Context

Mobile apps depend on remote APIs, but networks are unreliable, latency is variable, and users expect responsive screens. Interviewers want to see whether you can design a client-side integration that is correct, resilient, and maintainable.

Core Question

Explain how you would handle API integration in a mobile app.

Address these points:

1. How would you structure the networking layer and separate UI, business logic, and API code?
2. How would you handle authentication, retries, timeouts, offline behavior, and caching?
3. How would you prevent duplicate requests, stale data, and poor user experience during loading or failure states?

Scope Guidance

Focus on the client-side engineering approach rather than backend implementation details. A strong answer should cover request flow, state management, error handling, and practical trade-offs for performance and reliability.