Microsoft and Samsung to soon adopt Facebook's React Native developer platform

React is a framework developed by Facebook for developers to build single-page apps, and React Native was an initiative to help them use the same skill set to build native mobile apps for both iOS and Android. Now, the company has announced that two major tech players are throwing their considerable weight behind that initiative. 

Microsoft and Samsung have both expressed their drive to bring React Native to Windows 10 and Tizen. When that happens, developers will be able to use the same framework to build apps for the Universal Windows Platform (PC, smartphone, and tablet) as well as Tizen-based smart TV's and smartwatches. That's a new toolset for a huge number of developers, as Facebook revealed at their F8 developer conference a few days ago; React Native has been used by over 500 developers to build apps for for iOS and over 200 for Android.

In addition, Facebook has said it's bringing its own SDK to React Native, which means developers can easily include features like sharing and analytics in their apps.