<h2>Overview</h2>
<p>Expo SDK 56 ships with React Native 0.85, React 19.2, and Hermes V1 as the default JavaScript engine. The iOS deployment target bumps to 16.4.</p>
<h2>Expo UI reaches production stability</h2>
<p>Expo UI is now production-ready, with Jetpack Compose and SwiftUI support added to the default app template. This is the clearest signal yet that Expo is serious about native UI components as a first-class citizen.</p>
<h2>Inline native modules</h2>
<p>You can now write Kotlin and Swift code directly in your project structure without a separate native module package. Less boilerplate, faster iteration.</p>
<h2>Drop-in replacements for community packages</h2>
<p>SDK 56 includes drop-in replacements for several popular community packages: datetime picker, slider, and bottom sheet among them. If you’ve been maintaining workarounds for any of these, you can probably delete them now.</p>
<h2>Precompiled packages</h2>
<p>Packages ship precompiled, which should meaningfully cut build times. No configuration needed.</p>
<h2>iOS widgets promoted to stable</h2>
<p>iOS widgets are out of experimental status. If you were waiting for stability before shipping widget support, now’s the time.</p>
<h2>Expo Router decouples from React Navigation</h2>
<p>Expo Router no longer has a hard dependency on React Navigation. This opens the door to using react-strict-dom’s <code>&lt;html.div&gt;</code> primitives instead of <code>&lt;View&gt;</code> for truly universal apps, without dragging in React Navigation as a requirement.</p>
<h2>react-native-web is no longer required by the <code>expo</code> package</h2>
<p>The <code>expo</code> package no longer requires react-native-web. The log-box was rewritten to use react-dom only in SDK 55, and SDK 56 completes the cleanup. Making RNW optional in expo-router is the next step, which would allow full universal apps built with react-strict-dom.</p>
<h2><code>useNativeState</code> hook</h2>
<p>A new <code>useNativeState</code> hook handles form input state on the native side, bypassing the JS thread. For input-heavy screens, this should reduce jank without any architectural changes on your end.</p>


Collections

Expo SDK 56 ships with React Native 0.85, React 19.2, and Hermes V1 as the default JS engine. Key highlights include Expo UI reaching production stability with Jetpack Compose and SwiftUI support, inline native modules (Kotlin/Swift without separate packages), precompiled packages for faster builds, iOS widgets promoted to stable, and drop-in replacements for popular community packages. Expo Router now decouples from React Navigation, enabling truly universal apps with react-strict-dom. The expo package no longer requires react-native-web, and a new useNativeState hook reduces input jank by handling form state on the native side.

What's new in Expo SDK 56