I was at the SF React Native developers meet up the other night, the speaker (Devin Abbott) gave several nice pro/con's slide re react native. Here's a picture of the slides:
-- Slide 1 --
Maybe we should use React Native:
- We know JS / React
- We have lots of web developers but few mobile
- Our design is brand-focused
- We're willing to invest in RN
- We want to get into OSS
- We want OTA code updates
Or maybe we shouldn't:
- We don't know JS / React
- We already have an iOS team and an Android team
- Our designs are heavily platform-specific
- We don't have the time or money for an RN team / OSS
-- Slide 2 --
Pros:
- Cross-platform
- Performant, native feel (with some effort)
- Great developer experience
- Push updates over-the-air
- Strong community
- Backed by Facebook
Cons:
- Early
- Unstable (bugs, APIs)
- Ecosystem not fully developed
- Polished apps are high effort
- You may need native code (so JS + Obj-C + Java)
The thing that captured my interest was the point about being backed by Facebook. Parse was backed by Facebook and look where it is now.
Parse was an acquisition by Facebook that didn't end up working out.
Right now I will wait a little more and see how the tech evolves. Been burned by too many miracle technologies