Reduce App Size and Boost Performance in React Native
Article Summary
Keval Goyani from Simform reveals how React Native apps can shed serious weight without sacrificing performance. His team's optimization techniques cut bundle sizes dramatically while keeping apps lightning-fast.
This comprehensive guide tackles the growing problem of bloated React Native apps that discourage downloads and drain device resources. Goyani walks through practical optimization strategies across JavaScript bundles, native Android and iOS configurations, and asset management that teams can implement from day one.
Key Takeaways
- Switching from Moment.js to Day.js saves significant bundle weight (71KB+ reduction possible)
- Android App Bundles with shrinkResources enabled automatically remove unused code and assets
- WebP format offers 25-35% lossy and 26% lossless compression over PNG/JPEG
- Knip tool identifies unused dependencies and dead code in legacy codebases
- iOS asset catalogs and On-Demand Resources defer non-critical downloads
Critical Insight
Strategic library choices, selective imports, and platform-specific optimizations can dramatically reduce React Native app sizes while improving load times and user experience.
