9 most popular mobile apps built with React Native

When the engineers at Facebook started developing their own new approach to mobile applications, they had no idea that what they were building will eventually be hailed globally as the one true solution for cross-platform mobile app development.

Facebook officially released React Native as open-source in 2015.  Since then the framework has made rapid progress in terms of use and popularity. As of 15^th September 2019, these are GitHub statistics for React Native:

By any account, these are good numbers for a platform that is just four years old. To understand why React Native has gained popularity so fast, let us see why it has been used to develop or transform these immensely popular apps.

Top mobile apps built with React Native

Instagram (iOS | Android)

Prior to being acquired by Facebook, Instagram was built as a native app for mobiles. This meant that engineers were building multiple native apps, one for each type of phone.

Using web applications was never on the cards for them. Facebook transformed things completely, choosing to let go of some native functionality for ease of development and release. It transitioned all Instagram features to React Native seamlessly within a couple of months. This has enabled Instagram to add new features frequently, improving customer satisfaction, and hence engagement.

Facebook Ads Manager (iOS | Android)

Facebook Ads Manager was the first cross-platform mobile app built using React Native. If you have ever used or seen Facebook ads manager, you would know that it involves a complex web of components like currency, time zones, ad preferences, user profiles, etc.

It also has complex business logic that must be rendered as soon as any parameter changes. Then there are the various downloads that it allows users to make.

React Native is able to handle the business logic with all the required parameters easily.  It manages to make the mobile app lightning fast despite loaded with data all the time.  The interface is clean and navigation intuitive, making it super-efficient to design an ad.

Bloomberg (iOS | Android)

Using React Native for its app has enabled Bloomberg to provide easy-to-access highly personalized content to its users in an interactive and streamlined manner. Post-migration to React Native the code is refreshed automatically, and hence new product features can be released more rapidly.

Gyroscope (iOS | Android)

Health apps track data related to users’ health, like steps, calories burnt, heart rate, etc. help in preventing health conditions, losing weight, etc.

However, most health apps work alone. Gyroscope allows users to integrate with other health apps like sleep tracker, productivity apps, calorie counter, etc.  This enables users to get a holistic view of their overall health.

If you think over it, you will realize that the Gyroscope app must display huge amount of varied data whenever the user demands it. This is easily achieved using React Native, which provides a clean and attractive way to display this data. The resulting simplified but well-designed UI/UX allows users to view their data as daily, weekly, monthly e-statements, where the user can click on any element to get a more in-depth report.

Walmart (iOS | Android)

Walmart has been the market leader because its focus is always on the best customer experience. Its e-commerce app was developed to emphasize this objective.

To improve the performance of its app and allow the developers to release frequent changes on both Android and iOS platforms, Walmart used React Native. The developers were able to share 96% of the codebase between the two platforms, enabling Walmart to use their skills better. The developers now focus on developing new versions of the app and adding features that would appeal to the customers.

The mobile app built using React Native performs as well as any native app and boasts a great performance record.

Skype (iOS | Android)

Microsoft used the UWP framework to bring Skype to Windows 10. However, it soon switched to React Native because it allows Microsoft to develop Skype for different mobile platforms. The same code can also be migrated to Windows with some tweaking.

Besides saving on time and resources, React Native makes Skype faster and more engaging as a mobile app.

Airbnb (iOS | Android)

When Airbnb realized that millions of its bookings were being done through mobiles, it decided to start exploring options to develop mobile apps.

It did not have enough resources to develop native mobile apps for each mobile platform. Therefore, it decided to adopt React Native to develop cross-platform mobile applications.

Using React Native has allowed Airbnb to reduce time to market for its mobile app, and that too at a fraction of cost. The simplified development life cycle has enabled the developers to release versions rapidly. They have also used an animation library to build junk-free and interaction-driven animations into the interface.

UberEATS (iOS | Android)

The developers of UberEATS observed that its restaurant dashboard was being accessed mostly through mobiles.

As the app itself used web application to render the interface on users’ mobile, this was creating trouble for the users in the form of delayed and often incomplete information, resulting in loss of business. 

The use of React Native has enabled developers to utilize native functionalities of users’ mobile platforms. This has improved the overall user experience for restaurant owners and bumped up downloads and positive reviews.

Discovery VR

Through the app, Discovery intended to provide an immersive experience to its viewers through the use of virtual reality.

React Native was it’s go-to framework as it enabled developers to build a truly cross-platform mobile app that could access features of the OS it was installed on. This improved response time of the Discovery VR app, and in the case of VR apps every second matter.

Want to Build an App with React Native?

Whether you are a business owner looking to transform your next business idea into a successful mobile app, or a newbie trying to find the right mobile platform for your app ideas, you are bound to have been inspired by this impressive list of apps built using React Native.

And remember, this list is only suggestive.  There are hundreds of more popular mobile applications running on React Native. However, before you go ahead with downloading React Native and start building your application, it would be a good idea to understand the pros and cons of React Native Platform.

Here are some advantages of React Native:

• React Native is completely open-source and operates under MIT license.  And it will always remain free.
• React Native is written in JavaScript, one of the oldest and most popular languages for developing web, and now mobile, applications.  The success rate of finding developers who are JavaScript experts is pretty high.
• React Native ensures rapid development, ensuring faster time to market at reduced cost and effort.
• Almost 95% of the code written for one platform can be used for another platform.
• React Native provides amazing developer experience.

And to balance, here are some disadvantages of React Native:

• Being a new framework, it can sometimes become challenging to find developers who are experts in it.
• Native features can be accessed by React Native through bridge applications that must be written in the native language of the mobile platform.

Final Words

React Native is maturing rapidly as independent developers, besides Facebook engineers, are working hard to make it more robust and feature-rich. Being a fully open source, it has become one of the best frameworks necessary for cross-platform mobile app development.

If you want to build a high-quality cross-platform mobile application without going overboard in terms of cost and resource allocation, React Native app development could prove to be a viable option if it meets your other organizational requirements. Find out more about how TechAhead, a React Native app development company can help you build a successful app that’s right for your customers.