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Top 50 Most Asked Mobile App Development Interview Questions

The questions that appear most often across company-wise sets — master these first.

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We count how often each question appears across the 20 company-wise Mobile App Development practice sets on this site and show the 50 most common. They are the safest questions to master first.

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01

After an API call finishes, the app throws an error about using BuildContext across async gaps or setState after dispose. How do you fix it?

Dart and Flutter BasicsIn 10 company setsMedium
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The user left the screen before the Future completed, so the widget was unmounted. Before using context or calling setState after await, check if (!context.mounted) return; or if (!mounted) return; in State. Better still, move async logic out of widgets into a state management layer that the UI listens to, and cancel subscriptions or timers in dispose so no callbacks run on a dead widget.
02

How do you manage form state and validation across multiple steps in a Flutter onboarding flow?

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Keep the onboarding data in one state object owned by a notifier or cubit scoped to the flow, with each step updating its part. Validate per step before moving forward and again on final submit. Save progress locally so users can resume if they leave. Keep validation rules in pure functions that are unit tested. Dispose the state when the flow completes so data does not leak into later sessions.
03

A global Redux store causes the whole app to re-render on every small change. How do you fix it?

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Components are probably selecting large parts of state or creating new objects in selectors. Select only the fields each component needs with useSelector, memoise derived data with createSelector, and keep state normalised. Move server data to RTK Query or TanStack Query and local UI state back into components. Verify improvements with the React profiler, checking which components render after each action.
04

Users get logged out randomly. The access token refresh seems to fail sometimes. What could be wrong?

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A common cause is a race condition: several requests receive 401 at once and each triggers a refresh, so later refreshes use an already rotated refresh token and fail, logging the user out. Fix it by allowing only one refresh at a time and queueing other requests until it completes, then retrying them with the new token. Also check device clock issues, token expiry settings and secure storage read failures.
05

How do you reduce app size for Flutter and React Native apps?

Testing, Performance and CI/CDIn 8 company setsMedium
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Publish Android App Bundles so users download only their architecture and density resources. In Flutter, use --split-debug-info and --obfuscate, remove unused packages and fonts, compress images and use tree-shaken icons. In React Native, enable Hermes, R8 minification and resource shrinking, and remove heavy libraries. For both, analyse size with tools like flutter build --analyze-size or APK Analyzer and lazy-load large assets.
06

The client wants the app to look exactly like iOS on iPhones and like Material on Android. How do you approach this in a cross-platform app?

Mobile Development FundamentalsIn 7 company setsMedium
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Identify which elements truly need platform-specific behaviour: navigation transitions, back gestures, date pickers, switches and dialogs. In Flutter, use adaptive constructors like Switch.adaptive or Cupertino widgets based on Theme.of(context).platform. In React Native, many components are native already, and Platform.select handles differences. Keep shared business logic and most layout common, and limit platform branches to a component library so they stay manageable.
07

Write a Cubit that loads products and emits loading, success and error states.

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sealed class ProductState {} class ProductLoading extends ProductState {} class ProductLoaded extends ProductState { ProductLoaded(this.items); final List<Product> items; } class ProductError extends ProductState { ProductError(this.message); final String message; } class ProductCubit extends Cubit<ProductState> { ProductCubit(this._repo) : super(ProductLoading()); final ProductRepository _repo; Future<void> load() async { emit(ProductLoading()); try { emit(ProductLoaded(await _repo.fetchProducts())); } catch (_) { emit(ProductError('Could not load products')); } } }
08

Write a Riverpod provider that fetches data asynchronously and display it in a widget.

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final productsProvider = FutureProvider.autoDispose<List<Product>>((ref) { final repo = ref.watch(productRepositoryProvider); return repo.fetchProducts(); }); class ProductsView extends ConsumerWidget { const ProductsView({super.key}); @override Widget build(BuildContext context, WidgetRef ref) { final products = ref.watch(productsProvider); return products.when( loading: () => const Center(child: CircularProgressIndicator()), error: (e, _) => const Center(child: Text('Failed to load')), data: (items) => ListView(children: [for (final p in items) ListTile(title: Text(p.name))]), ); } }
09

How would you test a Bloc or Riverpod notifier?

