HACKER Q&A
📣 ldjkfkdsjnv

React Native for a Startup in 2023?


Building a startup with some pre-seed money. Enough to hire a few devs. We need a mobile app. Build also have decent scope on the backend. Seems like alot to maintain android, ios, and web. Whats the consensus on using React Native as a way to reduce code surface area and move quicker? I know it has issues, but are they manageable?

Also, the app is just a business application, not a flashy consumer one. Lots of form pages, document uploads, picture capturing, etc. We do need both from the start, with a heavy number of users on Android.

  👤 andsoitis Accepted Answer ✓
Know demographics.

iOS more prevalent in the US, but Android dominant worldwide. Android users are generally more price sensitive.

Know device landscape difference:

iOS less variation. Android broad set of manufacturers with wide ranging performance characteristics and typically wider range of network conditions (and pricing).

Etc.

Depending on your app, your initial target market, maturity of idea (mvp to test idea vs scale from the outset) and the above kind of considerations, may lead you to focus on one platform vs the other first.

If you do end up concluding you need to build for both from the start, you then have to pick between something cross platform vs the native way.

I personally think that introducing unnecessary technical complexity and unknowns and friction is not worth it if you don’t even know that your business idea has merit.

👤 jaegerpicker
It's really difficult to give you a useful answer. Some teams have succeeded and some have failed. It depends on the product, the team, and the user base. I've built and worked on both native mobile apps (swift and kotlin) and cross platform (react native and flutter). Personally I would choice native and have for my projects. That being said I personally hate the JavaScript eco system and language so to me it slows everything down. I'm faster (not twice as fast though) and much better in the native platforms. That doesn't mean your team will be. Who you hire and what the product is will matter more than which tech you use IMO.