Ask: How do you handle app performance on older or lower-end devices? What profiling tools do you use?
Key skills: Swift/SwiftUI or Kotlin/Jetpack Compose (or React Native/Flutter for cross-platform), Xcode/Android Studio, App Store submission, offline-first architecture, push notifications
Red flag: Developers who have only worked on personal projects but have never dealt with App Store review, crash reporting, or maintaining an app with millions of users
Common misconception: Cross-platform frameworks don’t eliminate the need to understand native platforms — React Native and Flutter still require platform-specific knowledge for performance-critical features
Strong candidates have dealt with App Store rejection, managed app updates with backward compatibility, and have experience with crash reporting and analytics