Technology Overview
What Is React Native?
React Native is an open-source framework developed by Meta that lets developers write mobile apps in JavaScript and React — and deploy them as native iOS and Android applications from a single codebase.
How React Native Works
Unlike hybrid apps (Cordova, Ionic) that run inside a web browser embedded in the app, React Native compiles your JavaScript components to real native UI elements. A <View> in React Native renders as a UIView on iOS and an android.view.View on Android. The result looks, feels, and performs like a native app.
React Native uses a JavaScript engine (Hermes by default) running in a separate thread from the UI. The new "Bridgeless" architecture (React Native 0.74+) uses JSI (JavaScript Interface) for synchronous, direct communication between JavaScript and native code — eliminating the asynchronous bridge that older versions relied on.
JavaScript / TypeScript
Your app logic is written in JS or TS using the React component model — the same mental model as React web.
Native UI Components
React Native components map directly to native iOS and Android widgets — no web views involved.
Native Modules
Any native platform API can be accessed via native modules, either from the community ecosystem or custom-built.
Strengths of React Native
Shared Codebase
Typically 70–90% of code is shared between iOS and Android. Platforms can diverge where needed using platform-specific files.
JavaScript Ecosystem
Access to the massive npm ecosystem, React libraries, and tooling that web developers already know.
OTA Updates
JavaScript bundle changes can be pushed directly to users via Expo Updates or CodePush — no App Store review needed for minor fixes.
Active Community
One of the most popular cross-platform frameworks globally, with a large community, extensive documentation, and frequent releases.
Code Sharing with Web
Logic layers (API calls, state management, utilities) can be shared with a React web app using the same codebase.
Expo Ecosystem
Expo provides a managed workflow with pre-built native modules, EAS Build, and OTA updates — dramatically reducing native setup complexity.
Limitations to Consider
- → Deep hardware integration: For apps that require ARKit, Metal, or deeply custom platform APIs, native development may be more practical.
- → UI consistency differences: While performance is native-quality, some platform-specific gestures and animations require extra work to feel perfectly native on both platforms.
- → Upgrade complexity: React Native major version upgrades and native module maintenance can be non-trivial compared to web-only projects.
React Native at Elmeris
Elmeris offers React Native development as part of our cross-platform mobile services. We use React Native with TypeScript, Expo, and the modern Bridgeless architecture for new projects. Our typical React Native stack includes React Navigation, Zustand or Redux Toolkit, React Query, and EAS Build for CI/CD.
Building a cross-platform app with React Native?
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