The latest articles on DEV Community by Isaac Ayomide Okunlola (@_prime). https://dev.to/_prime https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3931544%2F71023b6f-5199-4185-9738-beb8c64f2b8c.png https://dev.to/_prime en Isaac Ayomide Okunlola Thu, 14 May 2026 15:43:32 +0000 https://dev.to/_prime/i-almost-quit-react-native-on-day-one-heres-what-changed-3aen https://dev.to/_prime/i-almost-quit-react-native-on-day-one-heres-what-changed-3aen <p>I picked up React Native a few weeks ago, and I almost quit on day one.<br> Not because of the code. Because of the setup, gradle builds taking forever, my PC sounding like it wanted to give up on life every time I ran the CLI 😭, but I didn't quit.<br> I pushed through, managed to build one project through all that pain, and kept it moving.<br> Then I stumbled on Expo.No Gradle issue. No CLI headaches. No PC struggling.<br> Just scan a QR code and your app is live on your phone. Like magic.<br> And the routing? File-based. Exact same concept as Next.js.<br> Create a file → route exists. No NavigationContainer. No manual stack setup. Nothing.</p> <p>Mobile development is actually fun when the tooling gets out of your way.<br> I still use Android Studio to preview, runs smooth as ever. But if you're a web dev curious about mobile, just start with Expo, don't do what I did first 😂🔥</p> <p>What's your React Native setup story? Drop it below 👇</p> <p>And if you're seeing my posts for the first time, hello, I'm Prime, a Software Engineer from Nigeria building web and mobile experiences. I write about frontend, React Native, and the things I learn along the way. Check out my work at <a href="https://prime-codes.vercel.app" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://prime-codes.vercel.app</a> </p> javascript react reactnative nextjs