Dev Diary: Why We Chose React Native: Accessibility Over Everything

A behind-the-scenes look at how we build 3mpwrApp. — When we started 3mpwrApp, we had a hard constraint: the framework had to support real, deep accessibility - VoiceOver, TalkBack, Switch Access, and the full spectrum of assistive technology - from day one, not as an afterthought. React Native was the answer because it exposes the native accessibility APIs of both iOS and Android directly. A web-based hybrid approach would have meant fighting the underlying layer. React Native meant working with it. The Expo ecosystem accelerated this enormously. Expo Router’s file-based navigation is inherently screen-reader-transparent. The community has deep accessibility expertise. We didn’t have to build the foundations - we stood on good ones. —

Technical Details

• React Native exposes native VoiceOver, TalkBack, and Switch Access APIs directly
• One codebase for iOS, Android, and web prevents accessibility quality divergence
• Expo Router’s file-based navigation is transparent to screen readers by design
• React Native’s animation system supports reduced motion preferences natively

• Expo’s a11y linting caught issues before any human tester saw them

  In Practice

• VoiceOver and TalkBack integration required native API access that web-only frameworks couldn’t provide
• Switch Access compatibility was built in from day one using React Native’s focus management APIs

• Accessibility scanning in CI caught regressions before they reached beta testers

  What We Learned

• Framework choice is an accessibility decision, not just a technical preference
• Building cross-platform from the start prevents future divergence in accessibility quality

• The open-source React Native community’s accessibility depth accelerated our work enormously

  Follow Our Development

  We believe in building in public - the community we serve has been failed by opaque institutions too many times.

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