Developing an App: Ionic vs React Native

Building apps that will support both iOS and Android is just not an easy thing, thus there have been a couple of attempts to make a unified framework supporting both platforms, React Native and Ionic are best examples of them.

React Native framework, was first created to solve the problems of the inefficient process to build native apps and poor hybrid performance. On the other hand, ionic app development is another popular trend to develop hybrid mobile applications.

So, React Native or Ionic? Before comparing these two app development frameworks, we need to understand Hybrid and Native apps.

 Hybrid

• Hybrid apps are mainly the websites embedded on a mobile platform through a WebView and are built to look like a native.
• Using the well-known web technologies like HTML5, JavaScript or CSS the Hybrid app development can be achieved.
• Hybrid apps can connect with native features of the mobile/platform including an accelerometer, GPS, camera etc. by using tools such as PhoneGap.

Native

• As the name suggests Native apps are native to the platform they operate within.
• These apps are built in the coding language such as Swift or Objective-C for iOS and Kotlin or Java for Android.
• Without restrictions, these apps can access all of the platform’s features.

Now the question is which will be the best framework for developing hybrid and native applications. There are many frameworks which are being used widely for hybrid app development and native app development, the list includes:

• PhoneGap
• Xamarin
• NativeScript
• React Native
• Ionic

We will be discussing the two most popular and acknowledged among these frameworks that are React Native and Ionic

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React Native

It is a JavaScript-based framework which uses a single code base that can be used across platforms. React Native uses native components which enable a smoother, enhanced and better user experience, instead of using CSS and HTML as of hybrid.

Below listed noteworthy features of React Native make it all distinct and reliable

Reusable Component

Building blocks of React Native are the reusable components which are compiled directly in the native platform and you will get a consistent look and feel to each component. This feature provides you all the functionality, speed and feels for a native app.

Rendering

With live reload feature of React native, rendering takes place in real-time you don’t need to recompile, rebuild, and you will see results straight away. Also depending on the state of your application, you can implement conditional rendering.

Language Stack

As we know, React Native is based on a JavaScript framework it uses JSX that resembles HTML but essentially isn’t exactly HTML. Its display logic is blended with the business logic. To Create React Native App, developers must know how to create and style the user interfaces using their own HTML-like components.

Platform Adaptability

In React Native, most components have a platform-specific logical equivalent, thus it is quite efficient to adopt features from one platform to another. Native app development requires more efforts since React Native was developed to simplify and reduce these efforts. With React Native developers don’t have to ignore platform-specific logic and frameworks.

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Ionic

Ionic is the best hybrid app development framework which allows web developers using a single code base to build apps across major platforms. The Ionic Community has built millions of apps and there’s a marketplace where developers and organizations offer and sell, Ionic plugins. Ionic uses web technologies like CSS, JavaScript, and HTML to create and render the app and also leverage PhoneGap/ Cordova bridges for accessing native features.

The major Ionic features enhancing its functionality are listed below:

One code, many platforms

Hybrid apps run on a single code base and work well across platforms and devices. Considering this, Ionic adjusts its features to build cross-platform app development bringing a smoother experience. With Ionic, you can write an app once and it can run on any platform with minimal changes. Ionic can also adopt certain platform-specific behavior like changing the tab layout for iOS and Android.

Continuous Testing

With Ionic, you can immediately preview the app in the browser and mobile devices. It enables interactive development by instantly refreshing the changes made to an app.

Languages Leveraged

Ionic is based on Angular JavaScript framework that uses HTML templates for its views. In ionic app development, the logic and views are separated. Using Ionic Cross-platform development is somewhat easier since much of the basic framework remains the same. With Angular 2, Ionic 2 provides more flexible and modular development approach.

Which framework is suitable to build your app?

React is more effective for those who prefer making native apps since the native rendering creates apps quicker and responsive for the end-user. Ionic is the go-to framework for those who want to develop and deploy an app in less time and with good performance, supporting both Native browser apps and Progressive Web Apps (PWA).

Depending on the need for application development such as whether you want to develop a hybrid or native app, you must choose one of these frameworks.

Conclusion

Along with the best application development framework, the team’s skills, nature of requirements, and goals for the app being built are also important aspects. We have significantly satisfied a number of clients by developing robust and interactive apps.

Our hybrid mobile app developers have a good practice over both major frameworks Ionic and React Native. If you are seeking the best company for your dream app, then don’t think twice, contact us to get your app developed with powerful and effective solutions.

Author Bio: Anchal Malik works at Excellent WebWorld as a Creative Content Writer and looks after content marketing. Always smiling and keen to learn new things. a fitness freak with a foodie attribute. I have a keen interest in Mobile App Development, ionic app development company.