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Test business logic without widgets. For Bloc, the bloc_test package's blocTest builds the bloc with a fake repository, acts by adding events, and expects a list of emitted states. For Riverpod, create a ProviderContainer with overrides for repository providers, read the notifier, call methods and assert the state. Use mocktail for mocks and keep tests fast, deterministic and independent of the network.
10

Your Flutter codebase mixes setState, Provider and get_it randomly across screens. How would you clean it up?

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Agree on one approach with the team, for example Riverpod for app state and setState only for local widget state, and document examples. Migrate gradually, starting with the most buggy or most changed features, and write tests before moving logic. Add lint rules and pull request checklists so new code follows the standard. Avoid a big-bang rewrite that blocks feature work for weeks.
11

Write a React Navigation setup with a stack containing a tab navigator and a details screen.

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const Tab = createBottomTabNavigator(); const Stack = createNativeStackNavigator(); function HomeTabs() { return ( <Tab.Navigator> <Tab.Screen name="Feed" component={FeedScreen} /> <Tab.Screen name="Profile" component={ProfileScreen} /> </Tab.Navigator> ); } export default function App() { return ( <NavigationContainer> <Stack.Navigator> <Stack.Screen name="Home" component={HomeTabs} options={{ headerShown: false }} /> <Stack.Screen name="Details" component={DetailsScreen} /> </Stack.Navigator> </NavigationContainer> ); }
12

How do you handle gestures such as swipe to delete in React Native?

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Use react-native-gesture-handler, which processes gestures on the native side, often with Reanimated for smooth animations. For swipe to delete, the Swipeable or ReanimatedSwipeable component renders action buttons behind a row. Define gestures with the Gesture API, such as Gesture.Pan, and compose them when needed. Wrap the app root in GestureHandlerRootView. Provide an accessible alternative like a long-press menu for screen reader users.
13

How do you set up CI/CD for a cross-platform mobile app?

Testing, Performance and CI/CDIn 7 company setsMedium
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On every pull request, run lint, formatting checks, unit and widget or component tests. On merge, build signed Android and iOS release artifacts using CI services such as GitHub Actions, Codemagic, Bitrise or EAS Build, with signing keys stored as secrets. Use fastlane or EAS Submit to upload to internal testing tracks and TestFlight. Automate version numbers, generate release notes and run smoke tests with Maestro.
14

How do you decide which devices to test on for an Indian user base?

Testing, Performance and CI/CDIn 7 company setsMedium
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Use analytics from the existing app or market data to identify the most common manufacturers, OS versions, screen sizes and RAM levels among your users. Cover a budget device with 3 to 4 GB RAM, a mid-range phone, a recent flagship, an older OS version you still support, and at least one iPhone and tablet. Use cloud device farms for wider coverage and add devices that generate many crashes.
15

What is app signing and why must you protect the keys?

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Signing proves the app comes from you and that updates are from the same developer. On Android, you sign uploads with an upload key and Play App Signing re-signs with the app signing key held by the store; a lost upload key can be reset, but losing a self-managed app key meant you could never update the app. On iOS, signing uses certificates and provisioning profiles. Store keys in a secure vault and CI secrets, never in the repository.
16

How do you force users to update when an old version has a critical bug?

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Keep a minimum supported version in remote config or an API endpoint, check it at startup and show a blocking update screen linking to the store. On Android, use the Play In-App Updates API with the immediate flow for critical updates and flexible flow for normal ones. Keep the backend compatible with older versions for a defined period, and use forced updates sparingly because they frustrate users.
17

A user reports that they cannot find your app in the store on their old phone. Why could this happen?

