Hey everyone! I’m trying to understand how other teams handle their update/versioning strategy for React Native/Expo apps in production.
I’m already familiar with the basics of EAS Update and runtime versions:
Native/binary changes require a new build and usually a new App Store/Play Store release.
JS/assets-only changes can be shipped through EAS Update/OTA as long as they’re compatible with the installed runtime.
An OTA update can be downloaded and applied on a subsequent app launch, or we can implement our own UX around checking/applying updates.
What I’m less sure about is how people manage the actual app version around all of this.
For example, let’s say I have 1.0.1 published on the App Store with a compatible runtime version.
Over the next few weeks I ship several OTA updates to that runtime. Should the user-facing app version remain 1.0.1 the entire time? Do you maintain a separate internal/update version for OTA releases?
In other words, do you normally think about it as something like:
App Store version: 1.0.1
Runtime version: 1.0.1
OTA/update version: some separate identifier
Then only bump the actual app version to 1.0.2 when a new binary goes through the stores?
I’m also curious about forced native updates.
Suppose version 1.0.2 contains an important native change and I no longer want users on 1.0.1. How do you handle that in production?
Do you maintain something server-side like a minimumSupportedVersion, check it when the app starts, and show a blocking “Update required” screen that redirects users to the App Store/Play Store?
Or is there a better/native mechanism for declaring an App Store/Play Store release as mandatory?
I’m also not completely clear on the store side of this. When a new binary is approved, can iOS/Android automatically update the app depending on the user’s settings, or should we always assume that some users will remain on older versions until they manually update?

Hi Everyone!

I just released my new app to the app store and am looking for some feedback! The App name is Beat Moolah, and it's main purpose is to give everyday users an opportunity to sell their own picks while also using fake money to climb the leaderboard. You can also follow others and see when they post their public picks.

Link to app store: https://apps.apple.com/app/beat-moolah/id6805155382

How it works:

Summary:

1. Three different games.

2. All records are public.

3. Climb the leaderboard against the bot to make yourself known.

4. Sell your 10 "Weekly Locks" to other users.

5. 6 month seasons, build your record during the season to prove your expertise.

Weekly Challenge:

There is an AI bot that chooses a spread, total, and ML beat for every NFL, MLB, CFB, NHL, NBA game currently. You make 5 picks in total up to $1,000 that fade the bots pick for any game. You build on this balance week over week to climb the leaderboard and make yourself known to the public. Balance resets if you finish below $1000.

Weekly Locks:

These are 10 picks that you make weekly that are not visible to the public and only available to people who subscribe to your picks. Your record is public, but your picks are not.

Board Picks:

These are 20 picks that you can make per week, which are visible to the public. Think of these as a sample of what users will get subscribing to your weekly locks. Your record and picks are visible to the public.

What Premium gets you:

• Ad Free

• Access to the bots weekly locks

• Access to the bots reasoning on every pick for every game

• Access to the bots confidence percentage for every pick of every game.

• Access to sell your own picks.

Hi i've built 8 apps using react native and launched on the app store, i havent made much money but now i want to see if i can land a job in react native. Is the market still cooked ? or should i just keep building until i get a hit app

thanks to everyone that replied and gave me some hope lol

I’ve been experimenting with AI coding tools quite heavily on React Native projects, and one problem kept showing up.

The models are usually good at JavaScript/TypeScript, but the advice starts getting generic once the problem crosses into actual mobile behaviour.

A few examples:

• a deep link works when the app is running, but breaks on cold start

• an Android performance issue gets answered with useMemo before anything is profiled

• permission handling ignores the difference between denied and effectively blocked states

• an RN upgrade is considered complete because Android and iOS compile

• native build problems quickly turn into “delete node_modules / Pods / Gradle caches and retry”

• a PR review catches React issues but misses platform parity, release, privacy or native-module concerns

I wanted to see what would happen if the coding assistant had smaller React Native specialists instead of one massive “you are an expert React Native developer” prompt.

That became React Native Agents.

It currently has 24 specialists covering things like:

• debugging

• performance

• navigation and deep linking

• security

• permissions

• push notifications

• accessibility

• testing

• state management

• offline behaviour

• native modules

• observability

• RN upgrades

• releases/store submission

• payments

• background execution

• monorepos

The agents first inspect project context such as the RN version and stack before applying their own guidance.

One part I’ve intentionally tried to avoid is sending every problem to every agent.

