Product Development
with React Native

Today you no longer need to make a choice between iOS and Android for the first product launch. With the React Native cross-platform framework you can build both at the same time. We provide React Native app development services to help entrepreneurs go to market fully prepared.

Facebook introduced React Native in 2015 to solve the problem of poor performance in hybrid mobile apps. Here at Railsware, we experimented with this framework for a few months to prove it can meet all the functional and non-functional requirements. We've built an app using React Native for Montessori Compass, a classroom management system for Montessori schools. React Native proved great in the production environment and we've been using it for building mobile applications since.

React Native is great for fast product development

With React Native you can develop cross-platform applications that deliver excellent user experiences for iOS and Android platforms.

Facebook, Skype, Walmart, Bloomberg, Airbnb, Tesla, and other big brands used React Native to power their mobile products. Examples of apps developed in React Native by Railsware include BounceIn and Montessori Compass.

Develop a React Native app and deploy it on multiple platforms

with maximum code reuse and cost saving

React Native allows you to use the same code on iOS and on Android

With React Native you write code once and share it across multiple platforms. About 95% of one and the same code base can be reused when creating projects for different operating systems. This means mobile app development using React Native requires one team for both iOS and Android. React Native development is 30% shorter as compared to native app development. And React Native app development cost is lower. You won’t only save time on programming, but on updates too because you’ll just need to update one app. This is a huge win for startups and small companies.

The interface of a React Native mobile app is user-friendly

It's pretty hard to distinguish between native and React Native applications. This is because React Native provides the natural user experience. Unlike other cross-platform tools, React Native uses real native components and APIs to interact with the JavaScript code. To connect the native code and JS code, the framework uses so-called bridges that are separate for each OS. Some UI components in React Native are provided by Facebook, some are created by the community. And if none of them works for your project, we can always build one from the ground up.

With React Native you support one code base instead of multiple

After your mobile app is launched, the most exciting part of your app-building journey begins. Bug fixes, regular updates, new features – there are a bunch of things you need to do to keep your users happy. If your app is built with native tools and runs on iOS and Android platforms, you will need to maintain the code written in Swift or Objective-C and the code written in Java or Kotlin. With React Native you have one code base to support. Even if some separate components might need different treatment for iOS and Android, the amount of time and effort that goes into app maintenance is greatly reduced.

React Native and native can both live together

React Native doesn't restrict you to use only its components. For example, there can be certain places in an application where we want to jump to native code for debugging, complex animations, or custom UI elements. The great thing about React Native is that you can move mission-critical application parts from this framework to pure native code. You can also add a single view written in React Native to your existing native application. You are free to choose which components to use from the React Native library and which to build from scratch with native code.

React Native provides the native feel and fast performance

Why do we provide React Native mobile app development services to our clients?

Shared codebase

React Native accelerates app development. It allows you to build one code base and share up to 95% of it across both iOS and Android platforms. This results in significant cost and time savings.
Native modules

Instead of webview (a native browser component to render HTML) that hybrid tools like Ionic and Apache Cordova use, UI of a React Native app is completely native.
Reactive in nature

Like React, React Native is pre-equipped with reactive programming architecture in which UI is the function of data. Reactive systems are easier to develop, test, and modify.
Strong performance

React Native achieves 60 frames per second and is much faster than Ionic and other hybrid tools. But without some manual interventions where needed, it will still be slower than native apps.
Hot Reloading

Whenever we change anything in the code, React Native app displays the updated UI content immediately. Hot Reloading speeds up development and increases productivity.

What can be accomplished in mobile app development with React Native?

Though React Native is a few years old, we can say that it is a mature enough technology for cross-platform mobile app development. It works perfectly well for the following types of projects:

A mobile app for an existing web app

React Native is a perfect choice if you need to convert your web application running React on the front-end into a mobile app. It is fast and easy to build such an app because some source code can be reused. We'd recommend using React Native for mobile apps which are an extension to a web product, not the core product.

A prototype or MVP

If you're looking to test your idea on both iOS and Android platforms simultaneously without compromising on quality, speed, and efficiency, build your MVP with React Native. It won't blow your budget and will allow you to provide the experience that meets your consumers’ needs. Making tweaks and updates to your prototype is twice faster with React Native.

React Native apps built at Railsware

We often recommend React Native to our clients who need fast MVP development services. See examples of some applications we developed using this technology:

Montessori Compass, an app for Montessori schools

To attract a large network of Montessori schools to Montessori Compass, a web platform for classroom management or client needed to develop a mobile app. It was an application for parents where they could see pictures of their kids, view school reports, and get school messages. We managed to build the app for both iOS and Android using React Native under extremely short time constraints. The app was ready in one month and our client could get the school network on board.

BounceIN, an app for express entrance to bars and nightclubs

BounceIN partners with local venues to provide an express entrance option to their guests via a mobile app. Because the app needed to be developed within a short time, we recommended using React Native. It took us about three months to build MVPs for two applications for iOS and Android platforms – one for venues, and one for guests. We launched the full-fledged apps after five months of work. With BounceIN app users can find a nightclub near them, buy a bounce (an express entrance ticket) and send a bounce to a friend.

A product defines the choice of technologies

The code is as important as the value it creates. When it comes to making a choice between native technologies and React Native, we consider a problem your product needs to solve and the intention with which you're creating it. We pick technologies that will work best for your product.

Use React Native to develop an app for iOS and Android quickly and without the hassle

React Native for iOS development is the same as for Android. There is no need for separate developers. Both products can be created using one codebase. React Native makes apps fast to develop and easy to support. It's a cost-conscious decision for product owners.
Use a real native framework for apps with platform-specific features or complex UI

One of the strongest advantages of native code is that it still performs better than React Native. If you have a performance-critical app, an app that requires access to platform-specific features like ARKit, or an app with sophisticated animations, you should use native tools to build it.

We focus on the bigger
picture and plan ahead

At Railsware, we focus on the bigger picture and think of the product as the soul that lives in code. Technology is surely important. But a product as a whole is more than just technology. Consumer perception, market feasibility, competitive landscape, value proposition, and long-term product vision – we take all those factors into account before we write a line of code.

Let the product lead the way

Want to build a great product with React Native?

Product Development with React Native