{"slug": "react-native", "name": "React Native", "category": "dev-libs", "category_name": "Libraries and frameworks", "description": "Meta's open-source framework for building native iOS and Android apps with React and JavaScript.", "recommenders": 5, "commenters": 15, "warners": 3, "score": 3.702, "rising": 2.35, "first": "2025-12-11", "latest": "2026-09-11", "why": "HN commenters like it for over-the-air updates and for keeping iOS, Android and web in one codebase, often with Expo handling the tooling.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 5, "neutral": 7, "compare": 1, "warn": 4}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 2, 1, 0], "listed": true, "loved": ["OTA updates", "Single codebase"], "caveat": "Performance", "short_quote": "React Native + Expo is also a good option if you want to touch the iOS/Android IDEs as little as possible.", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://reactnative.dev", "pricing": "open source", "aliases": ["React Native"], "verdict": [{"text": "HN commenters like it for over-the-air updates", "cites": [{"id": 787450992, "item_id": 49215687, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49215687", "by": "swe_dima", "date": "2026-08-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It's why I love React Native and over the air updates.", "excerpt": "It's why I love React Native and over the air updates. So I don't have to deal with this roulette.", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile app development", "switched_from": "", "story": "App Store Rejection of the Week: Dark Hours"}, {"id": 773426928, "item_id": 48339183, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48339183", "by": "moomoo11", "date": "2026-05-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "you can ship the actual UI stuff in seconds.", "excerpt": "why was your team against react native? you can ship the actual UI stuff in seconds. you can write your own plugins for anything native and just call it. we have a app that uses many native SDK calls which we write plugins for and call. not to mention that once the native work is done you can deploy ui level changes and new features, bug fixes to users over OTA. i\u2019m just an outsider so i know my lane. but whatever yo", "context": "outsider, has an app using many native SDK calls", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile app UI", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What Is the State of App Development in 2026?"}, {"id": 794361552, "item_id": 49647597, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49647597", "by": "tcoff91", "date": "2026-09-10", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "At work, we use react native, and although the upgrades and stuff are painful, I'd never give up the ability to ship over the air updates.", "excerpt": "I work on an open source app that uses a shared swift core for the iOS and android apps and I think it's awesome. I think having all your business logic in swift is great. At work, we use react native, and although the upgrades and stuff are painful, I'd never give up the ability to ship over the air updates.", "context": "", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile app at work", "switched_from": "", "story": "Shopify is moving from React Native back to Swift and Kotlin"}]}, {"text": " and for keeping iOS, Android and web in one codebase, often with Expo handling the tooling.", "cites": [{"id": 794504800, "item_id": 49656550, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49656550", "by": "wouldbecouldbe", "date": "2026-09-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "switched web, ios, android all back to expo/rn. I love that testing is only (almost) only thing now", "excerpt": "I thought the same, but then I build a few complicated apps and thought I could keep the different codebases stable but still was a headache, so switched web, ios, android all back to expo/rn. I love that testing is only (almost) only thing now, instead of 3 platforms.", "context": "", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Shopify is moving from React Native back to Swift and Kotlin"}, {"id": 788524657, "item_id": 49282791, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49282791", "by": "WA", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "React Native: totally viable, because core business logic is the same.", "excerpt": "Flutter: if you want a pixel perfect version of your app that looks similar on Android and iOS. Some quite popular apps use it and make a shit ton of money, for example Headspace. More here: https://flutterhunt.com/ React Native: totally viable, because core business logic is the same. If you want native UI elements and all the iOS Liquid Glass stuff, but don\u2019t want to have to completely separate code based, React Na", "context": "", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "What's New in Flutter 3.47"}, {"id": 782437712, "item_id": 48902357, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48902357", "by": "chrisvenum", "date": "2026-07-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "React Native + Expo is also a good option if you want to touch the iOS/Android IDEs as little as possible.", "excerpt": "React Native + Expo is also a good option if you want to touch the iOS/Android IDEs as little as possible. You use Xcode and Android studio to install the device sims and then expos tool chain handles the rest, even for deploying to stores. If you are on a windows computer and can\u2019t install Xcode, you can even run your iOS app directly on an iPhone with their managed app. Ignite is a great starter using RN and Expo. ", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile