Agree with you there! I don't particularly love Facebook and haven't even used it since 2009, but I can't deny how world-changing React has been for not only front-end (in terms of state management etc.) but also for building cross-platform native UIs on various platforms like TVs and mobile devices - and being able to do it with a (mostly) common codebase.
I probably would have never built for iOS if I had to use Xcode and their entire ecosystem, luckily in RN you usually just need to install their command line tools and never open the software.
I eventually ran into some limitations (accessing Camera Roll back then, also in-app purchases back then) that forced me to have to use more native stuff. I bet it's come a long way though since then.
I probably would have never built for iOS if I had to use Xcode and their entire ecosystem, luckily in RN you usually just need to install their command line tools and never open the software.