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The app may not be available for their device because the minimum OS version is higher than theirs, the device lacks a required hardware feature declared in the manifest, the app is not released in their country, or the device architecture is excluded. Check the device catalogue in Play Console and the deployment target on iOS. Decide whether supporting that segment is worth lowering requirements.
18

How do you design a mobile app for users on low-end devices and poor networks?

Mobile Development FundamentalsIn 6 company setsMedium
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Keep the app size small, avoid heavy animations on low-end phones, and load images at the right resolution with caching. Use pagination and compressed API responses, cache data locally so screens open offline, and show skeleton loaders and clear retry options. Defer non-critical SDK initialisation to speed up startup. Test on budget devices with 2 or 3 GB RAM and throttled networks, since many users in India use them.
19

How do you set up multiple environments such as dev, staging and production in a mobile app?

Mobile Development FundamentalsIn 6 company setsMedium
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Create build flavours on Android and schemes or configurations on iOS, each with its own app ID suffix, app name, icon and API base URL, so all can be installed side by side. In Flutter, use --flavor with --dart-define-from-file for config values; in React Native, use react-native-config or Expo app config with environment variables. Keep secrets out of the repo and set them in CI.
20

What is BuildContext?

Dart and Flutter BasicsIn 6 company setsMedium
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BuildContext is a handle to a widget's location in the element tree. It is used to look up inherited data like Theme.of(context), MediaQuery and Navigator, and providers. Each widget's build method gets its own context. Common mistakes are using a context from above a widget that provides data, or using a context after an async gap when the widget may be unmounted; check context.mounted before using it after await.
21

Users lose their place in a long Flutter form when they get a phone call and the app is killed in background. How do you fix it?

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The operating system may kill the app process in background, and in-memory state is lost. Save draft form data to local storage, such as shared_preferences, Hive or a SQLite table, as the user types with a short debounce, and restore it when the screen opens. Flutter's RestorationMixin and restorationScopeId can restore simple UI state like scroll position and text fields. Clear the draft after successful submission.
22

Write a Redux Toolkit slice for a cart.

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const cartSlice = createSlice({ name: 'cart', initialState: { items: [] }, reducers: { addItem(state, action) { const existing = state.items.find((i) => i.id === action.payload.id); if (existing) existing.qty += 1; else state.items.push({ ...action.payload, qty: 1 }); }, removeItem(state, action) { state.items = state.items.filter((i) => i.id !== action.payload); }, }, }); export const { addItem, removeItem } = cartSlice.actions; export const selectTotal = (s) => s.cart.items.reduce((t, i) => t + i.price * i.qty, 0);
23

What are optimistic updates and how do you implement them?

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An optimistic update changes the UI immediately as if the server request succeeded, such as liking a post, then rolls back if the request fails. It makes apps feel fast on slow networks. With TanStack Query, use onMutate to update the cache and save the previous value, onError to restore it, and onSettled to refetch. Use it for low-risk actions, not payments.
24

Write a Dart HTTP client using dio with an interceptor that adds an auth token.

Mobile Backend, APIs and FirebaseIn 6 company setsMedium
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final dio = Dio(BaseOptions( baseUrl: 'https://api.example.com', connectTimeout: const Duration(seconds: 10), receiveTimeout: const Duration(seconds: 15), )); dio.interceptors.add(InterceptorsWrapper( onRequest: (options, handler) async { final token = await secureStorage.read(key: 'access_token'); if (token != null) options.headers['Authorization'] = 'Bearer $token'; handler.next(options); }, onError: (e, handler) { if (e.response?.statusCode == 401) authNotifier.logout(); handler.next(e); }, ));
25

After a release, crash reports show a spike only on one Android OS version. What steps do you take?