app development", "switched_from": "", "story": "Building and Shipping Mac and iOS Apps Without Ever Opening Xcode"}]}, {"text": " The most common complaint is slow performance compared with Flutter or native,", "cites": [{"id": 794313008, "item_id": 49644563, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49644563", "by": "faangguyindia", "date": "2026-09-10", "stance": "warn", "quote": "React Native is slow.", "excerpt": "React Native is slow. Hermes VM doesn't even have JIT. If the majority of your app is native code and only a few places are stitched together via JS code that runs in the Hermes VM, then React Native is suitable for you. Look at V8 vs. Hermes performance. We use Flutter; we rarely need to write native code. We have three apps: Symbiote workout app, CalorieCodex, an AI calorie tracker app, and MacroCodex with 17,000+ ", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Shopify is moving from React Native back to Swift and Kotlin"}, {"id": 788558817, "item_id": 49284926, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49284926", "by": "faangguyindia", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "warn", "quote": "We tested react native but found it slow", "excerpt": "I vouch for Flutter over React Native; we built https://macrocodex.app/ with 16,000+ users already! And it's completely free no ads, no subscriptions, or donations, for the public benefit of improving health and fitness. It's a guaranteed weight loss or gain app; results within 2-5 weeks! Don't believe? well just read reviews. We do not have Revenue, so no money to spend on marketing. OK so that's brief description o", "context": "backend developer building first mobile app", "use_case": "mobile app development", "switched_from": "", "story": "What's New in Flutter 3.47"}]}, {"text": " followed by painful upgrades and dependency churn.", "cites": [{"id": 788554465, "item_id": 49284654, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49284654", "by": "0rzech", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "warn", "quote": "React Native, with its dependency hell, project rot, npm ecosystem under the hood, and transpilation with lax runtime leaking into TS, is a total no-go for me.", "excerpt": "Completely opposite experience for me. I love working with Dart (which IMO is _not_ \"worst parts of Java and Javascript (...) turned (...) into a language\", \"Terrible to write, terrible to read, terrible to use\" - quite the opposite, actually) and its toolchain, including Flutter. I find the architecture simple to follow, no need for \"either print apps as fast as possible or to emulate some Clean Code like behavior\",", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "What's New in Flutter 3.47"}, {"id": 794361552, "item_id": 49647597, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49647597", "by": "tcoff91", "date": "2026-09-10", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "At work, we use react native, and although the upgrades and stuff are painful, I'd never give up the ability to ship over the air updates.", "excerpt": "I work on an open source app that uses a shared swift core for the iOS and android apps and I think it's awesome. I think having all your business logic in swift is great. At work, we use react native, and although the upgrades and stuff are painful, I'd never give up the ability to ship over the air updates.", "context": "", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile app at work", "switched_from": "", "story": "Shopify is moving from React Native back to Swift and Kotlin"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "OTA updates", "summary": "Shipping UI changes, features and bug fixes over the air without app store releases is a major draw.", "quotes": [{"id": 787450992, "item_id": 49215687, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49215687", "by": "swe_dima", "date": "2026-08-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It's why I love React Native and over the air updates.", "excerpt": "It's why I love React Native and over the air updates. So I don't have to deal with this roulette.", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile app development", "switched_from": "", "story": "App Store Rejection of the Week: Dark Hours"}, {"id": 794361552, "item_id": 49647597, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49647597", "by": "tcoff91", "date": "2026-09-10", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "At work, we use react native, and although the upgrades and stuff are painful, I'd never give up the ability to ship over the air updates.", "excerpt": "I work on an open source app that uses a shared swift core for the iOS and android apps and I think it's awesome. I think having all your business logic in swift is great. At work, we use react native, and although the upgrades and stuff are painful, I'd never give up the ability to ship over the air updates.", "context": "", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile app at work", "switched_from": "", "story": "Shopify is moving from React Native back to Swift and Kotlin"}, {"id": 773426928, "item_id": 48339183, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48339183", "by": "moomoo11", "date": "2026-05-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "you can ship the actual UI stuff in seconds.", "excerpt": "why was your team against react native? you can ship the actual UI stuff in seconds. you can write your own plugins for anything native and just call it. we have a app that uses many native SDK calls which we write plugins for and call. not to mention that once the native work is done you can deploy ui level changes and new features, bug fixes to users over OTA. i\u2019m just an outsider so i know my lane. but whatever yo", "context": "outsider, has an app using many native SDK calls", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile app UI", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What Is the State of App Development in 2026?"