What does React Native use to allow JavaScript to be executed on iOS and Android natively?

What does React Native use under the covers to interface with iOS and Android? Cordova uses a WebView to effectively display a webpage inside of a native container; Does React Native use the same approach? If not, What approach does it use?

Answer

As you noticed React Native is not based on Cordova. It is not a website which looks like an app shoveled into a WebView.

React Native uses a JavaScript runtime, but the UI is not HTML and it doesn’t use a WebView. You use JSX and React Native specific components to define the UI.

It provides a native-level performance and look and feel but some UI parts have to be configured separately for iOS and Android. For example Toolbars are completely different, but TextInput can be the same for both Operating Systems.