Animated tracking using the native driver does not work as expected

[kolking]

Description

Tracking a dynamic animated value (such as scroll position) using the native driver doesn't work correctly. Instead of animating the pinned value simultaneously, the animation only starts once the dynamic value stops changing.

React Native Version

0.71.11

Output of npx react-native info

System:
    OS: macOS 13.2.1
    CPU: (10) arm64 Apple M1 Max
    Memory: 81.73 MB / 32.00 GB
    Shell: 5.8.1 - /bin/zsh
  Binaries:
    Node: 16.18.1 - ~/.nvm/versions/node/v16.18.1/bin/node
    Yarn: 1.22.19 - /opt/homebrew/bin/yarn
    npm: 8.19.2 - ~/.nvm/versions/node/v16.18.1/bin/npm
    Watchman: 2022.11.07.00 - /opt/homebrew/bin/watchman
  Managers:
    CocoaPods: 1.11.3 - /opt/homebrew/bin/pod
  SDKs:
    iOS SDK:
      Platforms: DriverKit 22.4, iOS 16.4, macOS 13.3, tvOS 16.4, watchOS 9.4
    Android SDK: Not Found
  IDEs:
    Android Studio: Not Found
    Xcode: 14.3.1/14E300c - /usr/bin/xcodebuild
  Languages:
    Java: Not Found
  npmPackages:
    @react-native-community/cli: Not Found
    react: 18.2.0 => 18.2.0 
    react-native: 0.71.11 => 0.71.11 
    react-native-macos: Not Found
  npmGlobalPackages:
    *react-native*: Not Found

Steps to reproduce

I have created an example app that illustrates the problem.

1. Clone the repository from https://github.com/kolking/animated-tracking, install and run the app in the simulator.
2. When the native driver is disabled, scroll the bottom part horizontally to see how red dots follow the scroll position with a stagger effect.
3. Now, in the App.tsx change the NATIVE_DRIVER constant to true, reload the app and try scrolling the bottom part again.

Snack, code example, screenshot, or link to a repository

Also please take note that when the native driver is enabled, it ignores the initial contentOffset. As a result, the red dots are initially displayed on the left and will only move to the center after a manually triggered scroll event.

useNativeDriver: false	useNativeDriver: true

[kolking]

@kmagiera could you please find some time to look into the issue since you're the one who implemented the animated tracking with the native driver in React Native v0.55.0?

I found your old tweet and attempted to run the Chat Heads example from the react-native-gesture-handler repo https://github.com/software-mansion/react-native-gesture-handler/blob/main/example/src/showcase/chatHeads/index.tsx

In the example, the USE_NATIVE_DRIVER constant is set to false by default, and it works fine in the JS thread. However, when changing USE_NATIVE_DRIVER to true, it does not work as expected. Instead of animating the followers simultaneously, their spring animation only starts after the parent's animated value stops changing.