}]}, {"label": "Single codebase", "summary": "One codebase for web, iOS and Android cuts testing and maintenance compared with separate apps.", "quotes": [{"id": 794504800, "item_id": 49656550, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49656550", "by": "wouldbecouldbe", "date": "2026-09-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "switched web, ios, android all back to expo/rn. I love that testing is only (almost) only thing now", "excerpt": "I thought the same, but then I build a few complicated apps and thought I could keep the different codebases stable but still was a headache, so switched web, ios, android all back to expo/rn. I love that testing is only (almost) only thing now, instead of 3 platforms.", "context": "", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Shopify is moving from React Native back to Swift and Kotlin"}, {"id": 788524657, "item_id": 49282791, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49282791", "by": "WA", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "React Native: totally viable, because core business logic is the same.", "excerpt": "Flutter: if you want a pixel perfect version of your app that looks similar on Android and iOS. Some quite popular apps use it and make a shit ton of money, for example Headspace. More here: https://flutterhunt.com/ React Native: totally viable, because core business logic is the same. If you want native UI elements and all the iOS Liquid Glass stuff, but don\u2019t want to have to completely separate code based, React Na", "context": "", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "What's New in Flutter 3.47"}]}, {"label": "Expo tooling", "summary": "Expo handles builds and store deployment so developers rarely touch Xcode or Android Studio.", "quotes": [{"id": 782437712, "item_id": 48902357, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48902357", "by": "chrisvenum", "date": "2026-07-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "React Native + Expo is also a good option if you want to touch the iOS/Android IDEs as little as possible.", "excerpt": "React Native + Expo is also a good option if you want to touch the iOS/Android IDEs as little as possible. You use Xcode and Android studio to install the device sims and then expos tool chain handles the rest, even for deploying to stores. If you are on a windows computer and can\u2019t install Xcode, you can even run your iOS app directly on an iPhone with their managed app. Ignite is a great starter using RN and Expo. ", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile app development", "switched_from": "", "story": "Building and Shipping Mac and iOS Apps Without Ever Opening Xcode"}, {"id": 794504800, "item_id": 49656550, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49656550", "by": "wouldbecouldbe", "date": "2026-09-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "switched web, ios, android all back to expo/rn. I love that testing is only (almost) only thing now", "excerpt": "I thought the same, but then I build a few complicated apps and thought I could keep the different codebases stable but still was a headache, so switched web, ios, android all back to expo/rn. I love that testing is only (almost) only thing now, instead of 3 platforms.", "context": "", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Shopify is moving from React Native back to Swift and Kotlin"}]}, {"label": "Native extensibility", "summary": "Custom plugins and JSI bridges let apps call native SDKs and libraries.", "quotes": [{"id": 773426928, "item_id": 48339183, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48339183", "by": "moomoo11", "date": "2026-05-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "you can ship the actual UI stuff in seconds.", "excerpt": "why was your team against react native? you can ship the actual UI stuff in seconds. you can write your own plugins for anything native and just call it. we have a app that uses many native SDK calls which we write plugins for and call. not to mention that once the native work is done you can deploy ui level changes and new features, bug fixes to users over OTA. i\u2019m just an outsider so i know my lane. but whatever yo", "context": "outsider, has an app using many native SDK calls", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile app UI", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What Is the State of App Development in 2026?"}, {"id": 755817057, "item_id": 47238566, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47238566", "by": "ali_chherawalla", "date": "2026-03-03", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "linked into React Native through a custom JSI bridge", "excerpt": "ofcourse ofcourse, I've documented everything here: https://github.com/alichherawalla/off-grid-mobile-ai/blob/main/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md llama.cpp compiled as a native Android library via the NDK, linked into React Native through a custom JSI bridge. GGUF models loaded straight into memory. On Snapdragon devices we use QNN (Qualcomm Neural Network) for hardware acceleration. OpenCL GPU fallback on everything else. CPU", "context": "built an on-device Android AI app", "use_case": "mobile app framework", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Qwen 3.5 running on a $300 Android phone \u2013 on-device, open