Testing, Performance and CI/CDIn 6 company setsMedium
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Pause the staged rollout to limit impact. Filter crash reports by OS version and device to find the top stack trace, and check behaviour changes for that version, such as permission, background or edge-to-edge rules. Reproduce on an emulator of that version, fix it, add a regression test and resume rollout with a hotfix. Add that OS version to the regular test device matrix.
26

Write an EAS configuration for development, preview and production builds.

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{ "cli": { "version": ">= 12.0.0" }, "build": { "development": { "developmentClient": true, "distribution": "internal" }, "preview": { "distribution": "internal", "channel": "preview" }, "production": { "autoIncrement": true, "channel": "production" } }, "submit": { "production": {} } }
27

What is responsive design in mobile apps and how do you handle different screen sizes?

Mobile Development FundamentalsIn 5 company setsMedium
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Responsive design means layouts adapt to screen width, orientation, foldables and tablets instead of using fixed sizes. Use flexible layouts, percentages or flex, and breakpoints for compact, medium and expanded widths. In Flutter use LayoutBuilder and MediaQuery.sizeOf; in React Native use flexbox and useWindowDimensions. Respect safe areas for notches and system bars, support text scaling for accessibility, and test on small budget phones.
28

How do deep links and universal links work?

Mobile Development FundamentalsIn 5 company setsMedium
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Deep links open a specific screen in your app from a URL. Custom schemes like myapp://order/42 work but are not verified. Verified HTTPS links are App Links on Android, using assetlinks.json, and Universal Links on iOS, using an apple-app-site-association file on your domain. When verified, the link opens your app directly instead of the browser. The routing library, like go_router or React Navigation linking, maps URLs to screens.
29

Write a Dart sealed class for API results and handle it with an exhaustive switch.

Dart and Flutter BasicsIn 5 company setsMedium
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sealed class Result<T> {} class Success<T> extends Result<T> { Success(this.data); final T data; } class Failure<T> extends Result<T> { Failure(this.message); final String message; } Widget view(Result<List<String>> r) => switch (r) { Success(:final data) => ListView(children: [for (final s in data) Text(s)]), Failure(:final message) => Center(child: Text(message)), };
30

Explain the Bloc pattern and Cubit.

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In Bloc, the UI adds events, the Bloc handles them with on<Event> handlers and emits new immutable states, and widgets rebuild with BlocBuilder or react with BlocListener. A Cubit is a simpler version where the UI calls methods directly and the Cubit emits states, without event classes. Use Cubit for straightforward logic and full Bloc when you need event transformations like debounce or detailed traceability.
31

A React Native list of 2000 items scrolls slowly and shows blank areas. How do you fix it?

React Native CoreIn 5 company setsMedium
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Use FlatList or FlashList rather than ScrollView with map. Provide a stable keyExtractor, memoise row components with React.memo, avoid inline functions and heavy computation in renderItem, and use getItemLayout or fixed item sizes where possible. Tune windowSize and maxToRenderPerBatch, compress and cache images with a library like expo-image, and test a release build, since dev mode is much slower.
32

A screen re-renders every time the user types in a search box, making it laggy. How do you fix it?

React Native CoreIn 5 company setsMedium
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Keep the search text state local to the search input component so only it re-renders, debounce the query before updating the list or calling the API, and memoise the list and row components. Avoid storing frequently changing values in a global store that many components subscribe to. Use the React DevTools profiler to confirm which components render, and useDeferredValue to keep typing responsive.
33

How do you debug a React Native app?

React Native CoreIn 5 company setsMedium
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Use React Native DevTools, the default debugger since 0.76, for console logs, breakpoints, React component inspection and profiling. Inspect network requests with the network panel or a proxy. For native crashes, check Logcat in Android Studio and the Xcode console. Use the performance monitor overlay for frame rates, and add a crash reporting tool like Sentry or Crashlytics for production errors with source maps uploaded.
34

Compare Redux Toolkit, Zustand and React Context for state in React Native.

