2026-07-07 · #35
React Native Weekly #35 Expo SDK 57, react-native-bottom-sheet Native, Bitrise CodePush Returns and more
Expo SDK 57: Upgrade Without Breaking Changes#
Expo SDK 57 has been released, letting you upgrade to React Native 0.86 with a single command. It’s being called the easiest upgrade yet — no breaking changes at all — and alongside the release, the team announced they’re exploring a new release cycle that would offer optional non-breaking upgrades between major SDK releases.
Expo SDK 57 will be the easiest upgrade you've ever made. One command. No breaking changes. And boom, you're on React Native 0.86. It's also the first step toward a new release cadence we're considering: optional, non-breaking upgrades between the big SDKs ↓
react-native-bottom-sheet Gets a Native Implementation#
Software Mansion announced a new version of react-native-bottom-sheet at App.js Conf. The sheet host, gestures, snapping, and scrolling all run in native code, so drag interactions stay smooth even when the JS thread is busy.
We showed react-native-bottom-sheet at App.js, and it's ready to use today, built with support from @gobimaps. The sheet host, gestures, snapping and scrolling all run in native code, so drags stay smooth even when the JS thread is busy. Let's do a deep dive 🧵
Here's the link: github.com/software-mansion-la… You compose the sheet surface in React and the native side handles animation. That split is why heavy rendering on the JS thread keeps your drag and snap buttery.
Automatically Reproducing React Native Bugs with Claude Code and Argent#
Software Mansion published a blog post showing how they combined Claude Code and Argent to reproduce real bugs from GitHub Issues in the Expensify app on an iOS simulator. Argent lets an AI agent control drag gestures and take screenshots directly on the simulator.
We wrote a blog post showing Claude Code reproducing a real React Native bug in Expensify's app directly from a GitHub issue. Argent gives it control of the iOS simulator, so it can perform the drag-and-drop gesture and capture screenshots as evidence. swmansion.com/blog/closing-the…
Fable 5 Cuts agent-device App Restart Time from 12s to 2s#
With the release of Fable 5, app restart time on agent-device has been reduced 6x — from 12 seconds down to 2 seconds. Validation and tap interactions also dropped from 13 seconds to 5 seconds, making AI agent time-to-interaction 2.3x faster overall.
Fable 5 made every app relaunch in agent-device 6× faster. 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗 --𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚑: 12s → 2s For an AI agent, that's 2.3x faster time-to-interaction. It's verifying and tapping in 5s instead of 13.
Bitrise Brings Back CodePush, Free Up to 100K MAU per Month#
After Microsoft deprecated CodePush, Bitrise has brought it back. It’s free for up to 100,000 monthly active users, and a tutorial video has been published showing how to ship a hotfix to a live app in about five minutes.
Microsoft killed CodePush. @bitrise brought it back. Free for up to 100k monthly active users. I made a full tutorial where I ship a hotfix to my app that's live on the App Store in about 5 minutes. Watch here 👇 (link below)
Benchmarking KMP vs React Native Performance#
Software Mansion published a blog post with results from building the same app in both Kotlin Multiplatform and React Native, then running benchmarks on both iOS and Android.
We built the same app twice: once in Kotlin Multiplatform, once in React Native. Then we benchmarked both on iOS and Android to see how they actually compare. 📊 Full process and results in our newest blog post: swmansion.com/blog/we-built-th…
React Navigation 8 Alpha Adds Screen-Aware Typed Hooks#
React Navigation 8 alpha has introduced typed hooks that return more specific types when you pass a screen name to useRoute and useNavigation. This brings type-safe params and navigation while also reducing boilerplate.
One of the best React Navigation 8 alpha changes is screen-aware typed hooks. Pass a screen name and `useRoute` / `useNavigation` get far more specific. Type-safe params and navigation, less boilerplate. Read the article 👇 Link below
Expo Desktop Adds Inline Native Module Support on macOS#
Expo Desktop has added support for inline native modules with react-native-macOS. Fully implementing Expo Prebuild for macOS and Windows required changes across 56 files — 6,101 lines added and 553 lines deleted — and the project has now moved into the testing phase.
I just added support for inline native modules on react-native-macos in Expo Desktop 🫡 twitter.com/expo/status/205750…
56 files changed, 6101 insertions(+), 553 deletions(-). That's how much extra code I've had to port, to fully implement Expo Prebuild for macOS and Windows in Expo Desktop. Can finally proceed to the testing phase! 👨🔬
Uniwind Pro 1.5.0 Speeds Up Native Builds by Up to 30%#
Uniwind Pro 1.5.0 is out, bringing up to a 30% improvement in native build compilation speed. Full support for Expo SDK 57 and React Native 0.86 has also been added.
Uniwind Pro 1.5.0 is here 🚀 Native builds that compile up to 30% faster, out of the box. Plus Expo SDK 57, RTL-aware safe areas, and full React Native 0.86 support. Everything new below 🧵
One More Thing#
The native implementation of react-native-bottom-sheet really stood out to me this week. Keeping drags smooth regardless of JS thread load is something the community has struggled with for a long time, and it’s impressive to see Software Mansion tackle it head-on like this.