source"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "Performance", "summary": "Some commenters found it slow, noting the Hermes VM lacks a JIT.", "quotes": [{"id": 794313008, "item_id": 49644563, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49644563", "by": "faangguyindia", "date": "2026-09-10", "stance": "warn", "quote": "React Native is slow.", "excerpt": "React Native is slow. Hermes VM doesn't even have JIT. If the majority of your app is native code and only a few places are stitched together via JS code that runs in the Hermes VM, then React Native is suitable for you. Look at V8 vs. Hermes performance. We use Flutter; we rarely need to write native code. We have three apps: Symbiote workout app, CalorieCodex, an AI calorie tracker app, and MacroCodex with 17,000+ ", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Shopify is moving from React Native back to Swift and Kotlin"}, {"id": 788558817, "item_id": 49284926, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49284926", "by": "faangguyindia", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "warn", "quote": "We tested react native but found it slow", "excerpt": "I vouch for Flutter over React Native; we built https://macrocodex.app/ with 16,000+ users already! And it's completely free no ads, no subscriptions, or donations, for the public benefit of improving health and fitness. It's a guaranteed weight loss or gain app; results within 2-5 weeks! Don't believe? well just read reviews. We do not have Revenue, so no money to spend on marketing. OK so that's brief description o", "context": "backend developer building first mobile app", "use_case": "mobile app development", "switched_from": "", "story": "What's New in Flutter 3.47"}]}, {"label": "Upgrades and dependencies", "summary": "Upgrades are painful, and the npm-based ecosystem can bring dependency problems and project rot.", "quotes": [{"id": 794361552, "item_id": 49647597, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49647597", "by": "tcoff91", "date": "2026-09-10", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "At work, we use react native, and although the upgrades and stuff are painful, I'd never give up the ability to ship over the air updates.", "excerpt": "I work on an open source app that uses a shared swift core for the iOS and android apps and I think it's awesome. I think having all your business logic in swift is great. At work, we use react native, and although the upgrades and stuff are painful, I'd never give up the ability to ship over the air updates.", "context": "", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile app at work", "switched_from": "", "story": "Shopify is moving from React Native back to Swift and Kotlin"}, {"id": 788554465, "item_id": 49284654, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49284654", "by": "0rzech", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "warn", "quote": "React Native, with its dependency hell, project rot, npm ecosystem under the hood, and transpilation with lax runtime leaking into TS, is a total no-go for me.", "excerpt": "Completely opposite experience for me. I love working with Dart (which IMO is _not_ \"worst parts of Java and Javascript (...) turned (...) into a language\", \"Terrible to write, terrible to read, terrible to use\" - quite the opposite, actually) and its toolchain, including Flutter. I find the architecture simple to follow, no need for \"either print apps as fast as possible or to emulate some Clean Code like behavior\",", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "What's New in Flutter 3.47"}]}, {"label": "Third-party packages", "summary": "Many features need third-party packages that Flutter or native provide out of the box.", "quotes": [{"id": 788524657, "item_id": 49282791, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49282791", "by": "WA", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "React Native: totally viable, because core business logic is the same.", "excerpt": "Flutter: if you want a pixel perfect version of your app that looks similar on Android and iOS. Some quite popular apps use it and make a shit ton of money, for example Headspace. More here: https://flutterhunt.com/ React Native: totally viable, because core business logic is the same. If you want native UI elements and all the iOS Liquid Glass stuff, but don\u2019t want to have to completely separate code based, React Na", "context": "", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "What's New in Flutter 3.47"}]}, {"label": "Custom UI polish", "summary": "Custom components often need per-platform work, and premium polish can approach the effort of two native apps.", "quotes": [{"id": 773751568, "item_id": 48359473, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48359473", "by": "pedalpete", "date": "2026-06-01", "stance": "warn", "quote": "When you've got custom elements it isn't always the cross-platform write once you think it is.", "excerpt": "I've used react native a bunch. When you've got custom elements it isn't always the cross-platform write once you think it is. I've always had custom components across iOS and Android. The big complaint is that the amount of work to get the level of polish needed in premium apps just isn't there. Or you need to do a bunch more work and it isn't significantly different than the amount of work of getting a native iOS a", "context": "has used React Native a bunch", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What Is the State of App Development in 2026?"