Can you name any online business with a mobile app in 2024?
No matter how hard you jog your memory, you may not find any (exceptions are always there, though!)
Mobile apps have become mainstream! Businesses are aggressively flocking to mobile app development to attract their customers and skyrocket their overall revenue.
Did you know?
As per the reports from Statista, “Mobile apps are expected to generate more than $610 billion in revenue by the end of next year”.
Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? That’s the power of mobile app development!
But pause for a while! Building a mobile app is not a cakewalk; you should choose the right app development framework to start with the app-building process.
This is where the importance of React Native vs. Swift comes in!
Without further ado, let’s discuss their meanings, key statistics, features and benefits, and a final quick comparison.
Let’s dive in!
Understanding React Native: What is it?
Launched and supported by Google, React Native is a dedicated JavaScript framework that enables developers to build solid and scalable mobile apps for both Android & iOS. Equipped with a single codebase, it allows developers to build two different apps using the single coding (the one used for another platform). Furthermore, the framework has a wide range of animations and widgets that help design a stunning User Interface. Speaking of the app development tool, the term “React” is a JavaScript library that builds UIs while Native is a set of components, including buttons, scrolling animations, input fields, and UI elements.
Well, that’s not the end of React Native! There’s more to the story!
With such intuitive features, the framework has garnered significant popularity among developers of all kinds.
Important Facts & Statistics Related to React Native
Let’s take a look at the key facts & statistics related to React Native.
- Nearly 95% of the top 100 grossing apps on iOS and Android were made with React Native.
- More than 30% of developers used React Native for web or mobile app development.
- More than 1 billion devices are running apps built with React Native.
Top Features & Benefits of React Native
Here is a list of the key features and benefits of React Native.
1. Unmatched Performance
One of the key features and benefits of React Native is that it efficiently harnesses native controls and modules which lead to smooth and lag-free apps. The major highlight of the framework is that it gains access to OS’ native elements and then uses Native APIs to create separate threads. Furthermore, it supports a wide range of third-party plugins, which can be seamlessly integrated to enhance the device’s functionalities.
2. Hot Reloading Feature
It’s a major feature of the React Native framework which allows developers to view changes that they just made to the app’s code. In short, developers don’t need to refresh the entire app to view the changes. When experts don’t need to refresh the entire page again and again, it may lead to an improved app development process and faster time to market. Speaking of its counterpart, building apps with React Native takes less time and is nearly 33% faster than Swift.
3. Rich Library Support
React Native has an extensive library of 33,000 libraries and additional packages which makes it easy for developers to incorporate it into the app and enhance its functionality. Speaking of its counterpart, Swift has only 3800 packages. The numbers are not the deciding factor, though, they still act as the deciding factor. With such extensive packages and libraries, it has garnered huge community support, which even helped in its overall growth.
What is Swift?
Created by Apple, Swift is a compiled programming language that enables developers to build native iOS applications for Apple devices, including macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS. Equipped with LLVM compiler technology, the framework helps experts to write fast and efficient code without running into errors. One of the major highlights of Swift is that it helps reduce errors, enhance code readability, and increase app’s development speed.
From mobile apps to desktop apps, the framework is being widely used in the Apple’s ecosystem. Since the app development tool comes with expressive syntaxes, the programming interface is interactive.
Just like we discussed the statistics of React Native, it’s not fair if we ignore Swift. Let’s discuss the key facts & statistics related to Swift.
Key Facts & Statistics Related to Swift
These are as follows:
- Swift is nearly 2.6 times faster than Objective-C and 8.4 times faster than Python.
- Swift is the 20th most commonly used programming language in the world, as of January 2024.
- Furthermore, in 2021, Swift was ranked 8th among the most loved languages of all time.
Top Features & Benefits of Swift Programming Language
Here is a list of the key features and benefits of Swift programming language.
1. Unmatched Speed
The speed of Swift always remains a question of whether it can surpass React Native! The official Apple claimed that Swift is 2.6 times faster than its earlier version, i.e., “Objective-C”. The major highlight of Swift is that it uses the LLVM tool to compile the code directly into the machine code. Remember that building an app with Swift can speed up the app development process with ease.
2. ABI Stability
When the updated version of Swift, i.e., the “Swift 5” version launched, the ABI (Application Binary Interface) stability made its way. The major highlight of the feature is that it prevents sudden app crashes whenever developers try to implement it into the existing code. With such a saviour in Swift programming language, it ensures all language versions are well-suited to each other.
3. Open-Source
One of the major benefits of the Swift programming language is that it is an open-source iOS native language that fosters community collaboration. With such kind of transparency and openness, many developers worldwide are contributing their best to the growth of Swift for mobile app development.
Comparison Between React Native & Swift: Learn the Key Differences
Let’s take a look at the comparison between React Native & Swift on the basis of the following parameters.
| Parameters | React Native | Swift |
| Popularity | As compared to Swift, React Native is popular and has a huge market share. | Swift, on the other hand, is less popular among developers and businesses. |
| Type of Programming Language | React Native is an open-source JavaScript framework. | Swift, on the other hand, has a general-purpose compiled programming language. |
| Performance | It offers native-like performance that is beneficial for your business growth in the long run. | Swift, on the other hand, offers excellent performance. |
| Development Cost | When it comes to developing apps with React Native, the overall cost of development is incredibly low. | On the flip side, the cost of developing apps with Swift is relatively on the higher side. |
| Stability | Speaking of React Native, there is no such issue related to stability. | Swift, on the flip side, has a better app stability which means users don’t need to worry about unexpected app crashes. |
Final Thoughts
So, there you have it! There is no definitive answer to React Native vs. Swift! Instead, it all boils down to your mobile app development needs! To put it simply, it means that if you want to develop a specific iOS app with better stability then choose Swift. On the other hand, if you want to build a solid Android app with improved performance and faster time to market then React Native is an ideal solution!
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