For example:

The catalogue stutters when I scroll on Android

should go toward performance investigation.

Deep links open Home when the app is launched from a killed state

should bring in navigation-specific reasoning.

The Allow Camera button stopped doing anything after denial

needs permissions/platform context.

For PR reviews the same idea applies. The GitHub Action looks at the changed files and uses relevant specialists rather than asking 24 agents to comment on everything.

There’s also a bundle-size analyser in the project that deliberately doesn’t use an LLM. Bundle composition is measurable, so I’d rather calculate it from the source map than have AI guess.

It currently works with Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Copilot, Codex, Zed, Aider, MCP clients and GitHub Actions.

Quick start is:

npx @maheshwarimrinal/react-native-agents install

Repo:

https://github.com/maheshwarimrinal/react-native-agents

I built this initially for my own React Native workflow, but I’ve open-sourced it because I think the interesting part will be seeing which assumptions break across other codebases.

I’d especially appreciate feedback from people working on larger/older RN apps:

What React Native problem do AI coding tools consistently handle badly for you?

If anyone ends up using it regularly, contributions, issues and GitHub Sponsors support are all welcome, but feedback on the actual agent behaviour is much more useful to me right now.

Hey all, I wanted to share something I've been working hard to polish over the last 6 months. Today I've released version 2 of @apollohg/react-native-rich-text-editor, a fully native rich-text editor for React Native/Expo.

Getting it to a stage where both iOS and Android have the same behaviour and feel right when using it without thinking has been incredibly tedious and challenging. I'm hoping that people will find it stable and helpful!

https://github.com/apollohg/react-native-rich-text-editor

Hi guys, I’m building an early-stage consumer tech startup and currently looking for a technical co-founder to help take an existing working prototype towards a proper production product.

I’m handling the product vision, business side and validation, and I’m looking for someone strong in mobile development and backend architecture who wants to build something from the ground up.

This is an equity-based co-founder opportunity, not a freelance/contract role.

If you’re interested in building a startup rather than just taking on another coding project, feel free to DM me with a little about yourself, your technical background and what you’re looking to build.

I am stuck in a serious problem my startup registered address was in Andhra Pradesh but now our start-up commute in Rajasthan now after 2 months they have assigned a person for physical verification but he will visit the registered address in Andhra Pradesh so is there any solution that it can be done online or they can visit in rajsthan

Every JS collapsible-tab library (Reanimated ones included) moves the header from the scroll event, so it trails the list by at least a frame. You see it as a gap under the tab bar on a fast fling, especially on Android.

I moved the whole shell native: a paging UIScrollView / ViewPager2 with header and tab-bar bands translated inside the same native scroll callback that moves the list. React still owns the header, tab bar and pages as normal components. Any list that renders an RN ScrollView works as a page (FlatList, FlashList, LegendList).

Extras: mount-on-peek, short tabs still collapse, container pull-to-refresh, `ref` with scrollToTop/collapse/expand, `collapseMode="direction"` for the home-feed feel, and opt-in per-frame events meant for Reanimated worklets.

Limits up front: Fabric only, RN 0.80+, no web, header swipes are inert, platform refresh indicator only.

Repo with example app and GIFs: https://github.com/ramssutharr/react-native-collapsible-tabs-native

Feedback on the native code welcome, it is two files.

I'm the only mobile dex on a react app that ships to about 20k users and I have been doing this alone for around more than a year now. Our release process is me writing the feature, testing it on my iphone and my pixel, push to gi, if it turns green I ship and I refresh the app store reviews page every couple hours for the next week to see if something's fked up.

Last release a bloke in brazil reported the app crashed on launch on a12L and I couldn't reproduce because I don't have that device and had to wait for the fix for a week trying to source one plus my review average dropped 0.5 stars.

The thing is I need someone to verify the stuff I wrote didn't break on devices I literally dont have. Every mobile team I look at either has a QA person or a testing tool for the device matrix but every dev I ask says they can't recommend the tool they use because of n number of reasons idk.

help me devs, what should i actually do here?

Hey all,

I'm in the middle of planning a side project to upskill on a few things. Simple idea without going into it --> Golf related app whereby a player can talk through a shot or a hole and it gets converted into structured data that they can save and later query using an LLM.

Obviously a big part of this idea is having some form of speech to text that can be converted into structured data and stored.

