React Native Version 0.70 Release
Article Summary
React Native 0.70 just made Hermes the default JavaScript engine. This marks a major turning point for performance and developer experience across both iOS and Android.
The React Native team released version 0.70 with significant improvements centered around the New Architecture. This release represents months of collaboration between Meta's Hermes and React Native teams, with contributions from 88 community contributors across 493 commits.
Key Takeaways
- Hermes now ships as default engine after extensive performance tuning
- Unified Codegen configuration in package.json replaces separate Android setup
- CMake support reduces native build config from 50+ lines to just 3
- Android auto-linking now works seamlessly with New Architecture libraries
- APK size reduced by ~220 KB through removal of duplicate dependencies
Critical Insight
React Native 0.70 dramatically simplifies New Architecture adoption with unified tooling, default Hermes engine, and streamlined native build configuration.
