Hermes

Turbo Modules are the next-generation native module system in React Native's New Architecture, replacing the traditional bridge-based modules. They use the JavaScript Interface (JSI) for direct, synchronous communication between JavaScript and native code, eliminating the serialization overhead of the old JSON bridge. Turbo Modules also support lazy loading — they're only initialized when first accessed rather than at app startup, which significantly improves launch performance.

Hot reload is a development feature that injects updated code into a running application without restarting it or losing the current state. In Flutter, hot reload works by injecting updated Dart source code into the running Dart VM, typically completing in under a second. React Native offers a similar feature called Fast Refresh that preserves component state during edits. Both dramatically accelerate the development feedback loop compared to traditional compile-and-restart cycles.

A WebView is an embeddable browser component that renders web content (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) inside a native mobile application. It allows developers to reuse existing web code within a native app shell, commonly used for displaying rich content, integrating web-based features, or building hybrid apps. While convenient, WebView-heavy apps typically have worse performance and a less native feel compared to truly native or React Native/Flutter approaches.

React Native is a framework for building native mobile applications for iOS and Android using React and JavaScript/TypeScript. Unlike hybrid approaches that render in a WebView, React Native maps React components to actual native platform UI elements, providing native look, feel, and performance. Its "learn once, write anywhere" philosophy allows web developers to leverage their React knowledge for mobile development while still accessing platform-specific APIs when needed.

Styled Components is a popular CSS-in-JS library for React and React Native that uses tagged template literals to style components. It automatically generates unique class names, supports dynamic styling based on props, handles vendor prefixing, and provides full theming capabilities. The library colocates styles with components, making it easy to understand what each component looks like and to delete styles safely when removing components.

Expo is a platform and set of tools built around React Native that simplifies mobile app development by providing a managed workflow, pre-configured native modules, and over-the-air update capabilities. With Expo, you can start building without installing Xcode or Android Studio, test on physical devices via the Expo Go app, and deploy updates without app store review cycles. Expo's EAS (Expo Application Services) handles cloud builds, submissions, and updates for production apps.