Appending React Native Features into Android and iOS Apps

While choosing a platform for mobile app development can be most daunting, creating an app for one platform and making it work for another is nearly impossible even to date. iOS application development companies create a minimum viable product (MVP) – a workable version for one specific platform. The entire app is then created on the same lines, and then a fully integrated app is stress tested, smoke tested, system tested, regression tested, and integration tested before A/B testing. Every step in the process is critical and has to be aligned and scoped with the business strategy and scaling plans.

How Do Native And Cross-Platform Apps Differ?

Performance always remains one major concern during cross-platform app development. Native apps do come across with features like high performance, access to new device-specific features, their own development environment, consistent UI, and better positioning on the stores but the reason to still go for cross-platform app development remains unfazed:

How to add React Native features into existing Android and iOS Apps?

React Native works well if you wish to create an app to run on Android and iOS platforms. However, if you wish to add features into existing applications, React Native is equally good. If you wish to create two versions of the app for different operating systems, you may start writing the program in React Native or may even consider adding a single view or user flow to existing native applications. With just a few steps, you can add new React Native-based features, screens, views, etc.

Some specific steps can be followed depending on the type of platform: iOS (Objective C), Android (Java), iOS (Swift), and iOS (Objective C). So it can be a natively rendered mobile app for iOS or for Android. This framework allows the creation of an application for various platforms by using the same codebase. Follow the following steps to create a React Native mobile app:

1. Check the prerequisites to get started
2. Configure the development environment
3. Set up the directory structure by copying the project into a /android subfolder
4. Create a package.json file into the root directory
5. Install yarn package manager
6. Install React and React-native packages (/node_modules) folder
7. Add node_modules to .gitignore file
8. Configure maven by adding React Native and JSC dependency to the build.gradle file.
9. Add it to the allprojects block above maven repositories
10. Apply autolinking to settings.gradle
11. Configure permissions in AndroidManifest.xml

We can safely add a single view or a user flow to existing native applications. To integrate React Native components into Android or iOS App, follow these steps:

1. Set up React Native directory structure and dependencies.
2. Develop a React Native component in JavaScript.
3. Assemble a ReactRootView into your Android App (Here it acts as a container for React Native component).
4. Boot the React Native Server and execute the React Native Application.
5. Verify the functionality of the app.

Integrating React Native Feature into Android App

1. Create index.js file
2. Create React Native component (Text component styled within a View)
3. Configure permissions, alerts, and prompts over oncreate() method
4. Override the onActivityResult() method to handle permissions accepted or denied cases for consistent user experience
5. Start the React Native Runtime to the native code and render JS component. Create Activity, start React application and set it as the main content view.
6. Perform sync project files with Gradle operation
7. User alt+enter in case of Android Studio to add missing imports in MyreactActivity class. Use BuildConfig package.
8. Set MyReactActivity to theme.AppCompat.Light.NoActionBar
9. Pass activity lifecycle callbacks to ReactInstanceManager and ReactRootView
10. Pass back button event to React Native.
11. Hook up the Dev menu (shake the device) or by pressing ctrl+m in case of Android Studio emulator.

React powered activity is ready to run some JavaScript code

1. Run the packager
2. Build and run the Android app as normal
3. It must be able to load the JavaScript code from the development server and you’re all set!

Integrate React Native components into your iOS application

1. Configure React Native dependencies and directory structure.
2. Choose the React Native components that you will use in your application.
3. Add these components as dependencies using CocoaPods.
4. Build your React Native components in JavaScript.
5. Add RCTRootView to your iOS application (container for React Native)
6. Start the React Native Server
7. Execute the React Native Application
8. Test and verify if the functionality of the resultant application is as expected

Adding React Native to Your Application

1. Setting command Line Tools for Xcode
2. Configuring CocoaPods dependencies
3. Code integration

Why is React Native preferable?

Development by React Native App saves time and money. Such apps are cross functional and can run across Android and iOS platforms. The resultant apps are highly performant. Over-the-air updates allow users to make changes in the backend while the user is still active on the app. RN apps are open-source with native-like UI tools to customize the application.

Cross-Platform App Development: Where Should We Go From Here?

Considering the prerequisites mentioned above, you may continue developing your React Native app as usual. We hope the transition went smoothly. If you are interested to know more about React Native, Android, iOS, or our app development services and best practices, check out the offerings here.