Ex-Google/ex-Facebook TechLead presents the case against the React Native cross-platform mobile app framework. Join my interview training prep here http://techinterviewpro.com/

While there are some valid usage scenarios for React Native, the flaws I’ve seen are when developers either don’t go “all in” (getting the worst of both worlds in supporting multiple languages without the ability to move fast), or when people assume the technology is performant enough for primary app surfaces (reports claim it can take several seconds to cold start on slower iPhones and Android devices).

Given the competitiveness of the app market (95% of app consumption is in the top 10 apps), it often makes sense to optimize for the consumer rather than the developer. Of course, there are exceptions when you’re not going for mass market, like an enterprise or internal app, or when the company is small and performance doesn’t matter as much.

But with newer upcoming technology in server-driven rendering, there may be better alternatives on the horizon.

#reactjs #react-native #javascript