React Native interview question · Most asked
When would you choose React Native over native (Swift/Kotlin) development, and vice versa?
Summary
React Native suits most product apps: one team and codebase for both platforms, fast iteration and OTA updates. Native is better when the app is dominated by platform-specific, performance-critical or cutting-edge native features (heavy 3D, advanced camera/audio processing, OS extensions).
Longer Answer
React Native apps can still include native modules where needed, so the choice is often "mostly shared with some native code". Consider team skills, the share of UI that is truly platform-specific, performance needs, and how quickly you need new OS features on day one.
Key Points
- Shared codebase, faster iteration.
- Native for platform-heavy or extreme-performance apps.
- Hybrid approach with native modules is common.
Deep dive: Mobile Apps with React Native and Expo: Your First App
Explanation
What interviewers look for
A balanced, context-driven answer rather than a blanket preference.
More most-asked React Native questions
- What is React Native, and how does it differ from a hybrid (WebView) app?
- Explain the React Native threading model.
- What is the React Native New Architecture?
- When would you use FlatList instead of ScrollView, and how do you make long lists fast?
- Where should you store data on the device, and what should never go in AsyncStorage?
- How would you make a React Native app work offline?
- How do you handle authentication tokens in a mobile app?
- A screen in your React Native app is slow. How do you investigate and fix it?