ReactNative appears to be too much of a risk for the majority of the time. Think about if somebody recommended Azure as the absolute default way to build a basic* CRUD app, instead of building a backend.
>Consider reducing scope if possible.
This. I don't know why this lean mentality is lost on startups now, when only a few years ago we had all learned the lessons of trying to provide everything to everyone at MVP. This new mentality which is actually old mentality recycled, is anti-MVP.
I don't think it saves as much time as it's often touted to. I've found the OP's point that you spend double the time to make the write once promise true more of a factor. I believe that what everyone is seeing currently is very small deposits of code being used in new apps. Wait until those apps become 3,4,5 years old and the strain of feature creep will start to show just like it always does in software.
I think the main advantage is the flexibility of it. Just like you said that you "love building the UI with React", then go for it. Personally I love Xcode and Android Studio. The ability to run the app right out of the box, and the performance measuring tools, especially when it comes to threading, are unmatched to what is offered in Chrome. Whatever suits a developer's passion and skill, to enable them to build with a CHOICE of languages and tools, that's the main benefit of React Native. It also introduces a bunch of web developers into Kotlin and Swift, and they might get a taste of it being not as intimidating as they think it is.
>I will probably be heavily downvoted but here goes nothing.
>I guess all what I 'm trying to say is, don't be afraid of native people! Web devs are willing to go through insane hoops and loops instead of just... giving the real thing a go. So weird.
And the weirder thing is the expectation of getting downvoted when expressing anything that dares to question the accepted religion. Despite making a polite and well presented argument, embedded in real experience. It's a shame.
It's almost like javascript developers prefer diversifying over 100 different frameworks than diversifying 1-2 different languages. All of this while Swift and Kotlin are very close to javascript. The learning curve is way easier than going from Angular to React.
This is a good way to summarize the javascript community. Not learning from the past is possibly a side effect of being dominated by young and/or inexperienced programmers and being less inclined to research established concepts before making something up. Although there are plenty of benefits to younger programmers (I hope, I'm one myself), but there are drawbacks to everything.
>Consider reducing scope if possible.
This. I don't know why this lean mentality is lost on startups now, when only a few years ago we had all learned the lessons of trying to provide everything to everyone at MVP. This new mentality which is actually old mentality recycled, is anti-MVP.