React Native Version 0.60 Release
Article Summary
React Native 0.60 just dropped with changes so significant, they're calling it a migration milestone. If you're still manually linking native modules, this changes everything.
The React Native Core team released version 0.60 after months of work from hundreds of contributors. This release introduces major platform migrations for both Android and iOS, fundamentally changing how developers integrate native dependencies and manage their projects.
Key Takeaways
- Autolinking eliminates manual react-native link commands for native modules
- AndroidX migration is breaking: all app code and dependencies must migrate
- CocoaPods now default for iOS, open projects with xcworkspace files
- WebView, NetInfo, and Geolocation extracted to separate community repositories
- New Upgrade Helper tool visualizes changes between React Native versions
React Native 0.60 automates native module linking and migrates to AndroidX and CocoaPods by default, requiring breaking changes across your entire dependency chain.
About This Article
React Native's accessibility APIs didn't have good support for announceForAccessibility, roles, action support, and flags. This made it harder for developers to build apps that worked well for everyone.
The React Native Core team added several accessibility improvements. They expanded announceForAccessibility, roles, action support, and flags so developers could implement A11Y features more easily.
Library maintainers like @mikehardy, @cawfree, and @m4tt72 built the jetifier tool to automatically patch node_modules and handle AndroidX compatibility. This gave react-native-webview, react-native-netinfo, and other extracted repositories over 100 commits of community support.