Unlock the Power of React Native 0.65: Performance, Accessibility, and More
The wait is finally over, and React Native 0.65 has arrived, bringing with it a plethora of exciting updates that will revolutionize the way you develop mobile apps. While this release may not be packed with flashy new components, the significant performance optimizations and accessibility improvements make it a game-changer.
Hermes 0.8.1: The Key to Unlocking Android Performance
At the heart of this update lies Hermes 0.8.1, an AOT (ahead of time) JavaScript engine designed to supercharge React Native performance on Android devices. With Hermes, you can say goodbye to slow load times, bulky APK files, and memory-intensive apps.
The Hades Garbage Collector: A New Era of Efficiency
The brilliant minds behind Hermes have introduced Hades, a cutting-edge garbage collector that runs most of its work in a background thread concurrently with the interpreter. This means your app can multitask like never before, resulting in significant improvements in CPU-intensive workloads and pause times.
Android Updates: Internationalization APIs and More
Hermes now comes with built-in support for ECMAScript Internationalization API Specification (ECMA-402, or Intl), reducing the size of your app by a whopping 57-62K per API size overhead. However, this update does come with some limitations, including unsupported Intl objects.
iOS Updates: Mac Catalyst and Apple M1 Macs
React Native 0.65 brings support for Mac Catalyst, allowing you to seamlessly bring your iOS app to macOS. Additionally, Hermes now supports Apple M1 Macs (ARM64 simulators), making it an exciting time for iPad app developers looking to transition to the Mac.
Accessibility Improvements: High-Contrast Light and Dark Values
With this update, you can now set high-contrast light and dark values for iOS, providing a more inclusive experience for users with visual impairments. We’ll show you how to implement this feature in a basic template project.
What’s Next for React Native?
As we look to the future, it’s clear that React Native is poised for greatness. With one JavaScript engine for Android, iOS, and macOS, the possibilities are endless. The partnership with desktop and VR teams at Facebook only adds to the excitement. So, what are you waiting for? Dive into React Native 0.65 today and unlock a world of possibilities!