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Context is built in and fine for rarely changing values like theme or auth, but every consumer re-renders on change. Redux Toolkit gives a predictable global store with slices, middleware and excellent DevTools, suited to large teams, and RTK Query handles API caching. Zustand is small and simple, with selector-based subscriptions that limit re-renders. Server data is often better handled by TanStack Query than by any global store.
35

Deep links open the app but land on the home screen instead of the product page. How do you debug it?

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Check that the link configuration maps the URL path to the right screen name, including nested navigators, and that path parameters match. Verify verified link setup on both platforms: assetlinks.json for Android and the associated domains entitlement plus the site association file for iOS. Test with adb shell am start and xcrun simctl openurl. Also handle links when the app is cold started versus already running.
36

How would you migrate a large React Native app from JavaScript to TypeScript?

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Enable TypeScript with allowJs so both coexist, start with a relaxed tsconfig, and convert shared code first: API types, models, utilities and navigation param lists. Then convert screens feature by feature, tightening strict options gradually. Add type checks to CI so new files must be TypeScript. Avoid using any to silence errors; use unknown and narrow. Track progress and celebrate milestones to keep momentum.
37

Integration tests pass locally but fail randomly in CI. How do you make them reliable?

Testing, Performance and CI/CDIn 5 company setsMedium
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Flaky tests usually come from timing assumptions, shared state, network dependence or slow emulators. Replace fixed delays with waiting for specific conditions, mock or stub network calls with predictable responses, reset app data between tests, and use stable selectors like keys or test IDs instead of text that changes. Give CI emulators enough resources, retry only as a temporary measure, and track flaky tests separately to fix them.
38

The app takes six seconds to start on low-end phones. How do you improve it?

Testing, Performance and CI/CDIn 5 company setsHard
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Measure cold start on a release or profile build and trace what runs before the first frame. Defer non-critical SDK initialisation such as analytics and ads, avoid large synchronous storage reads and network calls before showing UI, load the first screen with cached data, and lazy-load other features. In Flutter, keep main() light; in React Native, use Hermes and inline requires. Use a native splash screen to avoid a blank screen.
39

What are privacy declarations required by the app stores?

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The Play Store requires a data safety form describing what data is collected, shared, encrypted and deletable, plus a privacy policy link and account deletion option for apps with accounts. The iOS App Store requires privacy nutrition labels, a privacy manifest file for the app and listed third-party SDKs describing data use and required reason APIs, and App Tracking Transparency permission before tracking users across apps.
40

How would you plan a staged rollout for a major redesign?

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Release to internal testers and beta users first and collect feedback. Then roll out to 5 percent of production users, monitoring crash-free rate, ANRs, key conversion metrics and reviews for a few days, before moving to 20, 50 and 100 percent. Keep the redesign behind a remote flag to switch back without a release. Define rollback criteria in advance and communicate the plan to support teams.
41

Explain the mobile app lifecycle states on Android and iOS.

Mobile Development FundamentalsIn 4 company setsMedium
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Both platforms move apps between foreground active, inactive, background and terminated states. On iOS, an app goes inactive during interruptions like calls, then background, where it gets limited time before suspension. On Android, activities move through resumed, paused and stopped, and the process can be killed in background. Cross-platform apps observe these through AppLifecycleListener in Flutter or AppState in React Native to pause work and save data.
42

A startup asks you to choose between Flutter, React Native and native for their new delivery app. How do you decide?

Mobile Development FundamentalsIn 4 company setsMedium
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I would ask about team skills, timeline, budget, required features and long-term plans. If the team knows JavaScript and has a web app, React Native allows code and skill sharing. If they want a consistent custom UI and fast development from scratch, Flutter is strong. Heavy background location and maps work well in both with plugins, but if the app depends deeply on platform features, native may be safer. I would prototype one key screen first.
43

What are keys in Flutter and when do you need them?

