React Native Blog • Mar 30, 2022

React Native Version 0.68 Release

Article Summary

React Native 0.68 just dropped, and it's the first version where you can opt into the New Architecture. This is the milestone the community has been waiting for.

The React Native team announced version 0.68, marking a crucial turning point with opt-in support for Fabric Renderer and TurboModule system. This release includes 614 commits from 68 contributors, along with significant tooling updates and breaking changes that require attention.

Key Takeaways

First React Native version with opt-in support for New Architecture (Fabric + TurboModules)
Breaking changes: Node 16 required, Android needs JDK 11, Gradle Plugin updated to 7.0.1
Android Gradle Plugin now auto-downloads NDK (no manual installation needed)
React 18 rendering engine not yet supported, coming in future version
New Architecture working group and migration guides launched for early adopters

Critical Insight

React Native 0.68 enables teams to start testing the New Architecture in production apps, though third-party library support is still catching up.

The release notes hint at why React 18's new capabilities won't work without the New Architecture, and the implications are bigger than you might think.

About This Article

Problem

The React Native team needed to update several tooling dependencies to keep everything working together. Metro had to move to 0.67, Flipper to 0.125.0, and react-native-codegen to 0.0.9.

Solution

React Native 0.68 updated major dependencies across the board. Kotlin moved to 1.6.10, Gradle to 7.3, and the Android compile and target SDK to 31. Nicola Corti's commit automated NDK downloads so developers no longer had to install it manually.

Impact

The release brought together 614 commits from 68 contributors. The Android Gradle Plugin now downloads the default NDK version on its own, which makes setup easier for developers working on Android.