Developer uses Claude to generate native dual-platform apps, replacing cross-platform solution
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Developer Johannes Treitz used Claude to generate native iOS and Android apps for Werkbook, replacing the previous cross-platform solution based on Hotwire Native within four weeks, without opening Xcode at any point. This case is being used to discuss whether AI coding agents will make cross-platform frameworks unnecessary: under Treitz's approach, the app is directly produced by AI as native code for both platforms, rather than relying on a cross-platform middleware layer. This claim currently comes only from his personal practice and has not yet been more widely verified.
AI overview based on source reports · Updated 40 min ago
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- Hacker News AICross-platform frameworks are dead. AI killed them
Johannes Treitz recounts replacing a Hotwire Native wrapper for his Werkbook app with AI-agent-built native Swift and Kotlin apps, arguing that when agents write most of the code, cross-platform frameworks' abstraction layers no longer justify their limitations. He notes Shopify announced in September that "native is now the future of mobile at Shopify," citing AI agents, and rebuilt its Shop app in Swift and Kotlin in twelve weeks, with Coinbase apparently next. He keeps the Rails API as the security perimeter, treating the mobile apps as untrusted clients.
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