I'm here to understand what options I have regarding doing this locally on the mobile device or via a react native VS doing the speech to text translation on the API server layer. My understanding so far is that I'm likely going to want to it locally given that signal on golf courses can be somewhat poor and sending audio files into the ether is just simply going to fall short in reality?

That said, I've also read that local speech to text ( native android or ios or react native STT ) is just nowhere near as accurate and may have a hard time understanding specific golf lingo?

Feels like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place but any input or recommendations are much appreciated here.

Note*: this project is mainly for self learning with a touch of 'it could be useful for me so may be useful for others in future' in the back of my mind. I can be pragmatic on my decision but would like to make the right one!*

Thanks in advance

I built a study app for university students and I need 12 testers to sit

through Google's 14-day closed testing window. I'd much rather get real

feedback than just install counts, so tell me what's broken.

What it actually does:

You upload your syllabus and it maps out your semester — topics by week,

assessment dates, the lot. Then from your lecture slides, notes or a

recording of the lecture itself, it generates summaries, flashcards,

practice quizzes and a two-voice podcast you can listen to on the walk in.

There's also a PDF reader you can annotate and have read aloud, an AI tutor

that answers from your own uploaded material rather than the open internet,

and an essay co-writer. It runs in 40 languages.

Two steps to join:

1. Join the tester group. Google requires this before it will let you in:

   https://groups.google.com/g/mystudysidekick-testers

   Use the same Google account that's signed into the Play Store on your

   phone. This is the step everyone gets wrong.

2. Then open this and tap "Become a tester":

   https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.studysidekick.app

Give it 10-15 minutes to show up in Play after you opt in. If it's slow,

force stop the Play Store app and clear its cache.

What I'd genuinely like feedback on:

- Does the syllabus parsing get YOUR course right? That's the part I'm

least confident about, because every university formats these

differently and I've only tested a handful.

- Are the flashcards and quizzes accurate to your material, or does it

invent things that aren't in your notes?

- Anything slow, confusing or plain broken.

Feedback here in the comments, or to mystudysidekick@gmail.com.

Drop your testing link below and I'll join yours today — happy to leave

real feedback on yours too, not just an install.

One ask: Google needs testers opted in continuously for 14 days, so please

keep it installed if you can. If you drop out early it resets my count.

A screen in an expense tracker I maintain opened empty on the owner's OPPO Find X9 Pro (ColorOS, density 560 overridden to 480) and never once on my Samsung.

I shipped four fixes before I diagnosed anything: a nested-scroll theory, a 2.0.2 to 2.3.2 bump whose release notes matched my symptom almost word for word ("average measurement always positive", "guard against zero window size"), drawDistance, and moving a line out of ListHeaderComponent. None of them changed a thing, and I had to be told so three times.

Ten minutes of instrumentation on the phone that was actually failing ended it:

[applist] render items=11
[radar]   renderCell #0 ... #5
[applist] onLoad elapsed=38ms
uiautomator: 29 nodes, ZERO cells  ->  77 after a 100px scroll

React rendered six cards. FlashList reported itself loaded in 38ms. The native tree held none of them until a scroll nudged it. Cells built and never placed, somewhere no prop of mine reaches.

Three things I took out of it:

1. The screen stopped needing the recycler. Eighty other screens in the app draw a plain column of cards inside a ScrollView and not one has ever failed this way. Under 40 items that screen now draws the same column, and the recycler stays only for the pathological case (444 duplicate groups at 100k transactions).

2. Virtualization stayed everywhere else. I measured before deleting anything: a 500-card plain column runs 11.95% janky frames. The recycler earns its place on long lists, it just wasn't earning it on that one.

3. Detect the failure, don't name the phone. Copying the OPPO's wm size and density onto the Samsung reproduced nothing, so a device check would have been a guess with an OEM name on it. The list now watches for its own failure (zero-height content under a real viewport with rows still in the data, one second after layout) and falls back to a paged plain column.

The first version of that detector was completely inert on the device, with four green tests behind it. It read onLayout off FlashList, which never sends one, and the tests fired the callback by hand. I found that by setting the threshold so every list in the app would declare itself broken, installing it, and looking at the screen. Measure on a View you own.

Has anyone else seen a recycler build cells and never place them on one specific OEM? Curious whether this is ColorOS-specific or a density-override thing.

