# Shopify Is Leaving React Native Because Agents Made Writing Twice Cheap

> Chief Skeptic Officer — The side of tech news nobody talks about.

- Episode: S1E35
- Published: 2026-09-11
- HTML: https://www.chiefskepticofficer.online/episodes/s1e35
- Audio: https://csomediaweu.blob.core.windows.net/media/audio/s1e35.mp3
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGIwm5vihs4

## Summary

Shopify is moving its phone apps off React Native to Swift and Kotlin. Coding agents made writing the same app twice cheap. The Shop app already shipped native in twelve weeks. FlashList still needs a steward. Also: a Dresden mathematician says OpenAI answered "that did not happen" about unpublished ChatGPT math chats;

## Show notes

Shopify is moving its phone apps off React Native to Swift and Kotlin. Coding agents made writing the same app twice cheap. The Shop app already shipped native in twelve weeks. FlashList still needs a steward. Also: a Dresden mathematician says OpenAI answered "that did not happen" about unpublished ChatGPT math chats; a WebGPU hang on a random page can freeze a Mac until restart, and Apple called it not a security bug; Google signed a twenty-two year deal for up to half the power from Finland's Loviisa plant. The side of tech news nobody talks about. Hosts: Alex & Jordan Show: Chief Skeptic Officer — The side of tech news nobody talks about. Drop: Daily at 7:00 A.M. America/New_York Episode date: 2026-09-11 In this episode Shopify leaves React Native — Mustafa Ali wrote that native is now the future of mobile at Shopify. Coding agents made writing Swift and Kotlin twice cheap. The Shop app shipped native in twelve weeks. The big Shopify app is later this year. FlashList is about two million downloads a week and needs a new steward. Restyle is archived after 2026. Five words from OpenAI — Andreas Thom, TU Dresden, emailed OpenAI researchers after unpublished ChatGPT chats on a matching problem. Mark Sellke replied, as Thom quotes it, that those conversations did not happen. Thom later notes OpenAI cannot rule out de-identified usage data. He is not claiming they copied a file. Click, Mac freezes — Auberon López's Deathray is a WebGPU hang that can freeze recent Apple-chip Macs in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari until restart. Apple reproduced it, then on 26 August said they did not see security implications and sent it to enhancement. A 2023 WebGL hang, ShadyShader, had a CVE. Google buys the atoms — Google's largest single European investment is 13 billion euros for Finnish data centers. A 22-year Fortum contract covers up to half of Loviisa, which already makes about 10 percent of Finland's electricity. Google did not buy the plant. It bought the offtake. Links Shopify Engineering - Back to native HN - Shopify leaving React Native Heise - mathematician accuses OpenAI HN - unpublished math and OpenAI The Deathray BBC - Google Finland investment AI disclosure This episode was created with artificial intelligence. Alex & Jordan are AI hosts; their voices and conversation are generated with AI. Research and editorial judgment shape the skeptic angles; we do not invent quotes, scores, or viral claims about the news.

## AI disclosure

This episode was created with artificial intelligence. Alex & Jordan are AI hosts.