[evv]

Good question. I think there are two big reasons this is more feasible now than it has been in the past.

1) Proliferation of compatible devices. Firefox OS attempted to launch with zero compatible phones. (The dev device I bought would crash on boot, every time). Postmarket OS is launching with hundreds of thousands of compatible devices already in the wild, many of which are sitting unused in people’s drawers. If it gets much contributor momentum, there will be millions of devices ready to switch.

2) As a React Native contributor, I am totally biased, but I think it represents a big shift in mobile development. Personally I don’t think ionic/cordova apps feel very good, especially on older devices. RN is the first open-source xplat mobile app environment that allows you to produce high-quality apps. Or at least, by the standards of FB, Airbnb, and Microsoft.