React Native 0.76 - Embracing Era With Performance and Modern Architecture

Introduction

React Native 0.76 has officially landed on npm, bringing with it the highly anticipated New Architecture. This release marks a significant milestone in the evolution of React Native, as detailed in the accompanying blog post.

The New Architecture supports modern React features, including Suspense, Transitions, automatic batching, and useLayoutEffect. It also introduces revamped Native Module and Native Component systems, enabling developers to write type-safe code with direct access to native interfaces, effectively removing the need for a bridge.

This update is the culmination of a comprehensive rewrite of React Native, a project that has been in development since 2018. The team has prioritized a gradual migration path, establishing the New Architecture Working Group in 2021 to facilitate a smooth transition for the community.

Most applications should find adopting React Native 0.76 straightforward, as many popular libraries already align with the New Architecture. Additionally, an automatic interoperability layer ensures backward compatibility with libraries built for the previous architecture, easing the upgrade process for developers.

With these advancements, React Native 0.76 positions itself as a robust choice for developers looking to leverage the latest in mobile technology.

Here’s a concise rewrite that captures all the important points about the New Architecture:

What is the New Architecture?

The New Architecture is a complete overhaul of the core systems of React Native, improving component rendering, communication between JavaScript and native abstractions, and work scheduling across threads. While most users won’t need to delve into the technical details, these changes enhance performance and capabilities.

In the previous architecture, React Native relied on an asynchronous bridge to communicate with native platforms, serializing and enqueuing calls. This design prevented the main thread from being blocked, ensuring smooth rendering and function calls. However, user expectations for immediate feedback required some updates to render synchronously, which the old system couldn’t accommodate.

The old architecture also faced bottlenecks due to serialization, making it difficult to achieve consistent 60+ FPS, and synchronization issues could cause visual glitches when the JavaScript and native layers fell out of sync. Additionally, the single-threaded layout computation limited urgent updates, hindering responsiveness. read more about React Native 0.76...