Shopify is moving from React Native back to separate Swift and Kotlin native codebases for their mobile apps, citing that AI agents can now handle the cross-platform implementation work that previously justified React Native. The decision acknowledges React Native's value during their six years of use, noting Shopify maintains three significant RN libraries, two of which are finding new homes while one will be archived.
Background
Shopify shifted to React Native in 2020 to reduce duplicate effort across iOS and Android platforms. By 2026, AI-assisted development has changed the cost-benefit analysis, making native development viable again.
- Source
- Simon Willison
- Published
- Sep 11, 2026 at 05:11 AM
- Score
- 6.0 / 10