Should I choose React Native or Flutter for my mobile app?

If your team has JavaScript/TypeScript experience or you share a codebase with a Next.js web app, React Native is the natural choice — same language, same type definitions, same team. Flutter is stronger when pixel-perfect design consistency across platforms is the primary requirement, or when you need iOS, Android, web and desktop from a single build. See our full Flutter vs React Native comparison for a detailed breakdown.

What is the New Architecture in React Native?

The New Architecture replaces the original JavaScript bridge (which serialised all communication between JS and native) with JSI (JavaScript Interface) — a direct C++ binding. This eliminates serialisation overhead, enables synchronous native API calls and significantly improves performance for animations, scroll gestures and concurrent data operations. All new Expo projects use the New Architecture by default.

Should I use Expo or bare React Native?

For most projects, Expo managed workflow is the right starting point. It handles native builds, code signing, OTA updates and device API access without requiring Xcode or Android Studio setup. Bare React Native gives full control when you need custom native modules not available in the Expo ecosystem. We start with Expo and eject only when a specific requirement demands it.

Does React Native support Arabic and RTL layouts?

Yes. React Native has built-in RTL support via the I18nManager API. When RTL is enabled, flexbox direction, text alignment and component layout mirror automatically. We have built Arabic-language React Native applications for Moroccan and GCC clients — RTL is a first-class concern in our mobile development process.

Mobile

React Native

Cross-platform iOS and Android apps from a single TypeScript codebase.

Book a Discovery Call React Native website

React Native is Meta's open-source framework for building native mobile applications using JavaScript and TypeScript. It compiles to native platform components — not a web view — producing apps that are indistinguishable from Swift/Kotlin apps in most use cases. The New Architecture (JSI) significantly improves performance over the bridge-based original.

Why we chose it

Why Ascii-Core uses React Native

1
One codebase covers iOS and Android — 40–60% faster than dual native development
2
TypeScript shared with web frontend — same team, same type definitions, same patterns
3
Expo ecosystem — managed builds, OTA updates, device APIs without native module configuration
4
Battle-tested at scale — Facebook, Instagram, Shopify, Airbnb all run React Native in production

Ideal use cases

When to use React Native

Customer-facing mobile apps requiring both iOS and Android
Teams with existing JavaScript/TypeScript and React experience
Products that need OTA updates without App Store review cycles
Mobile companions to existing Next.js web applications sharing business logic
B2B and field workforce apps requiring offline support

Trade-offs

Honest limitations

We believe in accurate trade-offs. These are the cases where a different tool may be the better choice.

Graphics-intensive applications (3D, AR, games) require native modules or different frameworks
Slightly larger app bundle than equivalent native apps due to the JS runtime
Deep device API access occasionally requires custom native modules when Expo packages are insufficient

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