Advanced interview questions in Mobile Dev, page 4
Your app is killed for memory; what runs when the user returns?
Tests process death versus config change. Answer: no callback on kill; return runs onCreate with savedInstanceState, onStart, and onResume. ViewModels die in process death; use SavedStateHandle. Red flag: claiming onDestroy fires or ViewModels survive it.
Explain app restoration after Android process death
Tests your grasp of process death vs. configuration changes. A good answer explains that the entire app process is recreated, starting with onCreate, and state must be restored from the SavedStateHandle.
Handle Android Process Death vs. Configuration Changes
Tests your grasp of Android's lifecycle for state restoration. A good answer explains that onCreate(savedInstanceState) is called in both cases, but process death recreates everything. Use ViewModel with SavedStateHandle.
Compare MVVM with unidirectional flow (TCA, Redux)
MVVM is lightweight with bidirectional binding and per-screen view models; unidirectional flow centralizes a single state mutated only by reducers via actions, gaining predictability and testability at…
LayoutBuilder versus MediaQuery for responsive widgets
MediaQuery reports the whole window; LayoutBuilder gives the parent's actual constraints.
What happens to a bound service during config changes and multiple clients?
Tests bound service reference counting. Config change destroys the Activity binding; if no other clients exist, the service stops. Multiple clients keep it alive until the last unbind. Red flag: assuming the service survives config changes without a rebind.
Bound Service Lifecycle with Config Changes & Multiple Clients
Tests your grasp of bound Service lifecycles. Explain that with BIND_AUTO_CREATE, the Service survives an Activity's config change recreation. It's only destroyed after the *last* client unbinds. A red flag is assuming the Service dies with the first client.
Bound Service Lifecycle: Config Changes and Multiple Clients
Tests deep knowledge of bound service lifecycles. A config change causes an unbind/rebind cycle, recreating the service. With multiple clients, the service isn't destroyed until the last one unbinds. Red flag: assuming the service survives the config change.
What problem does IntrinsicWidth solve and what are its performance costs?
This tests Flutter constraints and intrinsic sizing. A great answer covers: capping width to the child's max intrinsic width, aligning Column children, and the speculative pass that costs O(N²) in tree depth. A red flag is omitting performance cost.
How does Android manage ContentProvider lifecycle and threading across processes?
Tests Android IPC and provider architecture. Strong answers explain lazy per-process instantiation via AMS, ContentResolver as the client binder proxy, and query executing on a binder thread. Red flag: claiming the provider runs in the caller process.
ContentProvider Lifecycle During Cross-Process Queries
Tests knowledge of Android's IPC, process management, and threading for ContentProviders. The ContentResolver asks AMS to find/start the provider's process. The provider's onCreate() runs on the main thread, but the query() itself runs on a binder thread.
How does Android manage a ContentProvider's lifecycle during a query?
This tests your understanding of Android IPC and component lifecycles. Explain how ContentResolver uses a URI to have the system instantiate the provider in its own process.
Memoized selectors with Reselect
Selectors encapsulate state reads, Reselect memoizes computed results by input identity, preventing recomputation and unnecessary re-renders.
State normalization for relational data
Store entities by id in lookup tables, reference relationships by id, avoid nesting and duplication.
Offline-capable state architecture
Persist state locally, queue mutations while offline, apply optimistic updates, then sync and reconcile conflicts on reconnect.
What NavigationView limitations did NavigationStack solve for programmatic navigation?
This tests why NavigationView programmatic navigation was brittle. A strong answer contrasts scattered NavigationLink isActive booleans and broken multi-destination stacks against NavigationStack's unified path array. A red flag is calling it a simple rename.
How would you architect the app root for onboarding vs authenticated flows?
Tests window root swapping and state-driven architecture. Use a coordinator to own the window, swap rootViewController between nav and tab controllers on auth changes, and crossfade. Red flag: onboarding modal over tabs or keeping both hierarchies alive.
Design state-driven navigation for a conditional wizard in UIKit and SwiftUI
This tests separating navigation state from UI. Model the flow as a state machine enum, derive the stack from state, and unit test transitions in plain Swift. A red flag is imperative pushes inside views or view controllers.
Implement efficient async username validation in Flutter
Tests async field hygiene in Flutter. Outline: debounce 300ms, cancel inflight requests, decouple loading UI from errors, use reactive_forms async validators or manual streams. Red flag: API calls per keystroke without cancellation, loading treated as errors.
Explain Flutter's GestureArena and overlapping detector scenario
The arena opens on pointer down; recognizers accept or reject; the last accepted member wins.
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