React Native Performance in 2024 & April Community Updates

Let's kick off this month with a double dose of React Native optimization insights! Our spotlight shines on the Mini Guide and expert-led podcast episode on React Native performance.

Mini Guide to React Native Optimization for Web3

This condensed guide offers insights into selecting external libraries, managing dependencies securely, and leveraging native SDKs to maximize app performance, and security.

Dive into practical strategies for optimizing your React Native apps for peak performance in web3 environments.

Check the guide

React Native Optimization Meetup

If you want to explore the topic of optimizing React Native performance in person, join us on April 11 in San Francisco for a 2024 edition of The Ultimate Guide to React Native Optimization on Tour. Please note that we'll confirm your attendance in advance.

Experts' Take on React Native Performance

Our latest podcast episode explores React Native performance in 2024. It features Kadi Kraman, Software Developer at Expo, and Maciej Jastrzębski, Expert Software Engineer at Callstack. Together, they discuss the recent past, present, and future of React Native performance.

Topics covered include:

• Wrap-up of the major performance changes and challenges in 2023
• Insider's look at The Ultimate Guide to React Native Optimization
• Insights into the driving forces behind Expo's development work

Check the podcast

React Universe Conf Updates

We extended our CFP until April 5 but time is running and we accept talk submissions only until... tomorrow! We especially invite members of underrepresented groups to share their perspectives and expertise. Join us in amplifying diverse voices.

This year, React Universe Conf 2024 will host three onsite workshops designed to complement your conference experience. Get ready for:

• React Future (Server Components and Actions) with Kent C. Doods
• React Native Performance with Adam Trzciński and Witkor Szlegier
• Testing with Thiago Brezinski and Bartłomiej Tomczyk

Registration begins on April 8. Stay tuned for more details on each workshop.

What's Up in the Community?

The tech landscape is changing fast. To help you stay on top of the game, our Technology Team has picked top news, releases, and stories from the world of React and React Native.

New Tools & Releases

• You can now test the Release Candidate versions of React Native 0.74, set for release on April 15th. Highlights include a significant update to the flexbox layout engine - Yoga, bringing improvements in 'position: static' and layout correctness for better web compatibility. Also, v74 introduces autolinking for Android C++ TurboModules, a bump in the min SDK for Android, and preliminary work for enabling the New Architecture with Bridgeless mode in 0.75.
• Storybook 8 has been released. With 8,865 commits from 218 contributors, this update significantly improves testing, documentation, and framework compatibility. You can explore all the details here.
• Bun, the all-in-one JavaScript runtime, bundler, transpiler, and package manager, has just rolled out version 1.1. Packed with enhancements and fixes, this update, first and foremost, introduces support for Windows! You can run Bun on Windows 10 and later.
• Speaking of Bun, Elysia 1.0, the culmination of 1.8 years of work, is now stable. This framework prioritizes developer experience and writing code for humans, not just machines. Learn more about this Bun web framework on the blog.
• React Navigation 7 is on the horizon, and Satya from the core team shares insights on introducing static API that solves type safety and deep linking configuration challenges. For those remembering React Navigation 4, it's similar but not the same.

Other Tech News

• There's a cool demo of running React Server Components in React Native brought to you by Szymon. React Native components are rendered on a server, then streamed to iOS and an Android app, and displayed as truly native components.
• With stable support for Vite.js now in place, Remix has transitioned to a Vite-first approach. The documentation now highlights Vite as the primary option, and the default create-remix template has also been updated to utilize Vite.
• Device Streaming in Android Studio feature allows you to securely connect to remote physical Android devices housed in Google's secure data centers. It's the quickest and simplest way to test your app against the latest Android devices, such as the Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, Pixel Fold, select Samsung devices, and others.
• Meta in collaboration with Expo picked 400 mostly used libraries (based on EAS usage data) to document the community transition to the New Architecture with Bridgeless mode, which is planned to be made default in 0.75 later this year.
• Lee Robinson demonstrates using the Vercel AI SDK to move beyond plaintext and markdown chatbots to give LLMs rich, component-based interfaces.
• This video offers a guide to mastering native modules in React Native for Android and iOS. It covers Expo Modules, creating Native Modules and Views with Swift and Kotlin, and preparing libraries for NPM publication.
• A yearly conference for Apple ecosystem developers is happening in June; don't miss the Keynote! Find out more here.
• ConfrontJS, a conference for medium-level and advanced front-end developers, is on April 12 this year in Warsaw, Poland.

Tech Leadership Insights

As a tech leader, you already have too much on your plate. That's why we've curated a digestible portion of recent insights at the intersection of business and tech.

• Anthony Fu, a dedicated OSS maintainer, shares insights from his four-year journey in Open Source. He reflects on how he has learned to manage his mental health while contributing so much to the ecosystem.
• Teleport's CEO, Ev Kontsevoy, delves into the complexities of securing applications and infrastructure in the age of generative AI. He provides perspectives on consolidating identity management and combating new types of threats.
• Wondering what your week should look like and what exactly you should be doing as an Engineering Manager? Nicola Ballotta has not only the answers but also some tips for creating a weekly calendar that reflects the typical responsibilities of an Engineering Manager.
• Peter Gillard-Moss states that metrics are only a tool and true engineering excellence comes from having the right engineering leadership. An interesting take on whether engineering excellence is rooted more in metrics or leadership.
• It's easy to become laser-focus on metrics and goals and work, and forget about something like kindness. Evan Smith kindly reminds us that it makes a difference in teams and companies. He also shares practical advice and tips on how to engineer kindness.