With the expansion of mobile technology, there is a strong urge in the next-gen organization to be on the mobile platform as it gives them a better chance to connect with their audience.
But when it comes to choosing between the mobile app development platforms, there arises a huge confusion and problem. Native and React Native are the most sought after mobile app development platforms for building the apps for both iOS and Android.
So before digging in deep about the pros and cons of the mobile app development platforms, let us first understand the core Native and React Native App development platform.
Table of Contents
What is Native App Development?
The native mobile application platform is used to develop mobile apps that are designed for a specific mobile operating system (viz. iOS or Android). Keeping in mind the most popular mobile OS, native application for Android is built in Android Studio with Kotlin and Java as the most preferred languages.
On the other hand, for iOS the language that is used is Objective-C and Swift, and the IDE is Xcode. The usage of IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is selectively done for specific mobile operating systems.
What is React Native App Development?
React Native was developed by Facebook in March 2015, and since then, in the last four years, the mobile app development platform has been a revelation. Many popular apps such as Instagram, Pinterest, Uber, and Facebook have been developed through the React Native app development platform, which is the testimony to the fact that React Native app development is very useful and creates durable mobile apps.
Apart from being an able cross platform app development platform, mobile apps are developed on it without compromising on UX and UI experience.
Thus understanding in brief about both the app development platforms, we found out that if you are looking to develop an app for both iOS and Android platforms, you should opt for react native app development.
Moreover, if you are looking for a specific platform, the Native app development platform must be your choice. But before making your choice, it is always advisable to look at both sides of the coin.
The process of mobile app development becomes tricky when the organization opts for an app development platform without paying complete attention to its pros and cons. You need to choose the app development platform according to the nature of the product and the amount of targeted audience you wish to cater to.
Below are the pros and cons of both Native and React Native mobile app development platform that will give you a clearer perspective about the technology.
Pros and Cons of Native App Development platform
Pros
Third-party Libraries
Native app development platform has a lot of third-party libraries that help the mobile app developers to be flexible and express themselves fully. There is a large developer community that is there to help you and guide you throughout the mobile app development process.
Thus, there is no hurdle, and the app development process can be completed in a very hassle-free manner. As there is no shortage of resources, the app developers can experiment to the fullest and provide the best possible mobile app to the clients.
API Access
The environment that the native app development platform provides gives the developers access to APIs and functionality offered by the platform. No extra layer mapping is required for the functionality that is needed and becomes essential to be updated.
This is possible because there is no dependency or restrictions in the native app development platform other than those of the native environment.
Profound Language
The error detection process in the native app development environment is easy and swift, as Android and iOS are strict languages. Thus, there is no chance for error to be hidden or miss the eyes of the mobile app developers.
As Android and iOS are strict languages, they are relatively easy to learn, and with time, the app developers have high chances to get comfortable and use to with the language.
No short-term aspects
If you are looking for a long term aspect, we advise you to be with and stick to the native app development platform. There might be a counter-argument on the native platforms updating and changing the APIs and language as Apple did when it switches to Objective C to Swift.
But all these changes are compatible backwards and they guide the app developers when they being to port between the changes. The updates are entirely in interest with the app developers as it will provide better opportunities to develop an even more compatible mobile app.
Cons
You need to code twice
Coding again for two different platforms might be the only shortcoming of the native app development platform. The mobile apps developed using native app development can only run on a specific platform; thus, if you want your product on both iOS and Android, you have to code twice.
No code can be shared for both the mobile OS platforms, and the mobile apps will differ starkly in functioning on both the platforms. Only the backend, which is, in general, the most significant part of the mobile application, will remain the same.
Pros and Cons of React Native
Pros
Lesser Time
When you opt to develop your mobile app using React Native app development platform, it takes much lesser time than the native application platform.
React Native can help you to reduce the time of your product development cycle and provide you the much-needed edge over your competitors, as your app will have more time at the app market. The time is less solely because the developers have to build only one mobile app instead of two separately.
Hot Reloading
This is the biggest catch you will get with the react native mobile app development platform. When you are saving a file using a react native platform, the changes are shown immediately on the device even when the mobile app is running. Thus, lesser time is taken to make the changes and implementing the feedbacks.
No two code system
The same codebase can be used for both iOS and Android platforms when working with React Native app development platform. The mobile application can run distinctly on both the OS platforms, and it becomes easier for the developers as well as they don’t have to learn two different languages and platforms.
Open-source platform
As React Native is an open-source platform, there is an opportunity to inspect the code whenever required. With this process, the app developers can get a better idea of the framework, which in result, will allow them to improve the framework, add new features, or fix the bugs and when required.
Cons
Design
Apart from not supporting all the APIs, having smaller third party libraries, and uncertainty with respect to long term support, the design aspect of the React Native app development is not very trustworthy.
See, we need to understand that the app design requirements in both the iOS and Android OS platforms are very different. Although you can automatically transform the graphical elements, the placements of the elements might vary a great deal. Since there is no consistency, you need to have a different set of codes to meet the design guidelines of the OS platforms.
Conclusion
Both Native and React Native app development platforms have their share of highs and shortcomings. This from an organization’s point of view, it becomes essential to realize what they actually need. It will allow them to use the mobile app development platforms to the fullest and won’t have much effect from their shortcomings.
- The Curious Case of Native and React Native App Development - December 11, 2019