Expo Launch Party: An Event Full of Technological Delights

Recently, the impressive Expo Launch Party took place, brimming with innovations and valuable insights – so it’s no surprise that Dactyl Group was there to witness it! The online conference unveiled fascinating technological updates, primarily revolving around the release of Expo SDK 52 for mobile and web app developers. This release marks a significant step forward, and we’re excited to share the most interesting takeaways from the event with you.

The Technological Breakthrough: Expo SDK 52

At a recent event, the latest release of the software development kit, Expo SDK 52, was unveiled. This toolkit and library package introduces new possibilities for app development on the Expo platform.

— By the way, this is one of our specialties that we at Dactyl are truly proud of — take a look! 

Would you like to learn more about this technology? Check out this article.

Expo Updates: What Caught Our Attention?

A lot happened during the Expo Launch Party. As the Dactyl team, we’ve selected the most significant improvements and updates that personally caught our attention. Let’s dive in!

A New Architecture as the Default Standard

Speed and performance are top-notch. The new architecture delivers faster app response times and is now the default standard for all new projects. Older applications can enable it manually, but according to available information, it’s likely to become mandatory starting with SDK 53. Another advantage is improved support in Expo Go, which paves the way for even more modern applications.

Upgrades for Android and iOS

The new improvements also bring changes to platform support. The minimum supported iOS version is now 15.1, while for Android, the minSdkVersion has been raised to 24 and compileSdkVersion to 35. Overall, there is a stronger focus on modern standards and enhanced compatibility.

Android builds are now up to 40% faster thanks to infrastructure optimizations—great news for developers who don’t want to spend an eternity waiting for their compilations to finish.

New Possibilities with Multimedia.
The new version also delights us with improved packages.

• the expo-video package now supports features like Picture-in-Picture and lock screen controls, making it perfect for video-focused applications.
• the expo-audio package has introduced a modern API in beta, promising easier integration of audio features.
• the expo-router/ui now includes new elements, such as customizable tabs, making it easier to create more complex layouts.

Support for React Native 0.76

Expo SDK 52 is fully compatible with the latest version of React Native. This means developers can enjoy working with the most up-to-date features of the framework.

We also got the first stable version of React Native DevTools—now, with a single press of the “j” key, you can launch DevTools effortlessly, making debugging quick and straightforward.

Thanks to the "use dom" innovation, you can now write applications with components like < div >, < span >, or even animated < marquee > directly in React. Developers will appreciate this for creating responsive and interactive UIs.

Evaluation of the New Upgrades for Expo

The Expo Launch Party was an excellent opportunity to peek behind the curtain of technological innovation. Expo SDK 52 sets a new standard for modern app development, simplifies multimedia handling, and enhances performance. It’s an invitation to explore new possibilities that can take your app to the next level. We’re excited and can’t wait to incorporate these updates into our future projects.

Many interesting insights can be found directly in the video: Launch Week AMA livestream.

If you want to see all the updates in full detail, we recommend checking out the official Expo SDK 52 changelog.

At Dactyl Group, we regularly use Expo to help harness the full potential of cross-platform development. Do you have a project on paper that needs to be brought to life?

Contact us for a free consultation!