}]}, {"label": "Learning curve", "summary": "One commenter argued JS developers are not immediately effective in React Native.", "quotes": [{"id": 788530369, "item_id": 49283148, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49283148", "by": "wiradikusuma", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "compare", "quote": "those JS developers cannot be immediately effective coding React Native (Expo) anyway", "excerpt": "You should try Dart/Flutter again, they've improved a lot. - Dart. It's richer than JS/TS with stronger type safety, and seems purpose-built for UI. Fewer Dart developers than JS, but I'd argue those JS developers cannot be immediately effective coding React Native (Expo) anyway. - Emulated components vs. real native components. For multi-platform apps, this is actually desirable. These kinds of apps have their own d", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "What's New in Flutter 3.47"}]}], "who": [{"by": "danscan", "context": "professional React Native developer", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49147570", "date": "2026-08-02"}, {"by": "mraler", "context": "job seeker, former CNC programmer", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48388748", "date": "2026-06-03"}, {"by": "moomoo11", "context": "outsider, has an app using many native SDK calls", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48339183", "date": "2026-05-30"}, {"by": "pedalpete", "context": "works at a wearable company", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48339043", "date": "2026-05-30"}, {"by": "ali_chherawalla", "context": "built an on-device Android AI app", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47238566", "date": "2026-03-03"}], "tags": ["for cross-platform mobile apps", "for apps needing OTA updates", "with Expo", "for avoiding native IDEs"], "use_cases": ["cross-platform mobile apps", "mobile app development", "mobile app framework", "cross-platform mobile app at work", "mobile apps", "professional mobile development"], "compared": [{"slug": "flutter", "name": "Flutter", "co": 9, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "expo", "name": "Expo", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "swiftui", "name": "SwiftUI", "co": 1, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 1}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49280061", "title": "What's New in Flutter 3.47", "mentions": 4}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49643982", "title": "Shopify is moving from React Native back to Swift and Kotlin", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48337409", "title": "Ask HN: What Is the State of App Development in 2026?", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49214863", "title": "App Store Rejection of the Week: Dark Hours", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49147263", "title": "SwiftUI After 7 Years: A Story of Mediocrity", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49132130", "title": "AI doesn't generate working products, that's still your job", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"neutral": 1, "recommend": 1}, "2026-06": {"warn": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-08": {"neutral": 2, "recommend": 2, "compare": 1, "warn": 2}, "2026-09": {"warn": 1, "neutral": 1, "recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 794504800, "item_id": 49656550, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49656550", "by": "wouldbecouldbe", "date": "2026-09-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "switched web, ios, android all back to expo/rn. I love that testing is only (almost) only thing now", "excerpt": "I thought the same, but then I build a few complicated apps and thought I could keep the different codebases stable but still was a headache, so switched web, ios, android all back to expo/rn. I love that testing is only (almost) only thing now, instead of 3 platforms.", "context": "", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Shopify is moving from React Native back to Swift and Kotlin"}, {"id": 794361552, "item_id": 49647597, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49647597", "by": "tcoff91", "date": "2026-09-10", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "At work, we use react native, and although the upgrades and stuff are painful, I'd never give up the ability to ship over the air updates.", "excerpt": "I work on an open source app that uses a shared swift core for the iOS and android apps and I think it's awesome. I think having all your business logic in swift is great. At work, we use react native, and although the upgrades and stuff are painful, I'd never give up the ability to ship over the air updates.", "context": "", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile app at work", "switched_from": "", "story": "Shopify is moving from React Native back to Swift and Kotlin"}, {"id": 794313008, "item_id": 49644563, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49644563", "by": "faangguyindia", "date": "2026-09-10", "stance": "warn", "quote": "React Native is slow.", "excerpt": "React Native is slow. Hermes VM doesn't even have JIT. If the majority of your app is native code and only a few places are stitched together via JS code that runs in the Hermes VM, then React Native is suitable for you. Look at V8 vs. Hermes performance. We use Flutter; we rarely need to write native code. We have three apps: Symbiote workout app, CalorieCodex, an AI calorie tracker app, and MacroCodex with 17,000+ ", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Shopify is moving from React Native back to Swift and Kotlin"}, {"id": 788558817, "item_id": 49284926, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49284926", "by": "faangguyindia", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "warn", "quote": "We tested react native but found it