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Alex Aslam
Alex Aslam

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React Native vs. Turbo Native: A 6-Month Postmortem

#webdev #programming #rails #javascript

"We built the same app twice—here’s what exploded and what surprised us."

Six months ago, we faced a critical decision:

  • React Native (cross-platform, JS-first)
  • Turbo Native (Rails-powered, native-shell)

We built two versions of our inventory management app—one with each stack—and ran them in parallel. Here’s the brutally honest comparison after half a year in production.

1. Development Speed

Turbo Native

✅ Week 1: Had a working prototype using existing Rails views
✅ Week 3: Shipped to TestFlight/Play Store
🔥 Big Win: Zero API changes; reused 90% of our web code

React Native

⚠️ Week 1: Struggled with Metro bundler/config
⚠️ Week 4: Still debugging Android-specific crashes
💡 Lesson: If you already have a Rails app, Turbo Native is 10x faster for initial launch.

Winner: Turbo Native (for MVP speed)

2. Performance

Cold Start Time

Platform Turbo Native React Native
iOS 1.4s 1.1s
Android 2.0s 1.8s

Memory Usage

  • Turbo Native: ~250MB (WebView overhead)
  • React Native: ~180MB (but with occasional JS thread freezes)

Shocker: Users couldn’t perceive the difference in daily use.

Winner: Tie (but React Native feels snappier)

3. Native Features

Push Notifications

  • Turbo Native: Required native FCM setup + Rails backend tweaks
  • React Native: react-native-firebase worked flawlessly

Camera/GPU Tasks

  • Turbo Native: Clunky bridge code (Swift/Kotlin ↔ Stimulus)
  • React Native: react-native-camera just worked

Winner: React Native (for complex device APIs)

4. The Maintenance Nightmare

Turbo Native

✅ Hotfixes: Deployed instantly via Rails
✅ Team Skills: Only needed Rails + basic native knowledge

React Native

⚠️ Dependency Hell:

# Every other week
npm install react-native@latest
cd ios && pod install
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

⚠️ Android Build Failures: "Could not resolve com.facebook.react..."

Winner: Turbo Native (for long-term sanity)

5. When to Choose Which

Turbo Native Wins If

  • You have a Rails backend
  • Your app is CRUD-heavy
  • Your team hates JavaScript tooling

React Native Wins If

  • You need complex animations
  • You’re building from scratch (no Rails)
  • Your team knows React

6. Our Final Stack

We kept both:

  • Turbo Native for internal/admin apps
  • React Native for customer-facing apps

Tried both? Share your horror stories below!

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