An Introduction to Building App Clips With React Native
App Clips provide a quick way to access specific features of an iOS app without downloading the entire thing. They enable users to easily experience and benefit from an app, which can encourage them to download the full app.
How App Clips Differ From Traditional Apps
The main difference between an App Clip and a traditional app lies in their level of functionality and features.App Clips provide quick access to a specific feature of an app. Designed to be easily discovered and launched, App Clips give users the necessary functionality to complete a task.
Once the task is complete, the clip automatically uninstalls after a period of inactivity.
App Clips are commonly launched from websites, NFC tags, scanning QR codes, and more.
On the other hand, traditional apps must be fully downloaded and installed onto a user’s device before use. They are typically more comprehensive, providing the full range of features and user experience. Traditional apps handle more frequent use cases, which their development should take into consideration.
Designing an Effective App Clip With React Native
Since App Clips are an iOS platform feature, you will need to work with the iOS project within a React Native app.
There is no established way to build an iOS App Clip using React Native. However, there are some factors to consider in the equation that will help you build an effective and functional App Clip.
Size of the App Clip
A major stumbling block you will face is keeping your App Clip size below the 10-megabyte benchmark required.
An App Clip and its corresponding full app will share certain core functionality. For example, both apps may be able to send notifications andmake API calls. However, you should leave out any unnecessary features, depending on the App Clip’s goal.
This limited functionality means that the App Clip will have a smaller set of native dependencies required to function.
Since App Clips provide a focused, lightweight experience, you should be explicit about the native dependencies defined for the App Clip. You will define these dependencies inside the iOS Podfile before installing the Pods manually.
Functional UI Design for the App Clip
App Clips are typically built identically to the full app experience. Deciding how your App Clip can best mirror the full app while remaining focused on its task and being lightweight is something to consider. Take Shazam’s App Clip and full app:
Their design architecture is essentially the same, as is some basic functionality. Your App Clip’s design should focus on functionality and practicality. Build it to perform smoothly and only show information to the user when it’s absolutely necessary.
Structure of the Code
You can take advantage of the shared similarities between an App Clip and the full app when planning the structure of your code.
Sharing code between the two target apps would be ideal for maintenance. By sharing a common code base, it’s possible to also reduce the number of external libraries and dependencies added to the project.
The shared code base can be a set of JavaScript files containing the app’s business logic. You can then configure your Xcode project to use this code base by adding the shared code base as a dependency.
You should ensure that both versions of your app include any shared code. Use a tool like Metro Bundler for the React Native app and Xcode’s build phase system for the App Clip.
Get Started Creating the App Clip
To build your first React Native-powered App Clip, open the React Native iOS project inside Xcode after creating a simple React Native project usingnpx react-native init.
Apple launched App Clips with its iOS 14 software update, so you will need your simulator running iOS 14 for an App Clip to run.
To create a new App Clip target inside Xcode:
To incorporate an App Clip experience into the existing Xcode project, Xcode will add a new build phase to the app target. You can run the App Clip within Xcode at this initial stage, but it will appear empty since no UI components are present yet.
To construct the user experience for the App Clip, you will integrate React Native code to define all the necessary UI elements. By leveraging React Native, you can create an intuitive and responsive interface for your App Clip that will function effectively across iOS devices.
After integrating the React Native code into the Xcode project, you could preview the App Clip UI and make any needed tweaks.
As previously mentioned, building an App Clip with React Native isn’t any different from building any regular iOS application with React Native. Just be sure to keep constant track of the App Clip’s size while building and adding new dependencies for the app.
Future Possibilities for App Clips
App Clips can potentially revolutionize how we interact with mobile apps and the physical world. it’s possible to use them for contactless payments, wayfinding, augmented reality, the Internet of Things (IoT), on-demand services, event tickets, and access control. Expect new and creative use cases for App Clips to emerge as technology develops.
In short, App Clips provide quick and easy access to app features, making them an efficient and convenient solution for users on the go.
iOS development is a fascinating topic, and there are several places on the internet dedicated to teaching others more about it.
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