What Role Does React Native And Flutter Play In Mobile App Development?
One of the common questions on app development forums and also in the blog comments section is “The role of React Native & Flutter technology”. Before dwelling on this subject let us first understand some vital statistics of the app market.
According to the “Business of Apps” website, Android and iOS app revenue reached $133 billion in 2021. And this number is only increasing year on year, which is pegged at 19%. Another intriguing statistic is the app revenue disparity. While Apple holds just 15% of the app market it generates 63% income while Android, the leader, boasts a disappointing sales number. One of the reasons is the popularity of Apple products in regions where the income of the local population tends to be higher and therefore these individuals have surplus money to buy apps.
Geography also plays an important role in revenue generation. For example, the West and developed countries generally have an affinity for Apple products while emerging markets and developing nations opt for Android devices.
Coming back to the question of their roles in app development, both frameworks have distinct capabilities and importance in Application Development Domain. Some of their salient features include -
As mentioned above these are cross-platform development tools that allow developers and agencies to build robust, fully functional, secure and scalable mobile applications. Let us first talk above React Native app development and its role.
The Fundamentals of React Native -
Built by Facebook in 2015, this technology has been gaining momentum since its inception. It offers developers the power of React and JavaScript to build cross-platform apps. Native React is also adaptive in nature. It simply means one can use other native modules to build a high-end, robust and fully functional app. Flexibility is the highlight of this framework, and therefore the preferred choice of mobile app development agency.
Some of its other advantages include but are not limited to -
While React Native’s benefits far outnumber its weaknesses it is worth mentioning here that -
It is the long list of super features which has made it extremely popular with developers around the world. Today ( 2020 ), 42% of developers opt for React Native.
The Fundamentals of Flutter App Development
Another popular cross-platform app development framework is Flutter. Its role is also to help build native apps for a bouquet of domains such as food, transport, finance, etc. Developed in early 2015 by Google, it was offered to developers in 2017 / 2018 and designed to build iOS and Android mobile applications. Interestingly, 39% of developers choose Flutter for building apps ( 2020 Statistic ).
Some of its other advantages include but are not limited to -
Some of its negatives include -
Incidentally, Flutter uses the Skia C++ engine that brags a series of intelligent, logical, and reusable protocols for native app development.
This blog will not discuss Hybrid app development due to the very nature of the topic but it is highly recommended and advised to opt for a services provider who has the expertise in this domain.
Flutter typically bypasses JS-bridge and therefore converts the Dart code into native directly within the software development kit. It is this absence of JS dependency during the compilation process which makes Flutter apps highly efficient and performance-oriented. On the other hand, React Native is superior when it comes to targeting Native projects. The reason is, that it doesn’t need third-party API and typically uses its own JS bridge for rendering various components.
Conclusion –
The role of React Native and Flutter App Development is quite straightforward; to allow folks to create cross-platform native apps. Each of these frameworks has a distinct approach to developing such apps. While React Native boasts JavaScript and Native side technologies such as Java or Kotlin for Android and Swift or Objective-C for iOS, Flutter exploits DART programming language along with SDK for native compilation. Typically, Flutter apps look much better, offer a smoother user experience, and very much resemble native applications.
In fact, mobile applications built with React Native & Flutter are so native-like that it becomes difficult to distinguish them from genuine native apps. As an organization, it is imperative that you set up your app goals even before you begin the process of hiring a service provider. Once the decision with regards to the target platform is made the next step is to hire a development agency from Mumbai or from dozens of technology hubs that offer pan-India services.
According to the “Business of Apps” website, Android and iOS app revenue reached $133 billion in 2021. And this number is only increasing year on year, which is pegged at 19%. Another intriguing statistic is the app revenue disparity. While Apple holds just 15% of the app market it generates 63% income while Android, the leader, boasts a disappointing sales number. One of the reasons is the popularity of Apple products in regions where the income of the local population tends to be higher and therefore these individuals have surplus money to buy apps.