Dart and Flutter BasicsIn 4 company setsMedium
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Keys help Flutter match widgets to existing elements and state when the widget list changes. Without keys, Flutter matches by type and position, so reordering or removing items in a list of stateful widgets can attach state to the wrong item. Use ValueKey with a unique ID for list items, UniqueKey to force recreation, and GlobalKey rarely, for accessing state across the tree such as a Form.
44

What are isolates and when should you use them?

Dart and Flutter BasicsIn 4 company setsMedium
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Isolates are Dart's units of concurrency, each with its own memory and event loop, communicating by messages. Heavy CPU work like parsing a large JSON file, image processing or encryption on the main isolate causes jank. Use Isolate.run or compute to run such work in a separate isolate and return the result. For network or file I/O, async-await is enough because that work is not CPU-bound.
45

How does Flutter's layout rule of constraints go down, sizes go up work?

Dart and Flutter BasicsIn 4 company setsHard
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A parent passes constraints, minimum and maximum width and height, to each child. The child chooses its size within those constraints and reports it up, then the parent positions the child. A widget cannot choose a size outside its constraints, which explains why a Container with width 100 may still fill the screen if forced by tight constraints. Understanding this rule solves most overflow and unbounded constraint errors.
46

Parsing a 10 MB JSON file freezes the Flutter UI for two seconds. How do you fix it?

Dart and Flutter BasicsIn 4 company setsMedium
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JSON decoding is CPU-bound and runs on the main isolate, blocking frames. Move it to a background isolate with Isolate.run(() => parseProducts(jsonString)) or compute. Also consider whether the API can paginate or return less data, and parse lazily. Test in profile mode with DevTools performance view to confirm the frame time improvement, since debug mode exaggerates slowness.
47

Write a go_router configuration with an auth redirect.

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final router = GoRouter( initialLocation: '/', refreshListenable: authNotifier, redirect: (context, state) { final loggedIn = authNotifier.isLoggedIn; final goingToLogin = state.matchedLocation == '/login'; if (!loggedIn && !goingToLogin) return '/login'; if (loggedIn && goingToLogin) return '/'; return null; }, routes: [ GoRoute(path: '/', builder: (_, __) => const HomePage()), GoRoute(path: '/login', builder: (_, __) => const LoginPage()), GoRoute( path: '/product/:id', builder: (_, state) => ProductPage(id: state.pathParameters['id']!), ), ], );
48

The cart total shows stale values on the checkout screen after items are removed on the cart screen. How do you fix it?

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Each screen probably holds its own copy of cart data. Move cart state into a single shared state object, such as a Riverpod notifier or a Cubit provided above both screens, and have both screens watch it. All mutations go through that object, which emits a new immutable state. Derived values like total should be computed from the state, not stored separately, so they can never become inconsistent.
49

You are designing a large Flutter app for a bank with 30 developers. How do you structure it?

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Split the app into feature packages in a monorepo managed with Melos or pub workspaces, plus core packages for networking, design system, analytics and security. Pick one state management approach, such as Bloc for strict traceability, with clear layer boundaries. Use code generation consistently, enforce lints and architecture tests in CI, and assign feature ownership. Add integration tests for critical journeys and strict security reviews for storage and network code.
50

What is an Expo project and how does it differ from a bare React Native project?

React Native CoreIn 4 company setsEasy
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Expo is a framework and toolset for React Native that provides prebuilt native modules, file-based routing with Expo Router, EAS cloud builds and over-the-air updates. With Continuous Native Generation, Expo creates the android and ios folders from app config and config plugins, so you rarely edit native code. A bare project manages native folders directly. Expo is now the officially recommended way to start React Native apps.

Frequently asked questions

How is this list made?

We count how often each question appears across the 20 company-wise Mobile App Development practice sets on this site and show the 50 most common. They are the safest questions to master first.

Is this enough to clear an interview?

It is the best starting point, not the finish line. After these, practise the company pages for your target employers and the sheets for your weaker topics.