March 2024 Summaries

Orbit, a tool initially announced last year, now has a Windows preview version available for download, addressing community requests for Windows support. This version allows users to enhance their development workflow with features like one-click build launches and emulator management, similar to its macOS counterpart. Users can install and launch apps from local files, manage builds from EAS on emulators and real devices, run updates, and launch Snack projects with ease. Orbit for Windows, in its experimental phase, is currently compatible with x64 and x86 machines, with plans for extended architecture support. Feedback from users is encouraged to shape the tool's future development.

Incident.io, a platform for managing incidents, selected React Native and Expo to develop its first mobile app, seeking efficiency and cross-platform capability. The decision was influenced by the potential to convert existing product engineers into mobile developers and to leverage Expo's tools for rapid development cycles. By utilizing Expo's Continuous Native Generation approach, the team avoided complex configurations, enhancing their workflow with features like EAS Build for easy deployment and QR code-based installations. Although they faced challenges with custom native modules for Android notifications, Expo's support streamlined the process. Expo Router facilitated efficient navigation and deep linking within the app, while the overall use of Expo accelerated development, allowing incident.io to launch quickly without additional hires. The company plans to expand app contributions across their team by simplifying the onboarding process and leveraging their monorepo setup.

Microsoft's announcement of the impending closure of its App Center by March 31, 2025, has prompted developers to seek alternative platforms for building, testing, distributing, and monitoring mobile applications. Expo Application Services (EAS) emerges as a prominent replacement, offering capabilities such as universal compatibility with React Native apps, local builds at no cost, free app submissions, and self-hosted updates. EAS also integrates with Sentry for error reporting and supports end-to-end testing and automation, making it a comprehensive solution for developers transitioning from App Center. The transition involves adapting to new workflows and technologies, and developers are encouraged to evaluate options considering feature parity, ease of migration, cost, and community support. EAS provides a robust platform that not only fills the void left by App Center but also enhances the overall app development process, offering detailed migration guides and community support through channels like Discord.

WalterPicks is an AI-powered sports insights platform designed to aid fantasy sports managers and sports bettors by providing data-driven insights and projections through a mobile app. The platform, built with React Native and Expo for cross-platform distribution, focuses on offering personalized advice and advanced analytics to level the playing field in sports betting and fantasy leagues. WalterPicks incorporates machine learning algorithms and human oversight to generate projections, which are then integrated with users’ existing fantasy and betting platforms. The app's design prioritizes user experience, making extensive use of tools like Firebase for scalability and Sanity as a CDN to handle traffic spikes. As WalterPicks continues to grow, it aims to expand its offerings to include more sports and game types while maintaining a user-centric approach to technology and insights.

Starting a new project with Expo can be both thrilling and overwhelming due to the multitude of decisions required at the outset which affect the project's trajectory. To alleviate this, a series of twelve specific tips are provided, including the use of TypeScript for its type-checking benefits, file-based navigation through Expo Router for automatic route creation, and the setup of eslint and prettier for code consistency. Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) practices are emphasized for maintaining code quality and streamlining deployment processes. Other recommendations include implementing error boundaries to manage application crashes gracefully, adhering to a one-component-per-file rule for code clarity, and using development builds over Expo Go for more robust app development. The guide also advises on package management via `npx expo install` to ensure compatibility with the Expo SDK, setting up app variants to distinguish between development and production builds, enabling automatic build versioning to prevent store upload issues, and incorporating app upgrade mechanisms to notify users of new versions. Finally, the document encourages users to explore further resources and engage with the community for support and inspiration.

Google's shutdown of the FCM legacy API in June necessitates developers to transition to the FCM HTTP v1 API, with Expo providing support for this migration. The process requires developers to create new credentials via the Firebase console and upload them to the EAS project, either through the credentials page or using the EAS CLI. Initially, the Expo push notification service will default to the legacy API until May 13, 2024, but developers can test the v1 API by including a specific query parameter in their HTTP requests. After May 13, the service will switch to default to the v1 API, eventually requiring all projects to use it exclusively after June 20, 2024. Developers are encouraged to ensure the v1 API works correctly before optionally deleting their legacy credentials. Expo plans to introduce a new user interface for push notifications to enhance monitoring capabilities, with more details expected in May.

Expo Orbit, a macOS menu bar app aimed at streamlining development workflows, launched its beta version in August 2023 and officially released version 1 in November 2023 following positive feedback and bug reports. Initially inspired by Shopify's internal tool, Tophat, Orbit allows developers to launch builds and run Snack projects on devices and simulators with enhanced features like simulator visibility controls, drag-and-drop app installation, and improved error feedback. A significant update includes the “Open in Orbit” button, enabling EAS Updates to be launched directly into compatible builds on Android Emulators and iOS Simulators, requiring Orbit 1.1.0 or greater. Future development goals include expanding support to Windows and Linux, responding to the needs of developers who want to use React Native without a Mac. A livestream event is planned for March 12th to offer further insights into using Orbit.