Bringing React Native Support to HarmonyOS NEXT
Article Summary
Przemek Sosna from Software Mansion reveals how his team brought React Native to Huawei's new operating system. HarmonyOS NEXT now powers 27 million devices with zero Android compatibility.
Software Mansion partnered with Huawei to develop React Native OpenHarmony (RNOH), enabling React Native apps to run natively on HarmonyOS NEXT. The collaboration involved building core infrastructure from scratch, including bridging ArkTS with React Native's Fabric architecture and porting essential libraries to the new platform.
Key Takeaways
- 27 million devices now run HarmonyOS NEXT with 300,000+ apps available
- Built complete TurboModule system and Fabric integration using ArkTS and C++
- Ported 6 critical libraries including Reanimated and Gesture Handler
- Supports React Native 0.77 and 0.72, with 0.82 support in development
- Major apps like Xiaohongshu and CTrip already adopted the platform
React Native developers can now target HarmonyOS NEXT's 27 million devices through RNOH, with full New Architecture support and a growing ecosystem of compatible libraries.
About This Article
HarmonyOS NEXT needed to connect ArkTS with React Native's Fabric architecture, which is built in C++. The two ecosystems work very differently, making integration hard.
Software Mansion built the native OpenHarmony TurboModule system from the ground up. They then mapped React Native's core components to HarmonyOS NEXT using ArkTS and C++.
The team ported six popular libraries, including react-native-reanimated and react-native-gesture-handler. This made it possible to build real apps on the platform with proper library support.