This week’s livestream was all about turbocharged builds, smarter tooling, and developer-first upgrades. Our main spotlight: React Native 0.81 landed, and with it came precompiled iOS builds that radically accelerate your workflow. We also covered build housekeeping, tooling perks, and a few tech news gems worth sharing.

React Native 0.81: A Leap Forward in iOS Development

React Native 0.81 is a performance game changer, especially for iOS builds.

Precompiled iOS Builds

• Built-in support for precompiled iOS binaries: React Native now ships an ReactNativeDependencies.xcframework containing compiled native dependencies like Folly, Glog, DoubleConversion, and the React call invoker.
• This results in dramatic speed ups: in benchmarks on Apple Silicon (M4), builds were ~8.3× faster—going from ~147s down to ~18s.
• In our own tests:
  • Fresh RN project: 200s → 20s
  • With Reanimated: 70s
• The feature is experimental but promising. To enable it, use the environment flags when installing pods:

ENV['RCT_USE_RN_DEP'] = '1'
ENV['RCT_USE_PREBUILT_RNCORE'] = '1'

• The heavy lifting is handled by CocoaPods switching to the binary under the hood; no major Podfile rewrites needed.

Why this matters

• Build times slashed: whether for local dev, CI/CD, or new machines, save serious time.
• Consistent results across environments: reducing flaky native builds.
• Better dev experience: faster iteration, fewer interruptions, and smoother onboarding.

Other React Native 0.81 Highlights

• Android 16 (API 36) is now the default: edge-to-edge rendering is required, and predictive back gestures are enabled by default.
• <SafeAreaView> is deprecated: migrate to react-native-safe-area-context.
• JavaScriptCore (JSC) support removed from core: apps that need JSC must now install the community-maintained package from Expo & Callstack. Hermes remains unaffected.
• Minimum requirements bumped: Node.js v20.19.4+, Xcode 16.1+, and updated Metro bundler configs.

Other highlights from the live dev session

• Managing Xcode versions like a pro: We explored Xcodes: a CLI/GUI tool that lets you install and switch Xcode versions effortlessly. Perfect for multi-version workflows.
• Why older color choices still haunt the web today: A UI decision from five years ago still shapes modern design palettes → Adam Wathan’s post.
• Trademark humor in action
  
  • “Why did Oracle bring an attorney to defend “JavaScript” at the TTAB? Because they heard that without representation, things might get null and void”
  • The joke underscores the Oracle vs. Deno trademark dispute over “JavaScript” → read more.
• GitHub joins Microsoft’s CoreAI team —No longer a separate company, GitHub is now part of CoreAI. Expect deeper AI integrations soon → The Verge article.

Catch the full livestream replay for demos, build comparisons, and a behind-the-scenes look at setting up precompiled iOS builds.