Caching in ReactNative apps — Boon or Bane?
Article Summary
Ankit Bhalla from Cars24 tackles the double-edged sword of mobile caching: it can make your React Native app blazing fast or turn it into a buggy nightmare. Here's how to get it right.
With 55% of users blaming apps for performance issues and 37% thinking less of companies after crashes, caching isn't optional—it's survival. This deep dive covers image caching, API response strategies, database optimization, and UI rendering techniques specifically for React Native apps dealing with unstable networks and limited device resources.
Key Takeaways
- react-native-fast-image cuts image load times with immutable, web, and cacheOnly modes
- react-query and SWR enable stale-while-revalidate patterns for instant perceived performance
- WatermelonDB and MMKV provide offline-first database caching with real-time sync
- useMemo, useCallback, and React.memo prevent unnecessary re-renders in lists
- 1-second load delay causes 7% conversion drop (web metric applicable to mobile)
Strategic caching can slash data consumption and battery drain while delivering instant app responses, but requires careful invalidation policies and security measures to avoid serving stale data.
About This Article
React Native apps struggle with network latency, battery drain, and data costs, especially in developing countries where connections are unstable and devices have limited processing power.
Ankit Bhalla suggests four caching strategies to help. Use react-native-fast-image with CDNs like Cloudflare for images. Cache API responses with react-query or SWR. Optimize database queries using WatermelonDB and MMKV. For the UI, use useMemo and React.memo hooks to cache elements.
Good caching cuts down network calls and CPU usage, which saves battery life. Research shows that a 1-second delay in loading costs you about 7% of conversions. Fast image loading and smooth navigation matter a lot for keeping users around.
