Mobile framework
React Native app development
React Native lets a team that knows React build apps for iPhone and Android. Screens are real native components, so the app feels like part of each phone. We use it where web skills and shared code make the project quicker and cheaper.
- 1,200+ clients helped
- Building since 2010
- 15 services, one team
- 50+ technologies
At a glance
What it is
React Native builds iPhone and Android apps using React and JavaScript, rendering real native screen parts so the app feels at home on each platform.
Problems it solves
Companies with web developers need mobile apps, but hiring two native teams is slow and expensive.
Who it suits
Teams with web skills who want mobile apps, and businesses with a web product that needs a matching app.
How to choose
Choose React Native when your team already works in React, or when the app should share logic with a web product and feel native.
What it means
React, with native screens
React Native is an open-source framework for building mobile apps with React and JavaScript. Unlike tools that draw their own interface, it turns your components into the phone's own screen elements.
For a team that already builds web interfaces in React, the learning curve is gentler than starting native. Developers can move between the web product and the app, and some code can be shared.
It is not magic. Some features need native code, and performance-critical screens may need extra care. The framework has improved a lot, but this is the trade-off to keep in mind.
What DECHY can do
Working with React Native
Build
- Apps for iPhone and Android.
- Shared code with your web product where it makes sense.
Add native
- Native modules for cameras, sensors, and payments.
- Careful handling of permissions.
Release
- Store listings, builds, and test distribution.
- Over-the-air updates for small fixes where allowed.
Maintain
- Upgrades across framework and phone releases.
- Crash reports and performance work.
Alternatives
React Native compared with the alternatives
Suits
Teams with React skills, and apps that should feel native.
- Trade-off
- Some features need native code, and upgrades need care.
Suits
Designed, consistent interfaces from one team.
- Trade-off
- A different language and a look of its own.
Suits
Occasional use, with no store listing needed.
- Trade-off
- Limited phone features and no offline depth.
Choosing the right approach
Upgrades need planning
React Native and the phone systems it runs on change every year. Dependencies can fall behind, and an upgrade left too long becomes a project in itself.
We plan small, regular upgrades, keep dependencies few and well maintained, and test on real devices, so the app does not become hard to update.
Common questions
Questions about React Native
Will the app feel native?
Largely, yes, because it uses real native components. Feel also depends on how each screen is built, and we test on real devices.
Can we reuse our web code?
Logic, data types, and back-end connections can often be shared. Screens usually cannot, since a phone and a browser need different layouts.
Is it as fast as a native app?
For most business apps, yes. Graphics-heavy or very demanding apps may need native code for those parts.
Who owns the app code?
You do, as agreed in writing before work starts. We hand over code and documentation.
Have a different question?
Tell us what you are weighing up and we will answer it plainly.
Ask a questionAlready a client? Email support@dechytech.com
Technical depth
How we build with React Native
For your developers and IT lead: our React Native choices on structure, native features, and delivery, and the reasoning behind each.
We write in TypeScript, organize code by feature, share types and back-end connections with the web product through a common package, and keep navigation and screens separate from logic.
- Well-maintained libraries where they exist, and custom native modules where they do not.
- Secure storage for credentials, and background tasks used sparingly.
- Performance checks on lists and animations, since they run on a real device's limits.
- Automated builds and tests in a pipeline for both platforms.
- Staged releases and crash reporting for each version.
Tell us about the app and your team
Describe the app, and what your team already builds. We will say whether React Native fits and how much could be shared with your web product.