React Native Or Ionic: What To Choose & Why?
App Development
12Aug 2020
With the increasing usage of smartphone devices, mobile app development has become the talk of the town. The number of apps usage is rising at a burgeoning speed. Mobile app development companies are creating apps in every sector with innovative approaches to meet user requirements and provide luxury. Mobile development is not only about native iOS development or native Android development. Our generation is past all that. Now is the time for cross-platform, hybrid, and progressive web apps.
This article will draw comparisons between two well-known mobile frameworks - React Native & Ionic. Let’s observe some similarities between the two and differences that can help you choose between whichever works out the best for you.
React Native
This cross-platform framework allows developers to develop mobile apps natively on Android and iOS both. It uses React to code in JavaScript. Back in 2015, it got open-sourced by Facebook and gained a high level of popularity since then.
Ionic
This is a hybrid solution to develop your mobile apps. It enables you to use regular web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create high-quality, cross-platform apps. Ionic solution has launched a free eBook that describes the distinction between a native app and a hybrid app.
Similarities between the two
Iconic platform helps you build desktop, mobile, and web apps using conventional web technologies such as HTML/CSS/JavaScript. Likewise, Reach Native helps you develop native mobile apps with JavaScript and the well-known JavaScript systems, React.
Hence, you don’t have to know native Android or iOS development to use React Native or Ionic.
Difference between the two
1. React is native, while Ionic is Hybrid
React Native enables app developers to develop native cross-platform apps. A native app is a program built in a particular programming language, for the specific device platform, either Android or iOS.
Native iOS apps get scripted in Objective -C or Swift, and native Android apps get scripted in Java. Moreover, React Native’s native components offer users a seamless experience. It is designed using React and Javascript, but all the elements are native components of Android and iOS. The specialty of React Native is that it develops native apps on Android and iOS, both with one codebase.
The impressive part is coding in Javascript and providing components native to the platform. Hence, one reason why apps developed using React Native have a better user experience than frameworks that use Web views.
Ionic, a hybrid app, uses CSS, JavaScript, and HTML to develop apps that can get used on desktop, mobile, and web. Hybrid apps use Web view to develop mobile apps. Ionic apps are developed using web technologies and are provided using Web Views, full-screen, and fully boosted web browsers.
The main idea is to reuse code on various platforms. Therefore, hybrid apps won’t have access to native features of the smartphones out of the box. Ionic employs Cordova Plugins to sync native features to your app.
2. Tech Stack
React Native is scripted in JavaScript with the well-known framework React. The User Interface gets written in JSX, not HTML. JSX looks like any other program language but comes with all the powers of JavaScript. The primary reason React Native utilizes React is because the systems were built and open-sourced by Facebook.
Ionic’s tech stack is more flexible than React Native. With Ionic, you can use Vue, Angular, or even React to develop Ionic apps. The latest launch of Ionic 4 enables you to use Ionic with any web development framework.
3. Trending
If you are confused between which one is the most trending, React Native, or Ionic, let’s find out.
The State of JavaScript survey of 2018 released information on React Native and Ionic trends for the past three years among developers. From the results, it can be said that React Native is more trending as a mobile framework than Ionic.
The reason is that it has the full potential to build native apps using React and Javascript. Ionic app being hybrid lacks the feel of a native app. However, React Native apps are native, and those components are all native to Android and iOS. The user won’t be able to differentiate between native apps and React Native.
4. Code Learning
It is quite simple to learn React Native. The concepts are similar to React, and coding is in React. The only difference is that React utilizes web elements such as <p>, <div>, whereas React Native uses features that are bindings around native Android and iOS elements such as <View>. It should be quite easy for a React developer to become a React Native developer.
And for someone who doesn’t know React, it means they need to start with JavaScript and React. They need to start thinking like a mobile developer from app development agency, because they will build mobile apps and not web apps. It can be a little challenging for a newbie with no knowledge of React.
Whereas, Ionic’s tech stack is flexible. You will use CSS, HTML, and JavaScript, besides your choice of framework. The frameworks could be Vue, React, Knockout, Angular, or any other latest one. Hence, developers can pick any structure they are already equipped with, consequently makes their task easy. When you use Ionic, it means you are developing web apps that can become mobile apps too. The Ionic approach is more comfortable to comprehend for the developers.
5. Performance
React Native gives a better native performance than Ionic. React Native is developing native apps, using JavaScript. It offers looks and feels of a native app & utilizes the same building blocks that native apps use. React Native renders excellent performance and is receptive to your mobile apps.
On the other hand, Ionic is a Hybrid app. It does not develop native apps, and you could face performance issues. Moreover, Ionic also needs the Cordova Plugin in case you need to reach native features. Ionic offers an excellent solution for developing elegant user interfaces and quicker development; it still encounters performance issues compared to React Native.
Conclusion:
When you compare between the two, there are specific pros and cons for both. However, React Native wins the battle. There is nothing like the right framework. If you are considering developing a cross-platform app, ensure you analyze your use-cases and developer preferences to conclude which system to choose.
Harnil Oza is the CEO & Founder of Hyperlink InfoSystem. With a passion for technology and an immaculate drive for entrepreneurship, Harnil has propelled Hyperlink InfoSystem to become a global pioneer in the world of innovative IT solutions. His exceptional leadership has inspired a multiverse of tech enthusiasts and also enabled thriving business expansion. His vision has helped the company achieve widespread respect for its remarkable track record of delivering beautifully constructed mobile apps, websites, and other products using every emerging technology. Outside his duties at Hyperlink InfoSystem, Harnil has earned a reputation for his conceptual leadership and initiatives in the tech industry. He is driven to impart expertise and insights to the forthcoming cohort of tech innovators. Harnil continues to champion growth, quality, and client satisfaction by fostering innovation and collaboration.
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