be used to create apps for both iOS and Android.

Table of Contents

What is react Native?

React Native is a JavaScript framework for building native mobile apps. It uses the React framework and offers a large number of inbuilt components and APIs. 

What is a Cross-Platform app?

Cross-Platform apps are those which can be used or run on multiple platforms or operating systems. 

Advantages of React Native:

  1. Code Once, Run Anywhere: Since React Native uses JavaScript, a single codebase can be used to deploy apps on multiple platforms like Android, iOS, Windows, etc. This saves a lot of time and effort as you don’t have to maintain separate codebases for different platforms.
  2. Native User Experience: React Native uses native UI components, which gives the user a native feeling while using your app. It also offers better performance as compared to hybrid apps as it doesn’t need a WebView.
  3. Faster Development: React Native speeds up the development process as it uses hot reloading. This means that you can see the changes made to your code immediately on your device or simulator, without recompiling the code.
  4. Community Support: React Native has a large and active community that is always ready to help. If you face any issue while developing your app, you can be sure that someone in the community will have a solution for it.
  5. Open Source: React Native is an open-source framework, which means that you can use it for free. 

Disadvantages of React Native:

  1. Not Suitable for Complex Apps: React Native is not suitable for developing complex apps as they may require a native approach. This is because React Native doesn’t have all the necessary components to build such apps.
  2. Limited Third-Party Libraries: While React Native has many third-party libraries, it is still limited compared to native app development. This means that you may not find a library for every feature that you want to add to your app.
  3. Not as Stable as Native Apps: React Native is still a new framework and is not as stable as native app development frameworks like Java or Kotlin for Android and Swift for iOS. This means that there is a chance that your app may face some issues after deployment.
  4. Requires Good Knowledge of JavaScript: React Native uses JavaScript, which means that you need to have a good understanding of the language before you can start developing your app. 
  5. Requires Good knowledge of React: In addition to JavaScript, you also need to have a good understanding of React to develop a React Native app. This is because React Native is based on the React framework.

Now that we’ve looked at the advantages and disadvantages of React Native, let’s see when it is the right choice for your project.

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When to Use React Native?

React Native is a good choice for your project if:

  1. You want to develop a simple or moderately complex app: As we saw earlier, React Native is not suitable for developing complex apps. But, it is a good choice for developing simple or moderately complex apps as it offers several benefits like faster development and code reuse.
  2. You want to develop an app for multiple platforms: React Native is a good choice if you want to deploy your app on multiple platforms as it uses a single codebase. This saves a lot of time and effort as you don’t have to maintain separate codebases for different platforms.
  3. You want a native user experience: React Native uses native UI components, which gives the user a native feeling while using your app. It also offers better performance as compared to hybrid apps as it doesn’t need a WebView.

Advantages of Cross-Platform:

  1. Lower Cost: Cross-platform development is cheaper as compared to native app development. This is because you don’t have to develop separate apps for different platforms.
  2. Faster Development: Cross-platform development is faster as compared to native app development. This is because you can use a single codebase for multiple platforms.
  3. Easy to Maintain: Cross-platform apps are easy to maintain as you don’t have to maintain separate codebases for different platforms.
  4. Wider Reach: Cross-platform apps have a wider reach as they can be deployed on multiple platforms.
  5. Flexibility: Cross-platform development offers more flexibility as you can easily port your app to another platform if needed.

Disadvantages of Cross-Platform:

  1. Limited Functionality: Cross-platform apps have limited functionality as compared to native apps. This is because they rely on web view and browsers for rendering components, which limits their ability to access native features of the platform.
  2. Poor Performance: Cross-platform apps have poor performance as compared to native apps. This is because they rely on web views and browsers for rendering components, which causes them to be slower than native apps.
  3. Not Suitable for Complex Apps: Cross-platform apps are not suitable for developing complex apps as they have limited functionality and poor performance.

Now that we’ve looked at the advantages and disadvantages of cross-platform app development, let’s see when it is the right choice for your project.

When to Use Cross-Platform?

Cross-platform app development is a good choice for your project if:

  1. You want to develop a simple app: Cross-platform app development is a good choice for developing simple apps as it is cheaper and faster.
  2. You want to develop an app for multiple platforms: Cross-platform app development is a good choice if you want to deploy your app on multiple platforms.
  3. You want a wider reach: Cross-platform app development is a good choice if you want to have a wider reach as your app can be deployed on multiple platforms.

Wrap Up

So, these are some of the factors that you need to consider before choosing between native and cross-platform app development. If you’re still not sure which one to choose, then we recommend that you get in touch with a mobile app development company and ask for their opinion.

Karuna Shah
With her huge experience in content writing, she has been a regular author at BlackBuck Magazine. She already has a story published in an anthology book and will be soon getting published her own book too. Apart from that, she is a businesswoman, exploring her business skills and managing work and household together!

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