React Native can replace native mobile development in most companies, significantly reducing the cost of application development.

React Native was developed and launched by Facebook in 2015 and was intended to make it possible to build native iOS and Android apps using JavaScript, instead of the native Apple and Java programming languages.

With React Native, only one code base is required for iOS and Android. This eliminates the need for dedicated iOS and Android developers. You develop apps that look, act, and feel like native iOS and Android apps. The cost of app development is significantly reduced with the React Native app compared to two separate Android and iOS apps.

If the app is sophisticated and makes heavy use of calculations and platform-specific components, a native app for iOS and for Android is still a must.

Pros

• The benefits of React Native are time and labor savings, which is achieved thanks to a single code base for iOS and Android apps. You save development time and can generate more operational value instead of wasting time unnecessarily on platform support.
• Although published by Facebook, the opensource framework is not owned by Facebook.
• JavaScript is a widely accepted scripting language. Knowledge of it is widespread in the market and in many companies.
• Changes no longer need to be updated manually; hot reloading ensures instant display of all data updates.

Cons

• React Native is not a pure native technology and uses many non-native components.
• Simple applications are realized in no time, but if the application contains advanced features or requires high processing power, then React Native must be used together with other native technologies such as Swift or Java. If the bridging between React Native with Swift/Java is not done correctly, performance issues can occur.
• Because of the large code base, JavaScript is known to be vulnerable to security threats, which requires caution. In particular, scripts that originate from third-party add-ons need to be thoroughly checked.

React Native is a young technology that will unleash its full power in the future. Today, it is not yet a complete replacement for native mobile development, but it can make developers' lives much easier for most projects.