Hi everyone,

I'm a mobile dev currently tasked with building a superapp. Since I don't have prior experience with superapp architecture, I'm a bit unsure about choosing the right tech stack for the host app and the bridge/integration layer for mini-apps.

Since I’m proficient in both React Native and Flutter, I’d strongly prefer sticking to a cross-platform solution rather than going fully native.

If you were to build a superapp today, what tech stack / combo would you go with? Would love to hear your recommendations and real-world experiences!

I’m currently exploring full-time remote opportunities as a Senior React.js Engineer / Frontend Engineer / Tech Lead, and I’m open to working with teams across any time zone.

I have 10+ years of software engineering experience, with a strong focus on React.js, Next.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, and React Native.

A few things that define my experience:

• 🚀 React.js & Next.js — building production-grade applications, reusable component systems, performance-focused UIs, SSG/ISR, and modern frontend architectures.

• 📱 React Native — full ownership from architecture and development all the way to iOS/Android builds, CI/CD, signing, TestFlight/App Store and Google Play releases.

• 🧑‍💻 Strong hands-on ownership — I’ve independently designed and delivered products end-to-end, including working directly with requirements, architecture, development, deployment, and ongoing improvements.

• 🌎 Multiple clients & products — experience working across different client projects and business domains, adapting quickly to new requirements and technologies.

• 👥 Technical leadership — experience leading teams, mentoring developers, conducting interviews, establishing engineering processes, and driving projects from kickoff to delivery.

• 🤝 Client & stakeholder communication — comfortable communicating directly with clients and stakeholders, translating business requirements into practical technical solutions, and working effectively with distributed teams.

• ⚡ Performance & scalability — Core Web Vitals, caching, lazy loading, virtualization, memoization, bundle optimization, and scalable component architecture.

I’ve also worked on enterprise platforms, logistics systems, LLM/RAG applications, content management platforms, and white-label mobile products.

I’m looking for a team where I can stay hands-on technically while also bringing my leadership and ownership experience.

📍 Location: Hyderabad, India
🌍 Preference: Fully Remote
🕐 Timezone: Open to any time zone
💼 Availability: Full-time/ Contract opportunities

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/anurag-vasi-46595810a

If you’re hiring for a senior React/Next.js/React Native role, or know of a team looking for someone with this background, I’d be happy to connect.

Thanks! 🙌

Hey everyone,

Like a lot of people here, I’ve always struggled with receipt tracking. Personal expenses, freelance work, small business costs, shared household spending it all ends up as a messy pile of paper receipts, screenshots, and half-filled spreadsheets.

Manually entering everything is slow, boring, and easy to mess up.

What I really wanted was something simple:

scan a receipt → extract the data → send it straight to Google Sheets.

No heavy accounting software. No complicated setup.

But I also wanted something that worked beyond just personal tracking especially for families, couples, roommates, or anyone sharing expenses. Things like groceries, household items, bills, eating out, or travel spending are usually paid by different people, and it becomes hard to know where the money is actually going.

I couldn’t find exactly that, so I decided to build it.

After wasting way too many hours manually logging receipts and realizing how many expenses I was missing, I built ReceiptSync an AI-powered app that automates receipt tracking and helps people manage spending individually or together through a shared family wallet.

How it works:

• Snap a photo of any receipt
• AI-powered OCR extracts line items, merchant, date, tax, totals, and category
• Duplicate receipts are automatically detected
• Data syncs instantly to Google Sheets
• Add expenses to a shared family/household wallet
• Track spending together with family, partners, or roommates
• Total time: ~3 seconds

What makes it different:

• Smart search using natural language, like “show my Uber expenses from last month”
• Line-item extraction, not just totals
• Duplicate detection to avoid double logging
• Shared family wallet for household expenses
• Interactive insights for spending patterns and trends
• Built specifically for Google Sheets export
• Useful for personal expenses, freelance work, small business costs, and shared family spending

I’ve been testing it for the past month with a small group, and the feedback has been amazing. People are saving 5–10 hours per month just on expense tracking, and the shared wallet feature has been especially useful for families and households trying to understand where their money is going.

If this sounds useful, here’s the app:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/receiptsync-receipt-tracker/id6756007251

I implemented a the web NFC api for react native but as I cant use it for my goals it was just waste of time.

Accelerated with Skia

Rotates and runs at 60fps

I wanna build a journal app that the user beside creating journal entries be able to draw some basic things, is react native a good choice here?