Expose useNativeFlingDeceleration (Mapbox Android 11.25+) as a gestureSettings prop

[nassimbenkirane]

Summary

Mapbox Maps Android 11.25.0 added a useNativeFlingDeceleration option to its GesturesPlugin that uses Android's OverScroller for physics-based fling deceleration instead of the legacy easeTo animation ("providing a more natural fling experience" — mapbox-maps-android CHANGELOG, 11.25.0-rc.1 / 11.25.0, June 2026).

It would be great to expose this through MapView's gestureSettings so apps can opt into the more natural fling without a native patch.

Motivation

On Android, the default (legacy easeTo) fling has noticeably weaker momentum than native maps (e.g. Google Maps) — a single pan/flick decelerates quickly and travels a short distance. iOS feels fine. The legacy fling's speed/duration/easing aren't configurable via GesturesSettings (only scrollDecelerationEnabled on/off), so useNativeFlingDeceleration is the intended fix — but it's currently unreachable from JS.

Proposed API

<MapView
  gestureSettings={{
    useNativeFlingDeceleration: true, // Android only, requires Mapbox Android >= 11.25.0
  }}
/>

Add useNativeFlingDeceleration?: boolean to the GestureSettings type (documented as Android-only, no-op on iOS and on Mapbox Android < 11.25.0).

Implementation notes

• Native: apply it where the other gesture booleans are set in RNMBXMapViewManager (alongside scrollEnabled/rotateEnabled/pitchEnabled), e.g. mapView.gestures.updateSettings { useNativeFlingDeceleration = <value> }.
• Version: the field only exists in the Mapbox Android SDK >= 11.25.0. rnmapbox currently pins 11.20.1 (package.json mapbox.android), so this likely depends on a default SDK bump (or users overriding via RNMapboxMapsVersion). Guarding the setter so it's a safe no-op on older SDKs would let it land ahead of the default bump.

Environment

• @rnmapbox/maps: 10.3.1 (New Architecture / Fabric)
• Platform: Android (iOS unaffected)