slow", "excerpt": "I vouch for Flutter over React Native; we built https://macrocodex.app/ with 16,000+ users already! And it's completely free no ads, no subscriptions, or donations, for the public benefit of improving health and fitness. It's a guaranteed weight loss or gain app; results within 2-5 weeks! Don't believe? well just read reviews. We do not have Revenue, so no money to spend on marketing. OK so that's brief description o", "context": "backend developer building first mobile app", "use_case": "mobile app development", "switched_from": "", "story": "What's New in Flutter 3.47"}, {"id": 788554465, "item_id": 49284654, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49284654", "by": "0rzech", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "warn", "quote": "React Native, with its dependency hell, project rot, npm ecosystem under the hood, and transpilation with lax runtime leaking into TS, is a total no-go for me.", "excerpt": "Completely opposite experience for me. I love working with Dart (which IMO is _not_ \"worst parts of Java and Javascript (...) turned (...) into a language\", \"Terrible to write, terrible to read, terrible to use\" - quite the opposite, actually) and its toolchain, including Flutter. I find the architecture simple to follow, no need for \"either print apps as fast as possible or to emulate some Clean Code like behavior\",", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "What's New in Flutter 3.47"}, {"id": 788530369, "item_id": 49283148, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49283148", "by": "wiradikusuma", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "compare", "quote": "those JS developers cannot be immediately effective coding React Native (Expo) anyway", "excerpt": "You should try Dart/Flutter again, they've improved a lot. - Dart. It's richer than JS/TS with stronger type safety, and seems purpose-built for UI. Fewer Dart developers than JS, but I'd argue those JS developers cannot be immediately effective coding React Native (Expo) anyway. - Emulated components vs. real native components. For multi-platform apps, this is actually desirable. These kinds of apps have their own d", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "What's New in Flutter 3.47"}, {"id": 788524657, "item_id": 49282791, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49282791", "by": "WA", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "React Native: totally viable, because core business logic is the same.", "excerpt": "Flutter: if you want a pixel perfect version of your app that looks similar on Android and iOS. Some quite popular apps use it and make a shit ton of money, for example Headspace. More here: https://flutterhunt.com/ React Native: totally viable, because core business logic is the same. If you want native UI elements and all the iOS Liquid Glass stuff, but don\u2019t want to have to completely separate code based, React Na", "context": "", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "What's New in Flutter 3.47"}, {"id": 787450992, "item_id": 49215687, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49215687", "by": "swe_dima", "date": "2026-08-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It's why I love React Native and over the air updates.", "excerpt": "It's why I love React Native and over the air updates. So I don't have to deal with this roulette.", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile app development", "switched_from": "", "story": "App Store Rejection of the Week: Dark Hours"}, {"id": 786361121, "item_id": 49147570, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49147570", "by": "danscan", "date": "2026-08-02", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I have been using React Native in my professional work for so long", "excerpt": "There is no right way :) SwiftUI is good, albeit not without issues, as long as you tolerate them. The same is true for any approach. My most recent app was built in SwiftUI because I have been using React Native in my professional work for so long I wanted a change of scenery. Each approach has its issues, and it all boils down to a matter of preference and which tradeoffs are appropriate for the project.", "context": "professional React Native developer", "use_case": "professional mobile development", "switched_from": "", "story": "SwiftUI After 7 Years: A Story of Mediocrity"}, {"id": 786141089, "item_id": 49133818, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49133818", "by": "xXSLAYERXx", "date": "2026-08-01", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "My stack for this project is React Native and Supabase", "excerpt": "The exact opposite has happened for me. I used to review every pr, give read only access to db. Now with codex 5.6 sol high I let it rip. I do sometimes quickly scan the pr but mostly I've been regulated to a manual tester. Run the feature, check the DB, verify the UI. Build unit and E2E around everything. Mind you I am not working with production data yet. My stack for this project is React Native and Supabase which", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile app framework", "switched_from": "", "story": "AI doesn't generate working products, that's still your job"}, {"id": 782437712, "item_id": 48902357, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48902357", "by": "chrisvenum", "date": "2026-07-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "React Native + Expo is also a good option if you want to touch the iOS/Android IDEs as little as possible.", "excerpt": "React Native + Expo is also a good option if you want to touch the iOS/Android IDEs as little as possible. You use Xcode and Android studio