Meta has rolled out React Native 0.85, bringing an experimental Shared Animation Backend into the open-source core with Software Mansion, boosting animation performance while slimming the framework through a separate Jest package.
Meta has released React Native 0.85, advancing the open-source cross-platform UI framework by pulling more ecosystem innovation directly into its core. The standout addition is the experimental Shared Animation Backend in version 0.85.1, developed in collaboration with Software Mansion, the team behind Reanimated.
The update moves key Reanimated logic into the React Native core, reducing overlap between Reanimated and the built-in Animated library. By shifting animation processing closer to the native layer, the release delivers better animation efficiency and performance uplift. A major functional improvement follows from this: layout properties can now be animated in Animated through the Native Driver, a long-requested capability for developers building smoother native experiences.
The release also reflects a stronger open-source modularisation strategy. React Native has removed the Jest preset from the main react-native package and moved it into the standalone @react-native/jest-preset package, reducing the framework core’s footprint and making dependency management cleaner.
Further improvements include DevTools upgrades, such as support for multiple simultaneous CDP connections, while macOS users gain native tabs support.
On the compatibility front, React Native now drops end-of-life Node.js versions and releases below 20.19.4, while support for version 0.82 officially ends.
The broader significance lies in governance as well: with React now under the Linux Foundation-backed React Foundation, the release underscores how open-source collaboration is shaping the framework’s core evolution.
