React Native is Facebook’s (Meta’s) open-source framework for building mobile apps using JavaScript and React. Unlike hybrid app development frameworks that run inside a WebView, React Native renders actual native UI components — a UIView on iOS, a View on Android — delivering genuine native look and feel from shared JavaScript code. Its new Architecture (JSI and Fabric) has significantly improved performance since 2022.
If you’ve been following React Native for a while, you’ll remember the New Architecture being described as “coming soon” for years. That waiting is over. React Native 0.76 made the New Architecture the default, and version 0.82 permanently disabled the old bridge-based architecture — meaning every active mobile app development services with mobile app development with react Native project is now running on JSI, Fabric, and TurboModules, whether the team planned for it or not.
For most developers near me, this is good news. Real-world production migrations show 43% faster cold starts, 39% faster rendering, and 26% lower memory usage. Shopify, one of React Native’s most visible enterprise users, has publicly reported similar numbers from their own migration in Birmingham.
The practical takeaway: if you’re starting a new project in 2026, you inherit all of these improvements out of the box. If you’re maintaining an older codebase still on the legacy architecture, migration is no longer optional — it’s a technical debt item with a deadline.
React Native makes most sense when cross platform mobile application development company in Bristol team already knows JavaScript and React, when you need to share business logic with a React web app, or when your app doesn’t have unusually demanding animation or graphics requirements. For businesses starting fresh with no existing tech team, flutter app development company in Bristol typically delivers better long-term results.
One of the most common arguments against mobile app development with React Native has been performance — specifically the concern that “JavaScript can’t be as fast as native.” The New Architecture has largely put that debate to rest for mainstream app types.
The new architecture achieves 62% faster cold start times (dropping from 2.1s to 0.8s) and 43% smaller bundle sizes versus 2024. Memory usage improved 39% — from 145MB to 89MB — thanks to automatic image optimization and garbage collection advances.
React Native Reanimated 3 runs animations entirely on the UI thread via worklets, making 60fps and 120fps animations achievable without JavaScript bridge overhead. This directly addresses the “complex animations require native modules” limitation that held React Native back for years.
The honest caveat: these numbers apply to most business apps — e-commerce, fintech, healthcare, SaaS tools. If you’re building a 3D game or a high-frame-rate AR experience, native development still has an edge.
Not sure whether React Native or Flutter is right for your project? Our cross-platform mobile app development team in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow across the UK will give you an honest, jargon-free recommendation.