React Native 0.80 Release: A Pivotal Leap for Cross-Platform Mobile Application Development

Table of Contents:
Core Updates From React Native 0.80 Release
Expo Support for React Native 0.80
How a Mobile Application Partner Can Help?

Still wondering who’s calling the shots in cross-platform mobile app development? 

The numbers speak for themselves.

React Native has set the standard.

With the release of React Native 0.80 on June 12, 2025, Meta reinforces its commitment to future-proofing the framework, paving the way for modern, high-performance app development. This incremental update aligns React Native with the latest innovations in React core, redefines its JavaScript API boundaries, and lays a clear foundation for long-term architectural stability.

From shipping React 19.1.0 support to deprecating deep imports and freezing the Legacy Architecture, this release introduces critical changes that will impact how developers build, maintain, and scale mobile applications across platforms.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the major highlights from the React Native 0.80 update, including major architectural changes & performance improvements. You’ll also understand what Expo support means for cross-platform mobile app development.

Core Updates From React Native 0.80 Release

1. React 19.1.0 Now Bundled with React Native 0.80

React Native 0.80 now comes with React 19.1.0, the latest stable version of the React library. This integration brings performance improvements, new development features, and several bug fixes from the React ecosystem into React Native projects. One notable addition is the owner stacks feature, which helps developers trace errors back to the component responsible, making debugging easier during development. 

2. JavaScript Deep Imports Deprecation

With React Native 0.80, the team has taken the first step toward stabilizing the framework’s public JavaScript API by deprecating deep imports. Previously, developers could access internal modules directly via paths like react-native/Libraries/…, but this approach is now discouraged. Instead, all supported modules have to be imported from the root package (react-native).

To support this transition, ESLint and console warnings have been introduced for deep imports used within your app’s source code. While you can temporarily opt out of these warnings, deep imports will be fully removed in a future release, and unsupported modules will become inaccessible by design. This change is part of an intentional effort to reduce React Native’s API surface area and improve long-term maintainability.

3. Opt-In Strict TypeScript API

React Native 0.80 also introduced a new, opt-in Strict TypeScript API, marking a significant step toward a more stable and predictable development experience. These TypeScript definitions are:

• Generated directly from the source code, improving accuracy and type coverage.
• Scoped to the root react-native package, helping ensure that internal file changes don’t unintentionally affect your app.
  

These new types are shipped alongside the existing ones, so that developers can adopt them gradually. However, most apps using standard APIs should be compatible without requiring major changes. Early adopters and new projects are encouraged to enable the Strict API in their tsconfig.json. This stricter type system aligns with the deprecation of deep imports and will eventually become the default.

4. Legacy Architecture Now Frozen with Migration Warnings Introduced

Starting with React Native 0.80, the Legacy Architecture is officially frozen, meaning no new features, bug fixes, or testing efforts will be applied to it going forward. While the New Architecture has been the default since version 0.76 and has shown strong success across projects, developers still have the option to opt out temporarily if facing critical issues.

However, maintaining two architectures is no longer sustainable, as it impacts performance, app size, and development velocity. To support a smoother transition, React Native 0.80 introduces warnings in DevTools when your app uses APIs that won’t be compatible with the New Architecture.

Developers are strongly encouraged to start migrating apps and libraries now to ensure compatibility with future releases, as full deprecation of the Legacy Architecture is on the horizon.

5. Faster iOS Builds with Experimental Prebuilt Dependencies

React Native 0.80 introduces an experimental feature to speed up iOS builds by prebuilding third-party dependencies. Traditionally, iOS builds are time-consuming because they require compiling the entire React Native core along with its dependencies. This release changes that by providing an optional prebuilt package ReactNativeDependencies.xcframework, which includes libraries Meta doesn’t directly control, such as Folly and GLog.

In benchmark tests on an M4 machine, enabling this prebuild reduced iOS build times by approximately 12%. This also helps prevent build failures related to third-party dependencies, a common issue in community bug reports.

Although this is not enabled by default, developers can opt in using the RCT_USE_RN_DEP=1 environment variable during pod install, or by configuring their Podfile accordingly.

Other Notable Updates in React Native 0.80

6. Android APK Size Reduction via IPO

React Native 0.80 enables Interprocedural Optimization (IPO) for both React Native and Hermes builds on Android, resulting in an average of ~1MB reduction in APK size. To take advantage of this update, no extra setup is needed; simply upgrade to React Native 0.80.

7. New App Screen Redesign (Community CLI Template)

For developers using the Community CLI & Template (not Expo), the New App Screen has been moved into its own package and redesigned for a cleaner experience, especially on larger screens. This also reduces the initial boilerplate when starting a new app.

