Cons of Using React Native for App Development

React Native has taken the world of mobile app development by storm, and it’s no wonder why. It makes it easier than ever to build an app, even if you have limited programming experience or familiarity with JavaScript and HTML. However, as with anything, React Native also has its downsides. To get the best bang for your buck while using React Native, be sure to take these cons into consideration. Here are the some negative points of React Native app Development. Read Cons of React Native App Development with in detailed.

Waiting For Updates Can Slow You Down

One of react native’s biggest benefits is that it can be updated without releasing a new version of your app. Unfortunately, these updates can take longer than expected, depending on when they roll out. Although you can keep using your current code while you wait, sometimes bugs pop up and it may slow down progress. There’s no way to know how long waiting will take, but it usually takes between 24 hours and two weeks from announcement to rollout in major apps like Airbnb and Facebook Messenger.

The Learning Curve

React Native is a new, not-yet fully-developed technology. This means that you’ll have to jump through a few hoops in order to get a project up and running. Most notably, you’ll need an understanding of some complex JavaScript concepts if you don’t already know them—including Babel, Webpack, and Redux. If that all sounds like a bit much just now, it’s because it is! Developing using React Native will definitely take longer than using native code languages such as Swift or Objective-C; at least until developers build out libraries to smooth over common development pain points.

Bugs and Errors Are Common

Although it’s good to hear that you can do a lot in React Native, you should also know that there are still bugs. Because React Native is still a relatively new framework, it has some kinks to work out with memory usage, performance issues, and UI glitches. For example, if you’re working on an iOS app that needs to take advantage of hardware features like pull-to-refresh or geolocation services (and any app will need at least one or two of these features), you’ll probably have a difficult time due to some limited API support. That said, with time and constant updates from developers around the world (as well as Facebook themselves), many issues are likely to be worked out over time.

Relying on a Third Party Framework Is Risky

One benefit of using a third-party framework like React Native is having access to a robust community that can provide resources and help you with any questions or concerns. The flip side is you’re relying on third parties, which can sometimes come with its own set of risks. For example, if Facebook decides to make changes to its open source framework that negatively affect your business model, you may have no recourse but to accept them. Make sure your developers have a strategy in place to minimize any issues from such an occurrence, just in case it does happen down the road.

Design May Take Longer Than Expected

While design might be faster with React, it may not be as fast as you think. While some teams have been able to keep their designs under control and ship on time, other teams have found themselves spending far more time designing components than they expected. A big reason behind these challenges is that components are abstractions that give you a lot of flexibility in how your app looks and feels. If you want to create a consistent user experience across platforms, it's important to plan ahead how your components will work and look like on each platform before writing any code. Although it may seem easier just to throw something together, don't skimp on time spent here because both designers and developers will spend more time maintaining these designs throughout a project's lifetime if you don't build things correctly from day one.

Debugging Can Be Hard in JSX

There is a consensus among experts that debugging in JSX can be difficult. When developing a standard web application, you can set breakpoints and inspect your variables with ease. With React Native, you need to run your application in either iOS or Android debug mode and poke around on a device to see what’s going on. The issue lies with Chrome Developer Tools, which doesn’t expose all of your variables when running on mobile devices. This isn’t an issue if you have time to experiment while developing, but it can make debugging difficult if something goes wrong after release.