To the point: Programming languages are losing their once-strong binding power. AI-driven development and mature cross-platform frameworks enable more flexible technology decisions—apps can be easily migrated between technology stacks as needed, as demonstrated by a company using React Native because a transition to native solutions remains possible at any time.
A quote from Mitchell Hashimoto about Bun’s migration from Zig to Rust sheds light on a fundamental shift in software development. While programming languages once locked developers in for the long term, AI-driven development tools today offer new flexibility—as demonstrated by a company that had its iOS and Android apps rewritten in React Native with the help of AI coding agents.
An engineer at a mid-sized tech company reported a remarkable decision: his team had completely rewritten both of his company’s flagship apps for iPhone and Android with the help of AI coding agents, using React Native. When asked why this approach was chosen, even though coding agents would have made maintaining separate native code bases significantly cheaper, he responded that React Native has made considerable progress in recent years and now covers all required functionality. Crucially, however: if the choice later proves to be wrong, the apps can be ported back to native implementations at any time. This flexibility symbolizes a paradigm shift. Programming languages were long strategic long-term investments that effectively locked developers into specific ecosystems. These times are changing rapidly—thanks to improved development tools, automated code migration, and the maturity of cross-platform solutions, a new pragmatism in technology selection is emerging.