8. End of First-Party JavaScriptCore (JSC) Support

React Native 0.80 is the final version to include first-party support for JavaScriptCore (JSC). Going forward, JSC support will be maintained by the community via the @react-native-community/javascriptcore package. If you rely on JSC, you’ll need to transition to the community package in future versions.

9. Breaking Changes

A) New exports Field in package.json

As part of React Native’s Stable JavaScript API initiative, the exports field has been added to the package manifest. While subpaths remain accessible in 0.80, this change may affect:

• Metro bundler: Platform-specific extensions may require adjustments.
• Jest: Deep import mocking behavior may change, and tests might need updates.

B) Additional Breaking Changes

• ESLint Plugin: eslint-plugin-react-hooks upgraded to v5.2.0 may raise new linting errors.
• Kotlin Upgrade: Android builds now ship with Kotlin 2.1.20, introducing preview language features.
• Java Cleanup:

– Deprecated StandardCharsets class has been removed (use java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets instead).

– Internal classes have been locked down (e.g., StateWrapperImpl, ModuleDataCleaner, ChoreographerCompat).

– Several classes migrated from Java to Kotlin now adjust for the new nullability/type handling.

• iOS Cleanup: RCTFloorPixelValue field removed from RCTUtils.h as it was unused.

Related Read: 6 Must-Follow Practices to Safeguard Your Mobile Applications

Expo Support for React Native 0.80

React Native 0.80 is now accessible through a canary release of the Expo SDK, enabling early adopters to start testing today. While Expo SDK 53 officially supports React Native 0.79, cross-platform mobile app developers can experiment with 0.80 by opting into the canary channel.

How to Try It?

• Create a new project with the canary release
  npx create-expo-app my-app –template blank@canary
• Install the canary version in an existing project
  npx expo install expo@canary –fix

The canary package follows this naming format: 54.0.0-canary-YYYYMMDD-[commit-hash]

Note: Canary releases are experimental and not production-ready. They may contain bugs, introduce breaking changes, and are not supported by Expo Go. Use them only for testing and evaluation purposes.

Related Read: Best Practices for Mastering Mobile Application Development

How a Mobile Application Partner Can Help? 

While React Native 0.80 brings valuable improvements, developers may face several adoption challenges. These include breaking changes across platforms, migration complexities tied to the New Architecture, and compatibility issues with third-party tools and Expo workflows. Adapting to the new Strict TypeScript API and handling experimental features like iOS prebuilt dependencies can also add to the effort. Without the right guidance, these hurdles can delay development and impact app stability.

This is where a seasoned cross-platform mobile app development partner, like Grazitti Interactive, can make a real difference. With deep React Native expertise, such a partner can:

• Smoothly guide your migration to 0.80 and the New Architecture.
• Update or refactor components to align with the latest stable APIs.
• Ensure performance optimization across both iOS and Android.
• Provide testing coverage for new features and architectural changes.
• Future-proof your app with scalable, maintainable code.
  

By working with a cross-platform mobile app development services partner who understands the intricacies of React Native 0.80, businesses can confidently embrace the update while minimizing delays & accelerating delivery.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

Ques 1: Is React Native a good choice for cross-platform mobile app development in 2025?

Ans: Yes, React Native remains a leading choice for cross-platform mobile app development in 2025. It provides a mature ecosystem, strong community support, seamless integration with native modules, and compatibility with modern UI frameworks. With continued updates like the 0.80 release, React Native supports faster builds, improved architecture, and better TypeScript support, making it ideal for scalable and high-performance mobile apps.

Ques 2: What are the benefits of using React Native for building cross-platform mobile apps?

Ans: Using React Native for cross-platform mobile app development provides several benefits:

• Faster time-to-market with a shared codebase for iOS and Android.
• Near-native performance using native components and APIs.
• Cost efficiency by reducing the need for separate development teams.
• Live and hot reloading to speed up development and testing.
• Robust community and library support for plugins, UI kits, and third-party integrations.

These advantages make React Native a go-to framework for businesses seeking efficient and scalable mobile app solutions.

Ques 3: What are the common challenges businesses face in cross-platform mobile app development?

Ans: Businesses often struggle with maintaining consistent performance across platforms, integrating native modules, and optimizing for device-specific behavior. Framework selection, scalability, and long-term maintenance also play a critical role. Partnering with an experienced cross-platform mobile app development services team can help mitigate these risks with proven architectures and toolchains.

References:

^[i] Statista