React Adaptive Loading Hooks & Utilities ·

Deliver experiences best suited to a user's device and network constraints (experimental)

This is a suite of React Hooks and utilities for adaptive loading based on a user's:

• Network via effective connection type
• Data Saver preferences
• Device memory
• Logical CPU cores
• Media Capabilities API

It can be used to add patterns for adaptive resource loading, data-fetching, code-splitting and capability toggling.

Objective

Make it easier to target low-end devices while progressively adding high-end-only features on top. Using these hooks and utilities can help you give users a great experience best suited to their device and network constraints.

Installation

npm i react-adaptive-hooks --save or yarn add react-adaptive-hooks

Usage

You can import the hooks you wish to use as follows:

import { useNetworkStatus } from 'react-adaptive-hooks/network';
import { useSaveData } from 'react-adaptive-hooks/save-data';
import { useHardwareConcurrency } from 'react-adaptive-hooks/hardware-concurrency';
import { useMemoryStatus } from 'react-adaptive-hooks/memory';
import { useMediaCapabilitiesDecodingInfo } from 'react-adaptive-hooks/media-capabilities';

and then use them in your components. Examples for each hook and utility can be found below:

Network

useNetworkStatus React hook for adapting based on network status (effective connection type)

import React from 'react';

import { useNetworkStatus } from 'react-adaptive-hooks/network';

const MyComponent = () => {
  const { effectiveConnectionType } = useNetworkStatus();

  let media;
  switch(effectiveConnectionType) {
    case 'slow-2g':
      media = <img src='...' alt='low resolution' />;
      break;
    case '2g':
      media = <img src='...' alt='medium resolution' />;
      break;
    case '3g':
      media = <img src='...' alt='high resolution' />;
      break;
    case '4g':
      media = <video muted controls>...</video>;
      break;
    default:
      media = <video muted controls>...</video>;
      break;
  }
  
  return <div>{media}</div>;
};

effectiveConnectionType values can be slow-2g, 2g, 3g, or 4g.

This hook accepts an optional initialEffectiveConnectionType string argument, which can be used to provide a effectiveConnectionType state value when the user's browser does not support the relevant NetworkInformation API. Passing an initial value can also prove useful for server-side rendering, where the developer can pass an ECT Client Hint to detect the effective network connection type.

// Inside of a functional React component
const initialEffectiveConnectionType = '4g';
const { effectiveConnectionType } = useNetworkStatus(initialEffectiveConnectionType);

Save Data

useSaveData utility for adapting based on the user's browser Data Saver preferences.

import React from 'react';

import { useSaveData } from 'react-adaptive-hooks/save-data';

const MyComponent = () => {
  const { saveData } = useSaveData();
  return (
    <div>
      { saveData ? <img src='...' /> : <video muted controls>...</video> }
    </div>
  );
};

saveData values can be true or false.

This hook accepts an optional initialSaveData boolean argument, which can be used to provide a saveData state value when the user's browser does not support the relevant NetworkInformation API. Passing an initial value can also prove useful for server-side rendering, where the developer can pass a server Save-Data Client Hint that has been converted to a boolean to detect the user's data saving preference.

// Inside of a functional React component
const initialSaveData = true;
const { saveData } = useSaveData(initialSaveData);

CPU Cores / Hardware Concurrency

useHardwareConcurrency utility for adapting to the number of logical CPU processor cores on the user's device.

import React from 'react';

import { useHardwareConcurrency } from 'react-adaptive-hooks/hardware-concurrency';

const MyComponent = () => {
  const { numberOfLogicalProcessors } = useHardwareConcurrency();
  return (
    <div>
      { numberOfLogicalProcessors <= 4 ? <img src='...' /> : <video muted controls>...</video> }
    </div>
  );
};

numberOfLogicalProcessors values can be the number of logical processors available to run threads on the user's device.

Memory

useMemoryStatus utility for adapting based on the user's device memory (RAM)

import React from 'react';

import { useMemoryStatus } from 'react-adaptive-hooks/memory';

const MyComponent = () => {
  const { deviceMemory } = useMemoryStatus();
  return (
    <div>
      { deviceMemory < 4 ? <img src='...' /> : <video muted controls>...</video> }
    </div>
  );
};

deviceMemory values can be the approximate amount of device memory in gigabytes.

This hook accepts an optional initialMemoryStatus object argument, which can be used to provide a deviceMemory state value when the user's browser does not support the relevant DeviceMemory API. Passing an initial value can also prove useful for server-side rendering, where the developer can pass a server Device-Memory Client Hint to detect the memory capacity of the user's device.

// Inside of a functional React component
const initialMemoryStatus = { deviceMemory: 4 };
const { deviceMemory } = useMemoryStatus(initialMemoryStatus);

Media Capabilities

useMediaCapabilitiesDecodingInfo utility for adapting based on the user's device media capabilities.

Use case: this hook can be used to check if we can play a certain content type. For example, Safari does not support WebM so we want to fallback to MP4 but if Safari at some point does support WebM it will automatically load WebM videos.

import React from 'react';

import { useMediaCapabilitiesDecodingInfo } from 'react-adaptive-hooks/media-capabilities';

const webmMediaDecodingConfig = {
  type: 'file', // 'record', 'transmission', or 'media-source'
  video: {
    contentType: 'video/webm;codecs=vp8', // valid content type
    width: 800, // width of the video
    height: 600, // height of the video
    bitrate: 10000, // number of bits used to encode 1s of video
    framerate: 30 // number of frames making up that 1s.
  }
};

const initialMediaCapabilitiesInfo = { powerEfficient: true };

const MyComponent = ({ videoSources }) => {
  const { mediaCapabilitiesInfo } = useMediaCapabilitiesDecodingInfo(webmMediaDecodingConfig, initialMediaCapabilitiesInfo);

  return (
    <div>
      <video src={mediaCapabilitiesInfo.supported ? videoSources.webm : videoSources.mp4} controls>...</video>
    </div>
  );
};

mediaCapabilitiesInfo value contains the three Boolean properties supported, smooth, and powerEfficient, which describe whether decoding the media described would be supported, smooth, and powerEfficient.

