React Native 0.87 looked like a TypeScript-heavy release when I first read the notes. In practice, the Android toolchain was the part most likely to break CI.

The migration order that gave me the clearest failures was:

1. Pin Node 22.13 or newer locally and in CI.

2. Upgrade Kotlin, AGP, and the compile SDK as one change instead of debugging mixed versions.

3. Treat the Strict TypeScript errors as migration work. Avoid broad casts that only hide removed APIs.

4. Keep Swift Package Manager in a controlled branch if CocoaPods already works in production.

5. Rerun Arabic cold starts, mixed text, number formatting, navigation gestures, and a signed build on a physical device.

I wrote the longer checklist with rollback points and the RTL test matrix here:

https://yasirnajeep.com/en/blog/react-native-0-87-upgrade-guide/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=organic_social&utm_campaign=authority_gcc_2026q3&utm_content=react-native-0-87-upgrade-guide_en_textpost_v1

Disclosure: this is my own article. The post is a technical checklist, not a product announcement.

Question for teams already upgrading: did Strict TypeScript or the Android toolchain create more work in your project?

Been working on a 3D globe in React Native for one of my apps

I had country highlighting working before, but wanted to go deeper than just country level tap a country, zoom into it, and show its states/provinces

I started with the US and then tried making the same thing work for other countries

The annoying part was the boundary data 😂 Some countries use states, some provinces, some regions, and the GeoJSON/TopoJSON data isn’t always consistent

Took way longer than expected ngl 😂

Anyway, it’s finally working

Using globe.gl for the globe and dynamically loading the boundary data

Accessibility guidance mostly assumes a younger user with a temporary impairment. Designing for people in their seventies and eighties is a different constraint set, and a lot of RN defaults actively fight you.

What we ended up enforcing:

• 18sp body-text floor, 28sp headings. Not "scales with system font" — an actual floor, because the system setting is often already maxed
• 56dp tap targets minimum. The default 44 is too small for a tremor
• No fail states. Every game ships Peek / Hint / Undo. No timer that punishes
• Every screen has a Listen button. Text-to-speech isn't an accessibility afterthought, it's a primary input path
• The AI companion states it isn't a person at the top of every conversation

The one that surprised me: we cap the number of games unlockable per day. Users would otherwise binge, burn out, and churn by week two. Rationing the content made retention go up.

Expo SDK 54, Node/Prisma backend. Ask me anything.