Shopify has announced its decision to move away from React Native, the cross-platform framework it adopted in 2020, to return to native development using Swift for iOS and Kotlin for Android. In a blog post published on September 10, 2026, the company stated that while React Native was successful in saving time by allowing for a single codebase, the rapid advancement of large language models (LLMs) and AI coding agents has fundamentally changed the cost-benefit analysis.

By utilizing AI, Shopify found they could significantly reduce the resources required to implement the same features across both platforms. The company prototyped this approach by rebuilding core parts of its largest apps with AI assistance, finding that the effort to maintain feature parity between iOS and Android is no longer a prohibitive burden.

Shopify is approaching the migration using a "greenfield" strategy—rebuilding apps from scratch rather than incrementally updating them. The company has already successfully migrated the Shop app to a fully native version in just 12 weeks with AI assistance. The migration of the main Shopify app is currently underway and is expected to be released later this year, with other apps following.

To facilitate this transition, Shopify developed "Helix," a system that uses AI agents to perform iterative, step-by-step rebuilding of UI screens. This system allows for a continuous loop of implementation, testing, and review, ensuring that the generated code meets high standards of quality and maintainability. Unlike simple one-shot generation, Helix uses a checkpoint-based approach where each increment must pass visual reviews and automated tests before proceeding.

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