/react-native-best-practices

Skill: Concurrent React

Use useDeferredValue and useTransition to improve perceived performance by prioritizing critical updates.

Quick Pattern

Incorrect (blocks input on every keystroke):

const [query, setQuery] = useState('');
<TextInput value={query} onChangeText={setQuery} />
<ExpensiveList query={query} />  // Blocks typing

Correct (input stays responsive):

const [query, setQuery] = useState('');
const deferredQuery = useDeferredValue(query);
<TextInput value={query} onChangeText={setQuery} />
<ExpensiveList query={deferredQuery} />  // Deferred update

When to Use

• Search/filter inputs feel laggy with large result sets
• Expensive computations block UI interactions
• Loading states appear too frequently
• Want to show stale content while loading new content
• Need to prioritize user input over background updates

Prerequisites

• React 18+ features (useDeferredValue, useTransition, Suspense)
• React Native version that supports your target concurrent behavior; validate on the app architecture you ship

Concept Overview

Concurrent React allows updates to be:

• Paused: Low-priority work can wait
• Interrupted: User input takes priority
• Abandoned: Outdated updates can be skipped

Step-by-Step Instructions

Pattern 1: Defer Expensive Rendering with useDeferredValue

Use when a value drives expensive computation but you want input to stay responsive.

import { useState, useDeferredValue } from 'react';

const SearchScreen = () => {
  const [query, setQuery] = useState('');
  const deferredQuery = useDeferredValue(query);
  
  // query updates immediately (input stays responsive)
  // deferredQuery updates when React has time
  
  return (
    <View>
      <TextInput
        value={query}
        onChangeText={setQuery}
        placeholder="Search..."
      />
      {/* ExpensiveList receives deferred value */}
      <ExpensiveList query={deferredQuery} />
    </View>
  );
};

Pattern 2: Show Stale Content While Loading

const SearchWithStaleIndicator = () => {
  const [query, setQuery] = useState('');
  const deferredQuery = useDeferredValue(query);
  const isStale = query !== deferredQuery;
  
  return (
    <View>
      <TextInput value={query} onChangeText={setQuery} />
      <View style={isStale && { opacity: 0.7 }}>
        <SearchResults query={deferredQuery} />
      </View>
      {isStale && <ActivityIndicator />}
    </View>
  );
};

Pattern 3: Transition Non-Critical Updates with useTransition

Use when you have multiple state updates and want to mark some as low-priority.

import { useState, useTransition } from 'react';

const TransitionExample = () => {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
  const [heavyData, setHeavyData] = useState(null);
  const [isPending, startTransition] = useTransition();
  
  const handleIncrement = () => {
    // High priority - updates immediately
    setCount(c => c + 1);
    
    // Low priority - can be interrupted
    startTransition(() => {
      setHeavyData(computeExpensiveData());
    });
  };
  
  return (
    <View>
      <Text>Count: {count}</Text>
      {isPending ? <ActivityIndicator /> : <HeavyComponent data={heavyData} />}
      <Button onPress={handleIncrement} title="Increment" />
    </View>
  );
};

Pattern 4: Suspense for Data Fetching

Use this only with a Suspense-enabled data source or framework integration. Wrapping arbitrary fetch() code in Suspense does not make it suspend automatically.

import { Suspense, useDeferredValue } from 'react';

const DataScreen = () => {
  const [query, setQuery] = useState('');
  const deferredQuery = useDeferredValue(query);
  
  return (
    <View>
      <TextInput value={query} onChangeText={setQuery} />
      <Suspense fallback={<LoadingSpinner />}>
        <SearchResults query={deferredQuery} />
      </Suspense>
    </View>
  );
};

Code Examples

Slow Component Optimization

// Without Concurrent React - UI freezes
const SlowSearch = () => {
  const [query, setQuery] = useState('');
  
  return (
    <>
      <TextInput value={query} onChangeText={setQuery} />
      <SlowComponent query={query} /> {/* Blocks every keystroke */}
    </>
  );
};

// With Concurrent React - UI stays responsive  
const FastSearch = () => {
  const [query, setQuery] = useState('');
  const deferredQuery = useDeferredValue(query);
  
  return (
    <>
      <TextInput value={query} onChangeText={setQuery} />
      <SlowComponent query={deferredQuery} />
    </>
  );
};

// Important: Wrap SlowComponent in memo to prevent re-renders from parent
const SlowComponent = memo(({ query }) => {
  // Expensive computation here
});

Automatic Batching (React 18+)

React 18 automatically batches state updates:

// Before React 18 - 2 re-renders
setTimeout(() => {
  setCount(c => c + 1);
  setFlag(f => !f);
  // Rendered twice
}, 1000);

// React 18+ - 1 re-render (automatic batching)
setTimeout(() => {
  setCount(c => c + 1);
  setFlag(f => !f);
  // Rendered once!
}, 1000);

When to Use Which

Important Considerations

1. Wrap expensive components in memo(): Without memoization, the component re-renders from parent anyway.

2. Validate on your shipped architecture: Concurrent behavior depends on the React Native and React versions in the app.

3. Don't overuse: Only defer truly expensive work. Adding complexity for fast components is counterproductive.

Common Pitfalls

• Forgetting subtree isolation: useDeferredValue helps most when the expensive subtree is memoized or otherwise isolated from immediate parent re-renders
• Using for simple state: Overhead isn't worth it for cheap updates
• Expecting faster computation: These hooks don't make code faster, they prioritize what runs when

Related Skills

• js-profile-react.md - Identify slow components
• js-react-compiler.md - Automatic memoization
• js-lists-flatlist-flashlist.md - For list-specific optimizations