React Native Performance Optimization Tips Every Dev Should Know

React Native (RN) can deliver buttery-smooth experiences if you leverage its state-of-the-art toolkit while building cross-platform apps in 2025. According to the latest RN releases and documentation, the following is a concise, SEO-friendly introduction to the best performance optimizations today.You can even hire React Native app developers if you require an expert or are scaling up a team.

1) Update to the Latest React Native & New Architecture

First, first: stay current. The New Architecture (Fabric renderer + TurboModules + Codegen) and better integration with React's concurrent features are a few of the significant performance improvements and bug fixes in current releases. Upstream updates cut through bottlenecks you'd otherwise pursue locally, so a lot of teams see fewer problems and a smoother user experience simply by updating prior to making app-specific tweaks.

Action items

• Enable the New Architecture and switch to the latest stable RN.
• Verify for maintained forks or ensure that 3P modules are compatible with Fabric/TurboModules.

2) Use Hermes (It's the Default—And It's Fast)

Hermes is RN's default JS engine and is still a major factor in APK size, memory utilization, and startup time, particularly on Android. Hermes decreases runtime overhead and cold-start latency compared to earlier engines since it precompiles to bytecode at build time. Verify that it is enabled in your configuration and CI, but no additional setup is required in contemporary RN.

Action items

• Verify All Hermes (debug/release) variants are enabled.
• Hermes usually gives the biggest wins when profile starting is done on low-end Android hardware.

3) Adopt Fabric & TurboModules

TurboModules cut JS-native overhead by a large margin with code-gen'd type-safe bindings and JSI, while Fabric's C++ renderer is a boost to UI performance and sync rendering. Native calls become cheaper, list interactions faster, and fewer frames are dropped. Switching over to TurboModules will be worth it immediately if you deploy custom native modules.

Action items

• Assess your most complicated native bridges and migrate to TurboModules.
• Already have community libraries prefered Ready-to-use fabric

4) Render Less, Render Smarter

React rules remain in place:

• Employ getItemLayout, removeClippedSubviews, the correct keyExtractor, and windowSize to virtualize lengthy lists (FlatList/SectionList).
• Avoid wasting renderings by using PureComponent and memoization (React.memo, useMemo, useCallback).
• To localize updates, split large screens into memoized subcomponents. For accurate performance baselines, enable production builds and disable dev-only checks.

5) Optimize Navigation & Screens

Perceived performance can be won or lost by increased costs and navigation transitions:

• For improved animations, where possible, use native-stack transitions.
• Opt for lazy screen loading and unmount on blur for non-critical screens to free up memory in dense flows.
• Defer expensive data work until after the first coat of paint.(e.g., InteractionManager.runAfterInteractions)

6) Animation & Gestures: Offload to the UI Thread

JS-thread problems are usually responsible for jerky animations. Modern stacks utilize the JS thread to run animations:

• To achieve 60 frames per second when loaded, use the Gesture Handler ecosystem and a UI-thread animation library.
• For complex interactions, use worklet- or native-driven animations.
• Prevent unnecessary setState bursts during gestures and reduce layout thrash using constant sizes.

7) Images, Fonts, and Assets

Resize and compress images at build time; if 1× is adequate, do not ship 3× assets.

• Use cache as needed and prefetch key images (Image.prefetch).
• Bundle-split: lazy-load infrequently used assets after the first render; keep the initial app bundle small.
• Group fonts and subsettings together; the upfront cost of each font file is higher.

8) Networking & State Strategy

• Lessen over-the-wire expense by leveraging HTTP/2, batching requests, and compression.
• Prioritize above-the-fold information; delay non-essential API calls.
• Reduce global state where possible as coarse global stores can lead to app-wide re-renders. Store selectors and slice state by features.

9) Memory & Startup Budget

• Inspect native RAM and JS heap; memory leaks often hide in event listeners and closures.
• Check your release size and startup budget on older devices by excluding development tools from release builds.
• Monitor startup milestones (process start → first frame → interactive) and CI regressions. Memory and startup improvements discovered in new RN lines are worth upgrading.

10) Measure With the Right Tools

You can't improve what you can't measure:

• Read the Performance documentation for React Native as a starting point.
• Make use of runtime markers, Android Profiler/Xcode Instruments, and Flipper plugins to profile.
• Establish SLOs, e.g., Time-to-Interactive < 2 seconds on a Moto G-class device, >55 frames per second on critical screens, and < 150 MB in steady state.

The Bottom Line

Upgrading RN, adopting Hermes, and embracing the New Architecture—then layering traditional React optimization methods on top—are the quickest means to success in 2025. By doing so, you can make more seamless lists, quicker startup times, and fewer UI stutter on both iOS and Android. Get practical help implementing these best practices into action from our expert React Native developers if you need faster results.

Resources for further reading are: real-world migration observations from large apps; official RN papers on performance, Hermes, and the React Native New Architecture and releases of current versions that highlight performance enhancements.