Geography also plays an important role in revenue generation. For example, the West and developed countries generally have an affinity for Apple products while emerging markets and developing nations opt for Android devices.
Coming back to the question of their roles in app development, both frameworks have distinct capabilities and importance in Application Development Domain. Some of their salient features include -
- Both are cross-platform frameworks.
- These technologies have been developed by technology / social media giants.
- They are open source and continue to evolve on daily basis.
- These technologies boast detailed documentation, add-on widgets, ready-to-use codes and support.
- These development models are used to build apps that seamlessly integrate within Android or iOS operating systems.
As mentioned above these are cross-platform development tools that allow developers and agencies to build robust, fully functional, secure and scalable mobile applications. Let us first talk above React Native app development and its role.
The Fundamentals of React Native -
Built by Facebook in 2015, this technology has been gaining momentum since its inception. It offers developers the power of React and JavaScript to build cross-platform apps. Native React is also adaptive in nature. It simply means one can use other native modules to build a high-end, robust and fully functional app. Flexibility is the highlight of this framework, and therefore the preferred choice of mobile app development agency.
Some of its other advantages include but are not limited to -
- It is a highly reliable cross-platform framework to build native apps.
- React Native has the largest support base for native UI components.
- Unmatched reusable code database.
- Super easy implementation and hot re-loading feature.
- Single code, multiple deployments ( Android & iOS ).
While React Native’s benefits far outnumber its weaknesses it is worth mentioning here that -
- Native React is prone to complex UI.
- Navigation is not one of its positive features.
It is the long list of super features which has made it extremely popular with developers around the world. Today ( 2020 ), 42% of developers opt for React Native.
The Fundamentals of Flutter App Development
Another popular cross-platform app development framework is Flutter. Its role is also to help build native apps for a bouquet of domains such as food, transport, finance, etc. Developed in early 2015 by Google, it was offered to developers in 2017 / 2018 and designed to build iOS and Android mobile applications. Interestingly, 39% of developers choose Flutter for building apps ( 2020 Statistic ).
Some of its other advantages include but are not limited to -
- A distinct and separate development kit that includes SDK and reusable widgets in the form of a library.
- While the SDK allows mobile app builders to compile their code in native form, the UI library is reserved for embedding various app elements.
- Dart is used extensively for the Flutter mobile UI framework and is one of the main rivals of ReactJS.
- Like React Native even Flutter uses its own 2D rendering engine to display various components in an app.
Some of its negatives include -
- Many library components remain unused. Secondly, because DART has a large number of components and therefore the code tends to balloon a bit.
- Flutter is not the preferred choice when it comes to developing apps in the native environment. This tilt towards React Native can be seen on several Flutter community forums and debates.
Incidentally, Flutter uses the Skia C++ engine that brags a series of intelligent, logical, and reusable protocols for native app development.
This blog will not discuss Hybrid app development due to the very nature of the topic but it is highly recommended and advised to opt for a services provider who has the expertise in this domain.
Flutter typically bypasses JS-bridge and therefore converts the Dart code into native directly within the software development kit. It is this absence of JS dependency during the compilation process which makes Flutter apps highly efficient and performance-oriented. On the other hand, React Native is superior when it comes to targeting Native projects. The reason is, that it doesn’t need third-party API and typically uses its own JS bridge for rendering various components.
Conclusion –
The role of React Native and Flutter App Development is quite straightforward; to allow folks to create cross-platform native apps. Each of these frameworks has a distinct approach to developing such apps. While React Native boasts JavaScript and Native side technologies such as Java or Kotlin for Android and Swift or Objective-C for iOS, Flutter exploits DART programming language along with SDK for native compilation. Typically, Flutter apps look much better, offer a smoother user experience, and very much resemble native applications.
In fact, mobile applications built with React Native & Flutter are so native-like that it becomes difficult to distinguish them from genuine native apps. As an organization, it is imperative that you set up your app goals even before you begin the process of hiring a service provider. Once the decision with regards to the target platform is made the next step is to hire a development agency from Mumbai or from dozens of technology hubs that offer pan-India services.
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