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Babar Bilal
Babar Bilal

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🚀 React Native 0.80 Is Here: Goodbye Deep Imports, Hello Stability

React Native 0.80 has officially landed, and it’s a major leap forward for the framework. From performance improvements to stricter TypeScript support and the gradual retirement of the Legacy Architecture — this release is packed.

If you’re upgrading from React Native 0.79, it’s worth reviewing the RN 0.79 release notes before diving in.

Let’s explore what’s new and what it means for you as a developer.

💥 Major Changes in React Native 0.80

📦 Deep Imports Are Now Deprecated

React Native 0.80 deprecates deep imports to reduce API surface area and stabilize usage:

// ❌ Deprecated
import { Alert } from 'react-native/Libraries/Alert/Alert';

// ✅ Use this instead
import { Alert } from 'react-native';
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You’ll now see ESLint and console warnings if you’re using internal paths. This cleanup makes room for a more maintainable and secure API layer.

💬 Have missing exports or concerns? Join the discussion.

🛡️ Strict TypeScript API (Opt-In)

React Native 0.80 introduces an opt-in Strict TypeScript API that’s directly generated from internal source code — ensuring accurate, future-proof type definitions.

Why it matters:

  • Reduces breaking changes
  • Improves DX for TypeScript-first projects
  • Ideal for greenfield apps and early adopters

To opt in, follow the Strict Typescript Setup Guide.

🧊 Legacy Architecture Frozen

The Legacy Architecture is now frozen — no new features, fixes, or tests. Though you can still opt out of the New Architecture, DevTools will flag usage of incompatible APIs.

This paves the way for:

  • Faster runtime performance
  • Smaller app bundle sizes
  • Cleaner migration paths

🔗 React 19.1.0 Integration

React Native 0.80 includes React 19.1.0, keeping the framework in sync with the React core ecosystem.

⚠️ Note: A known issue affects owner stacks (used in debugging). It’s caused by a Babel plugin conflict — a fix is in the pipeline.

📱 Platform-Specific Enhancements

🍏 iOS: Experimental Prebuilt Dependencies

React Native 0.80 adds support for prebuilt dependencies (e.g. Folly, GLog) to reduce iOS build times by up to 12% — especially on M4 Macs.

Enable with:

RCT_USE_RN_DEP=1 bundle exec pod install
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Or in your Podfile:

ENV['RCT_USE_RN_DEP'] = '1'
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Expect faster builds and fewer CocoaPods headaches. 🎉

🤖 Android: Smaller APKs with IPO

Android builds now use Interprocedural Optimization (IPO) by default for both RN and Hermes — resulting in ~1MB smaller APKs.

✅ No manual action needed — just upgrade and rebuild.

🆕 New App Screen & Template Refactor

If you’re using the React Native CLI (not Expo), you’ll notice a refreshed starter template:

  • Modern design
  • Refactored into its own package
  • Optimized for larger screens

This makes new project setups cleaner and easier to extend.

🧠 Heads-Up: JSC Deprecation

React Native 0.80 is the last version with official support for JavaScriptCore (JSC). Future support will be community-maintained via @react-native-community/javascriptcore.

⚠️ Breaking Changes in React Native 0.80

Here are the major breaking changes you should be aware of:

📦 JavaScript Package Resolution

A new exports field in package.json may affect:

  • Deep imports (again, deprecated)
  • Metro bundler
  • Jest mocks

Shims are provided, but review your import paths carefully.

🧠 React Hooks Linting

eslint-plugin-react-hooks is now v5.2.0 (up from v4.6.0), which could introduce new linting errors.

✅ Review, fix, or suppress as needed.

🤖 Android Changes

  • Kotlin upgraded to 2.1.20
  • Removed deprecated StandardCharsets
  • Internal APIs tightened up
  • More migration from Java → Kotlin (changes in nullability, param types)

🍏 iOS Changes

  • Removed unused RCTFloorPixelValue from RCTUtils.h

🎯 Final Thoughts

React Native 0.80 isn’t just another version bump — it’s a strategic step toward stability, performance, and future readiness.

It’s time to explore:

  • ✅ The New Architecture
  • ✅ Strict TypeScript API
  • ✅ Faster iOS builds
  • ✅ Smaller Android APKs

Got feedback or hitting snags while upgrading? Join the conversation in the React Native Discussions.

🙌 Follow me for more React Native updates, migration guides, and cross-platform dev tips!

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