Is React Native Still Relevant In 2022?
Tags: react, reactnative, mobile, javascript
Published: 2022-08-02 12:26:09


Technologies change every day and being a leading web and mobile app development company, we strive to employ the relevant and latest technology to be able to provide our clients with dynamic apps. Let's discuss how React Native is performing in 2022.


**Introduction**

The demand for cross-platform app development is increasing as we speak. The reasons behind this are well-founded in facts. Cross-platform apps not only reduce the costs and time of development but also prove to be the right tool to reach a larger audience compared to being present on just one platform. Amongst the other technologies, React Native has time and again proved its mettle when it comes to building robust cross-platform apps. It is also popular among developers as it allows for building apps with less code.
But, due to the rise of other frameworks, experts once again face the challenge of speculating React Native’s relevance and future in the coming times. In this article, we will analyze whether React Native is still a safe bet for developers.
Let’s begin.

**What is React Native?**

To start with, React Native is the open-source UI development framework that allows developers to build applications for Android, Android TV, iOS, macOS, tvOS, Web, Windows, and UWP using React framework along with native platform capabilities. It allows the same code to be reused to run on different platforms with minimal changes. This speeds up and enhances the efficiency of the development process.

**What’s the latest in React Native?**

Ever since its introduction, React Native has seen numerous updates and revisions that have only added to its robustness and reduced its API surface area to make it more lightweight. It is holding its position in cross-platform app development as always. A majority of tech giants use it for developing their apps.

The state of React Native app development in 2022 is backed by support tools added in the previous and current year and subsequent releases. They make it better for developers and businesses simultaneously. One of the most recent and pivotal changes that we saw lately was the update in its architecture.

**React Native 0.69** just got announced with powerful new features such as React 18 support and bundled Hermes. It comes with React 18 enabled by default, new hooks such as useId, and new features such as useTransition or full Suspense support.
Earlier versions of React Native and Hermes came separately. This always raised confusion in identifying which version of React Native is compatible with which version of Hermes. React Native 0.69 comes with a compatible version of Hermes to address this issue and provide developers with a more streamlined and stable use of Hermes.

**How does React Native work?**

In older versions, the basic component of React Native used to be the Bridge. It is used to control all the communication between JavaScript and native components and vice versa. The bridge translates JavaScript code into platform-specific components. Although these async calls used to occur apart from the main thread, having multiple threads and large amounts of data could result in delays.

For example, when a user presses a button, the case is translated into an event for the JavaScript to understand. The bridge translates native events for React components to understand by communicating with native platforms and JavaScript code. This is an asynchronous way of relaying information.

However, the new architecture removes the need for a bridge. Instead of passing data over the bridge in an asynchronous manner, developers will have reference to C++ host objects, which can be called directly and get the response back synchronously. This is quite similar to how we get node references in ReactJS and perform actions on them.

**What are the alternatives to React Native in 2022?**

Although the architecture of React Native allows for code reusability, live-to reloads, third-party plugins, cost-efficiency, and a lot more, there are other frameworks that challenge its authority. 

**The top alternatives to React Native include:**

**Flutter**

Flutter, just like React Native, is a cross-platform framework for developing striking user interfaces. The primary reasons why the Flutter community is gaining popularity every day remain the look and feel of the Flutter widgets for app creation and the absence of bridging required in the case of JavaScript. Since Flutter uses Dart as the programming language, the lack of bridging enhances its performance.

**Xamarin**

Xamarin is owned by Microsoft and uses .net and C# for cross-platform app development. It allows you to create an iPhone app on Windows and compile it on Mac. Only the build is platform-dependent. The look and feel of the app built using this will be completely native. The growing community and support available also make Xamarin a worthy opponent for React Native.

**Nativescript**

Nativescript uses JavaScript, Angular, VueJS, and TypeScript as the base languages for creating cross-platform apps. The reasons to choose Nativescipt over React Native might include the availability of hundreds of verified plugins and the ability to deliver fairly performance using web programming languages.

**Is React Native still being used for native mobile app development?**

Contrary to the belief that React Native is becoming obsolete, market trends indicate it is still being used for native mobile app development. As much as industry leaders like to invest in cross-platform apps, native apps still make a large chunk of the market share. React Native reduces the development cost and time for some components of a native app.

**What is the future of React Native cross-platform development?**

Experts predict that React Native will be relevant in future cross-platform app development. The reasons that support this speculation are as follows:
**
Backed by JavaScript**

JavaScript is one of the most popular programming languages. React Native builds on this language, allowing developers to easily understand and create advanced applications. Even when clients need to switch to React Native from other platforms for mobile app development, the learning curve for javascript is not that steep for new developers.

**Large community**

Developers also prefer using this framework because of the large community where they can connect and find solutions to problems. There are constant upgrades and changes to help provide the support required. A community-driven approach to building agile apps is more preferred and sustainable than depending on other technologies such as Dart, with relatively smaller community support.

**Third-party plugins**

Building an app from scratch can be an expensive affair. Therefore, React Native offers a range of third-party plugins that help developers build apps, including JavaScript-based and native modules. These plugins help enhance the performance of an app by eradicating the need for certain web view functions.

**Live reload**

React Native's live reload capability enables you to interact with updates in real-time. While the app is loading, you can make code changes that will automatically cause a refresh of the app. To speed up the compilation, you can also reload a specific area of change.

**Cost efficiency**

Reusability of code also brings about reductions in the cost of app development. There is no need to hire more developers in different teams based on the platform. Also, the pre-built components further speed up the development process and reduce the project timeline.

**Conclusion:**

These were a few of the eminent qualities that, we believe, justify React Native’s ability to withstand competition from other technologies for a long time. Being a leading [cross-platform app & Blockchain development company, GeekyAnts](https://geekyants.com/hire-blockchain-developers/) has been and will be utilizing the sturdy and ever-evolving framework of React Native for the foreseeable future. Our expert developers are well-versed in building React Native apps that help cater to client requirements and reach larger audiences.

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