My Slow Return to a Swift Career

I started writing iPhone apps in 2009. I was in the room when Apple announced Swift in 2014. But then I started working with React Native in 2017. Why? And why have I recently returned to Swift? I offer a nuanced perspective on what React Native gets wrong – and what it gets right.

Transcript

1. My Slow Return to a Swift Career Ash Furrow ▪ Swift Rockies ▪ 2026
4. 01 React? Native?? 02 Simplicity ff 03 Side-E ects
5. Neither React Nor Native 01
6. React Native is not React Native React Native is not React Native React Native is not React Native React Native is not React Native
7. JavaScript Runtime Objective-C Runtime UIKit View Hierarchy Objective-C++ Bridge UIKit View Hierarchy
8. React Native is not React Native React Native is not React Native React Native is not React Native React Native is not React Native
9. JavaScript Runtime Objective-C Runtime UIKit View Hierarchy Objective-C++ Bridge UIKit View Hierarchy
10. Default Layout Case-Sensitive Layout
11. React Native is not React Native React Native is not React Native React Native is not React Native React Native is not React Native
12. JavaScript Runtime JavaScript Runtime Virtual DOM Browser DOM Virtual DOM UIKit View Hierarchy
13. JavaScript Runtime JavaScript Runtime Virtual DOM 🤫 Virtual DOM ❌ Browser DOM UIKit View Hierarchy
14. React Native is not React Native React Native is not React Native React Native is not React Native React Native is not React Native
15. JavaScript Runtime != JavaScript Runtime Browser DOM Virtual DOM != Virtual DOM Shadow Tree UIKit View Hierarchy ???
16. Simplicity Is An Illusion 02
17. ▪ React Native promises to simplify app development ▪ But mobile apps involve irreducible complexity ▪ React Native can’t simplify it ▪ React Native can move the complexity around
20. Code Complexity Org. Complexity Product Complexity Product Complexity
21. “ Businesses “measure what ma ers.” tt tt But not everything that ma ers is easy to measure.
22. Product Teams Love React Native ▪ One codebase, programming language, deploy process ▪ Over-the-air updates ▪ Testing JS-only changes is fast & easy ▪ React Native smooths out platforms di erences ff ▪ It makes it easy to think about apps as mere… software
23. What React Native Costs ▪ Constant dependency upgrades ▪ Massively more complex runtime ▪ Abstraction away from the platforms & tools ▪ Teams have to push harder to achieve the same quality
24. How Do I Feel? ▪ It’s complicated
25. ff Side-E ects May Include 03
26. Native-versus-React Native Performance ▪ Native & React Native have similar performance “ceilings” ▪ React Native has a much lower “ oor” ▪ RAM: JavaScript execution consumes 100–200MB ▪ CPU/Graphics performance can get close fl ▪ In tests, scrolling FPS on old phones is within 5-10%
27. Ceiling Floor } Floor
28. “ Anyone can write a great React Native app. But they probably won’t. Maybe that’s okay. But I’m not okay with that anymore.
29. Artsy’s Director promised we would never compromise app quality for the sake of React Native. They kept the promise. Then they left. I kept the promise. Then I left.
34. 01 React/Native 02 Complexity fi 03 Averagi cation
35. …so what next? ashfurrow.com ▪ tenforward.social/@ashfurrow