to install the device sims and then expos tool chain handles the rest, even for deploying to stores. If you are on a windows computer and can\u2019t install Xcode, you can even run your iOS app directly on an iPhone with their managed app. Ignite is a great starter using RN and Expo. ", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile app development", "switched_from": "", "story": "Building and Shipping Mac and iOS Apps Without Ever Opening Xcode"}, {"id": 774219968, "item_id": 48388748, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48388748", "by": "mraler", "date": "2026-06-03", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I've built one android app with React Native as a passion project", "excerpt": "Location: New Mexico Remote: Willing, would prefer an on site position to start, though Willing to relocate: Yes Technologies: JavaScript, React, React Native, Node. Some experience with Clojure and Clojurescript. Basic Linux administration. (daily user) R\u00e9sum\u00e9/CV: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pUeO0UX54P5Xhpe7rtXCzntZdE09zoW4rtrXt40Sdwc/edit?usp=drivesdk Email: Snorri.Jonas@gmail.com Bit of a long shot but I t", "context": "job seeker, former CNC programmer", "use_case": "building an Android app", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (June 2026)"}, {"id": 773751568, "item_id": 48359473, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48359473", "by": "pedalpete", "date": "2026-06-01", "stance": "warn", "quote": "When you've got custom elements it isn't always the cross-platform write once you think it is.", "excerpt": "I've used react native a bunch. When you've got custom elements it isn't always the cross-platform write once you think it is. I've always had custom components across iOS and Android. The big complaint is that the amount of work to get the level of polish needed in premium apps just isn't there. Or you need to do a bunch more work and it isn't significantly different than the amount of work of getting a native iOS a", "context": "has used React Native a bunch", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What Is the State of App Development in 2026?"}, {"id": 773426928, "item_id": 48339183, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48339183", "by": "moomoo11", "date": "2026-05-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "you can ship the actual UI stuff in seconds.", "excerpt": "why was your team against react native? you can ship the actual UI stuff in seconds. you can write your own plugins for anything native and just call it. we have a app that uses many native SDK calls which we write plugins for and call. not to mention that once the native work is done you can deploy ui level changes and new features, bug fixes to users over OTA. i\u2019m just an outsider so i know my lane. but whatever yo", "context": "outsider, has an app using many native SDK calls", "use_case": "cross-platform mobile app UI", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What Is the State of App Development in 2026?"}, {"id": 773424688, "item_id": 48339043, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48339043", "by": "pedalpete", "date": "2026-05-30", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I had initially written our first demo in React-Native", "excerpt": "So a bit different from the other comments. We're a wearable company which of course pairs with an app. We built iOS first because that's what most of our users have, though the team is mostly on Android. We built our logic in Rust, so that compiles cross platform. It's really just the UI layer that is per platform. Though I had initially written our first demo in React-Native, the team wanted to go with native UI. L", "context": "works at a wearable company", "use_case": "first app demo", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What Is the State of App Development in 2026?"}, {"id": 755817057, "item_id": 47238566, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47238566", "by": "ali_chherawalla", "date": "2026-03-03", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "linked into React Native through a custom JSI bridge", "excerpt": "ofcourse ofcourse, I've documented everything here: https://github.com/alichherawalla/off-grid-mobile-ai/blob/main/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md llama.cpp compiled as a native Android library via the NDK, linked into React Native through a custom JSI bridge. GGUF models loaded straight into memory. On Snapdragon devices we use QNN (Qualcomm Neural Network) for hardware acceleration. OpenCL GPU fallback on everything else. CPU", "context": "built an on-device Android AI app", "use_case": "mobile app framework", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Qwen 3.5 running on a $300 Android phone \u2013 on-device, open source"}, {"id": 739816931, "item_id": 46238558, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46238558", "by": "BenjaminHarris", "date": "2025-12-11", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "The app is built with React Native (Expo SDK 54).", "excerpt": "Hi HN, I\u2019m the developer of Sunset Compass, a free iOS navigation tool for photographers and hikers. The Problem: The current market leaders for ephemeris data (Sun Surveyor, PhotoPills) are incredible engineering feats, but they suffer from two issues: They are complex and expensive ($10-$15), targeting the top 5% of professional photographers. They largely ignore non-English markets, leaving a massive gap for casua", "context": "", "use_case": "building the app", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Sunset Compass \u2013 Privacy-first sun/moon tracker in 50 languages"}]}