Hey there, mobile app builders! Are you tired of spending hours upon hours creating the same UI components for your React Native apps? Trust us, we feel your pain. That's why we've put together a list of the top 10 React Native component libraries that will save you precious time and effort on your next project. These libraries offer a wide variety of UI components that you can easily integrate into your app, from the basic elements like buttons and text inputs to the more complex components like charts and animations.

In this blog post, we'll take you on a journey through each of these awesome libraries, pointing out all the cool features and examples of how they can be used in real-world scenarios. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out with React Native, these component libraries are sure to make your life easier and your apps more impressive. So, sit back, relax, and get ready to level up your mobile app-building game!

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What is a React Native Library?

So, let's start with the basics. React Native is a framework for building mobile apps that allows developers to create high-performance apps that work on both iOS and Android platforms with just one codebase. But building an app from scratch can be a real headache, especially when it comes to creating UI components. That's where React Native libraries come in!

A React Native library is a pre-built set of UI components that developers can use to speed up their app-building process. These libraries come equipped with a variety of components, from simple buttons and input fields to more complex features like animations and charts. They're designed to be customizable, so developers can tweak them to match their app's unique style and functionality.

So, why would a developer need a React Native library? Well, when you're building an app, time is money, and libraries can save you a ton of both. Instead of spending hours creating each individual component, you can use a pre-built library and focus on the more unique features of your app. Plus, libraries often come with built-in functionality that can be difficult or time-consuming to create from scratch.

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1. React Native Elements

React Native Elements is a popular open-source library that provides a wide range of pre-built UI components for React Native developers, including buttons, forms, lists, and cards, as well as more complex components like a search bar, rating, and pricing.

These components are designed to be easily customizable, so developers can make them look and feel like they fit the design of their app. Hence the library includes some basic styling options, such as color and typography, that can be used to improve the overall look and feel of the app.

One of the benefits of React Native Elements is that it provides a consistent look and feel across different platforms (iOS and Android), which can help to improve the user experience. Additionally, the library is well-documented and actively maintained, which can help developers quickly understand how to use it in their apps.

2. NativeBase

NativeBase is an open-source library that provides a set of pre-built UI components, such as cards, lists, forms, and buttons, as well as more complex components like a drawer, tabs, and a toolbar. The library is designed to provide a native-like experience for users by providing components that look and feel like their native iOS and Android counterparts. It also includes some basic styling options, such as color and typography, that can be used to improve the overall look and feel of the app.

This library can also help developers to achieve a consistent and polished look and feel throughout their app, which can improve the user experience. Developers can also customize the pre-built components to match their specific design needs.

3. React Navigation

The React Navigation library provides a variety of navigation components, such as stacks, tabs, and drawers, that can be used to create a consistent navigation experience across different screens in the app. It also includes support for deep linking, which allows users to open specific screens in the app by clicking on a link.

The library also provides support for animation and gesture-based interactions, which can help to improve the overall user experience. The library is well-documented and actively maintained.

React Navigation is a popular open-source library that allows developers to easily build and manage navigation in their mobile apps using a declarative API. It can help developers to easily manage navigation between different screens in the app and allows users to navigate through it with ease. This can improve the overall user experience and make the app more engaging.

4. React Native Vector Icons

React Native Vector Icons is a popular open-source library that provides a wide range of customizable vector icons that developers can easily add to their apps using a simple API.

The library includes vector icons that can be used in different parts of the app, such as buttons, lists, and navigation. The library supports most popular icon fonts, such as FontAwesome, MaterialIcons, and Ionicons.

One of the benefits of React Native Vector Icons is that it provides a consistent look and feel for icons across different platforms (iOS and Android), which can help to improve the user experience.

5. React Native Paper

React Native Paper is an open-source library that provides a set of pre-built UI components that are designed to look and feel like Google's Material Design components. It allows developers to easily add Material Design-style components to their React Native apps using a simple API.

The library includes a wide range of UI components such as buttons, forms, lists, and cards, as well as more complex components like a bottom navigation, dialogs, and a floating action button. Developers can also customize the pre-built components, including color and typography, to match their specific design needs.

React Native Paper is useful for developers who want to create a Material Design-style app using React Native.

6. React Native Animations

React Native Animations is a library that provides developers with pre-built animations and an easy-to-use API to add animations to their React Native apps. It also allows developers to make custom animations. This library is built on top of the Animated API that comes with React Native and it provides a set of utility functions that can be used to create complex animations with ease.

The library provides a variety of pre-built animations such as scaling, fading, sliding, and rotating, which can be easily integrated into a React Native app. Developers can also use the library to create custom animations by combining multiple animations and adjusting their properties.

React Native Animations also provides support for gesture-based interactions, which can help to improve the overall user experience. The library provides ample documentation making it developer-friendly.

7. React Native Maps

React Native Maps allows developers to easily add maps and location-based functionality to a React Native app. The library provides a variety of features such as displaying maps from different providers (Google, Apple, OpenStreetMap), displaying markers on the map, handling user interactions with the map (e.g. panning, zooming), and providing directions and routing functionality, and other location-based information.

It also allows developers to customize the look and feel of the map to match the design of their app. The library can help developers to create engaging, location-aware apps that improve the user experience.

8. React Native Calendars

The React Native Calendars library allows developers to easily add a calendar to their apps, with customizable views and styles. It supports various calendar types, for example, calendars with an agenda, week-view, month-view, and more.

It provides a wide range of features, such as displaying events on the calendar, allowing users to add and edit events, and handling user interactions with the calendar, such as scrolling and selecting dates. The library also allows developers to customize the look and feel of the calendar to match the design of their app.

9. React Native Swiper

React Native Swiper is a versatile library that allows developers to easily implement swipe-based user interfaces in their mobile apps. The library provides a range of pre-built swipeable UI components, including carousels, sliders, and image galleries, that can be customized to suit your specific design needs. React Native Swiper is highly configurable, allowing you to set a variety of properties such as swipe direction, transition speed, and pagination style. Additionally, it supports both touch and mouse events, making it suitable for use in both mobile and web-based applications.

10. React Native Chat SDK

The QuickBlox React Native SDK is a great tool to use if you are wanting to add chat or video functionality to your app. A React Native software development Kit (SDK) is a collection of development tools, libraries, documentation, and sample code that developers can use to build React Native apps.

The QuickBlox React Native SDK is a specific SDK that allows developers to integrate QuickBlox's communication and collaboration features into their React Native apps.

The SDK includes a set of APIs and libraries that developers can use to access QuickBlox's features, such as instant messaging, video and audio calls, and file sharing. The SDK is designed to work seamlessly with React Native, allowing developers to use the same codebase for both iOS and Android platforms.

With the QuickBlox React Native SDK, developers can:

1. Implement real-time chat and messaging in their apps.

2. Add video and audio calling capabilities to their apps.

3. Enable file sharing and storage for their apps.

4. Implement push notifications for their apps.

5. Use the data management feature to store and retrieve data to/from the cloud

The SDK also provides a set of sample apps and code snippets that developers can use as a starting point for their projects. This can help developers quickly add communication and collaboration features to their apps and reduce the time and effort required to develop these features from scratch.

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Conclusion

React Native libraries are a lifesaver for developers who want to create beautiful, high-performance apps in less time. So, if you're a developer looking to streamline your app-building process, consider checking out some of the awesome React Native libraries out there!

If you are particularly interested in building an app with communication functionality, then check out the QuickBlox React Native SDK and chat sample, which are free to use today.

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