This utility accepts a MediaDecodingConfiguration object argument and an optional initialMediaCapabilitiesInfo object argument, which can be used to provide a mediaCapabilitiesInfo state value when the user's browser does not support the relevant Media Capabilities API or no media configuration was given.

Adaptive Code-loading & Code-splitting

Code-loading

Deliver a light, interactive core experience to users and progressively add high-end-only features on top, if a user's hardware can handle it. Below is an example using the Network Status hook:

import React, { Suspense, lazy } from 'react';

import { useNetworkStatus } from 'react-adaptive-hooks/network';

const Full = lazy(() => import(/* webpackChunkName: "full" */ './Full.js'));
const Light = lazy(() => import(/* webpackChunkName: "light" */ './Light.js'));

const MyComponent = () => {
  const { effectiveConnectionType } = useNetworkStatus();
  return (
    <div>
      <Suspense fallback={<div>Loading...</div>}>
        { effectiveConnectionType === '4g' ? <Full /> : <Light /> }
      </Suspense>
    </div>
  );
};

export default MyComponent;

Light.js:

import React from 'react';

const Light = ({ imageUrl, ...rest }) => (
  <img src={imageUrl} {...rest} />
);

export default Light;

Full.js:

import React from 'react';
import Magnifier from 'react-magnifier';

const Full = ({ imageUrl, ...rest }) => (
  <Magnifier src={imageUrl} {...rest} />
);

export default Full;

Code-splitting

We can extend React.lazy() by incorporating a check for a device or network signal. Below is an example of network-aware code-splitting. This allows us to conditionally load a light core experience or full-fat experience depending on the user's effective connection speed (via navigator.connection.effectiveType).

import React, { Suspense } from 'react';

const Component = React.lazy(() => {
  const effectiveType = navigator.connection ? navigator.connection.effectiveType : null

  let module;
  switch (effectiveType) {
    case '3g':
      module = import(/* webpackChunkName: "light" */ './Light.js');
      break;
    case '4g':
      module = import(/* webpackChunkName: "full" */ './Full.js');
      break;
    default:
      module = import(/* webpackChunkName: "full" */ './Full.js');
      break;
  }

  return module;
});

const App = () => {
  return (
    <div className='App'>
      <Suspense fallback={<div>Loading...</div>}>
        <Component />
      </Suspense>
    </div>
  );
};

export default App;

Server-side rendering support

The built version of this package uses ESM (native JS modules) by default, but is not supported on the server-side. When using this package in a web framework like Next.js with server-rendering, we recommend you

• Transpile the package by installing next-transpile-modules. (example project). This is because Next.js currently does not pass node_modules into webpack server-side.

• Use a UMD build as in the following code-snippet: (example project)

import {
  useNetworkStatus,
  useSaveData,
  useHardwareConcurrency,
  useMemoryStatus,
  useMediaCapabilitiesDecodingInfo
} from 'react-adaptive-hooks/dist/index.umd.js';

Browser Support

• Network Information API - effectiveType is available in Chrome 61+, Opera 48+, Edge 76+, Chrome for Android 76+, Firefox for Android 68+

• Save Data API is available in Chrome 65+, Opera 62+, Chrome for Android 76+, Opera for Android 46+

• Hardware Concurrency API is available in Chrome 37+, Safari 10.1+, Firefox 48+, Opera 24+, Edge 15+, Chrome for Android 76+, Safari on iOS 10.3+, Firefox for Android 68+, Opera for Android 46+

• Performance memory API is a non-standard and only available in Chrome 7+, Opera, Chrome for Android 18+, Opera for Android

• Device Memory API is available in Chrome 63+, Opera 50+, Chrome for Android 76+, Opera for Android 46+

• Media Capabilities API is available in Chrome 63+, Firefox 63+, Opera 55+, Chrome for Android 78+, Firefox for Android 68+

Demos

Network

• Network-aware loading with create-react-app (Live)

• Network-aware code-splitting with create-react-app (Live)

• Network-aware data-fetching with create-react-app (Live)

• React Movie - network-aware loading (Live)

• React Shrine - network-aware code-splitting (Live)

• React eBay - network-aware code-splitting (Live)

• React Lottie - network-aware loading (Live)

Save Data

• React Twitter - save-data loading based on Client Hint (Live)
• React Twitter - save-data loading based on Hook (Live)

CPU Cores / Hardware Concurrency

• Hardware concurrency considerate code-splitting with create-react-app (Live)
• Hardware concurrency considerate loading with create-react-app (Live)

Memory

• Memory considerate loading with create-react-app (Live)

• Memory considerate loading (SketchFab version) with create-react-app (Live)

• Memory-considerate animation-toggling with create-next-app (Live)

• React Dixie Mesh - memory considerate loading (Live)

Hybrid

• React Youtube - adaptive loading with mix of network, memory and hardware concurrency (Live)
• Next Show - adaptive loading with mix of network, memory and Client Hints (demo)

References

• Adaptive serving based on network quality
• Adaptive Serving using JavaScript and the Network Information API
• Serving Adaptive Components Using the Network Information API

License

Licensed under the Apache-2.0 license.

Team

This project is brought to you by Addy Osmani and Anton Karlovskiy.