React Native: A Year in Review
Article Summary
One year after open sourcing React Native, Facebook dropped a bombshell at F8: Microsoft and Samsung are bringing the framework to Windows, Xbox, and SmartTVs. The mobile-first framework just became platform-agnostic.
Facebook's React Native team published this retrospective at the one-year mark of open sourcing their framework. What began as an internal experiment evolved into a cross-platform development solution that caught the attention of tech giants looking to expand beyond iOS and Android.
Key Takeaways
- Microsoft bringing React Native to Windows PC, Phone, and Xbox platforms
- Samsung building React Native for SmartTVs, mobile, and wearable devices
- Facebook released official SDK with Login, Sharing, and Analytics integration
- CodePush and VS Code extension launched for Windows developers
React Native expanded from a mobile framework to a truly universal platform spanning desktop, console, TV, and wearables in just 12 months.
About This Article
React Native had launched as open source, but needed to prove it could actually work across different platforms and at multiple companies. The framework needed real adoption beyond the initial excitement.
Facebook brought in Microsoft and Samsung as partners to help expand React Native's reach. They also released the Facebook SDK for React Native, which made it easier for developers to add social features like Login, Sharing, App Analytics, and Graph APIs.
Within a year, React Native went from a mobile framework to something that worked on Windows, Xbox, SmartTVs, and wearable devices. Developers could now build for all these platforms instead of just phones.