Shopify is moving from React Native back to Swift and Kotlin (shopify.engineering)

Article summary

Shopify is moving away from React Native and back to native mobile development using Swift and Kotlin, citing the improved capabilities of large language models (LLMs) that make building and maintaining native apps more feasible. The company had previously adopted React Native in 2020 to reduce development time and allow developers to work across the stack, but now finds that LLMs can help with the costs of native development. Shopify plans to migrate its mobile apps to native, starting with the Shop app, and will continue to contribute to the React Native ecosystem. The company believes that native development will allow for better performance, stability, and accessibility.

Main themes

• native development
• cross-platform frameworks
• LLMs and development
• mobile app development
• React Native and Flutter
• platform-specific features
• emerging platforms and hardware

What commenters say

• Some commenters believe that large organizations will increasingly move away from cross-platform frameworks like React Native and Flutter in favor of native development, enabled by LLMs.
• Others argue that native development is not feasible or desirable for smaller projects or companies with limited resources, and that cross-platform frameworks still offer significant advantages.
• The trade-offs between native development and cross-platform frameworks are complex and depend on factors like team size, project requirements, and the need for platform-specific features.
• Some commenters think that the trend towards native development could be problematic if it leads to a lack of support for emerging platforms or hardware beyond iOS and Android.
• There are differing opinions on the viability of frameworks like Flutter and React Native, with some seeing them as still useful and others believing they will become obsolete.
• The use of LLMs in development is seen as a game-changer, enabling more efficient maintenance of native codebases and potentially changing the calculus around cross-platform development.
• The decision to move to native development is not just a technical one, but also involves organizational and non-technical costs, such as the need to manage multiple codebases and potential differences in implementation between platforms.