React Native 0.85: Revamped Animation System, Enhanced Developer Tools, and Key Updates

Introduction

The React Native team has officially released version 0.85, bringing a host of significant improvements and necessary adjustments. This update centers on a completely reworked animation backend, upgraded developer tooling, and a strong emphasis on modernization through breaking changes. Whether you're fine-tuning UI transitions or debugging network requests, this release aims to streamline your development workflow and prepare the framework for future innovations.

Major Highlights

New Shared Animation Backend

One of the standout features in React Native 0.85 is the Shared Animation Backend, developed in collaboration with Software Mansion. This new internal engine fundamentally changes how Animated and Reanimated handle animations. By moving the core animation update logic directly into React Native's core, Reanimated can now achieve performance optimizations that were previously unattainable. Moreover, the update reconciliation process is now more rigorously tested, ensuring long-term stability across future React Native releases.

What does this mean for your code?

• Animate layout props with the native driver: A previous limitation that prevented layout properties (Flexbox, position) from being animated natively has been lifted. You can now use useNativeDriver: true with Animated.timing or Animated.spring to animate width, height, margins, and more—directly on the native thread for smooth 60fps performance.
• Opt-in experimental access: The new backend is initially available only through the experimental channel, starting from React Native 0.85.1 (to be released shortly). To enable it, follow the instructions on the experimental channel page.

For a practical example, the code below demonstrates animating a width layout property using the native driver:

import { Animated, Button, View, useAnimatedValue } from 'react-native';

function MyComponent() {
  const width = useAnimatedValue(100);
  const toggle = () => {
    Animated.timing(width, {
      toValue: 300,
      duration: 500,
      useNativeDriver: true,
    }).start();
  };
  return (
    <View style={{flex: 1}}>
      <Animated.View style={{width, height: 100, backgroundColor: 'blue'}} />
      <Button title="Expand" onPress={toggle} />
    </View>
  );
}

You can explore additional examples in the react-native/packages/rn-tester/js/examples/AnimationBackend/ directory.

React Native DevTools Upgrades

The debugging experience gets a significant boost with these enhancements:

• Multiple CDP connections: React Native now supports simultaneous Chrome DevTools Protocol connections. This means you can have React Native DevTools, VS Code, AI agents, or other CDP-compatible tools connected at the same time without interrupting each other. This opens the door to richer, composable workflows—for example, debugging the component tree while an AI assistant inspects network activity.
• Native tabs on macOS: The desktop app now compiles for macOS 26 and provides system-level tab handling. You can merge all DevTools windows into a single tabbed interface via Window > Merge All Windows. This reduces clutter and improves organization when debugging multiple components or screens.
• Request payload previews restored: After a temporary regression, the Network Panel now shows request body previews on Android again. This is essential for debugging API calls and form submissions.

Metro Dev Server Now Supports TLS

Security during development gets a welcome upgrade. The Metro dev server can now accept a TLS configuration object, enabling HTTPS for the server and WSS (WebSocket Secure) for Fast Refresh. This is particularly useful when testing features that require a secure context, such as service workers or geolocation APIs, without having to set up a separate proxy.

Breaking Changes to Be Aware Of

React Native 0.85 includes several breaking changes that require attention before upgrading. These changes align the framework with modern standards and deprecate outdated patterns.

Jest Preset Relocated to a Dedicated Package

The Jest preset, previously bundled with React Native itself, has been moved to its own package: @react-native/jest-preset. This decoupling allows the preset to evolve independently and reduces the core dependency weight. To continue using Jest with React Native, update your configuration:

1. Install the new package: npm install --save-dev @react-native/jest-preset or yarn add --dev @react-native/jest-preset.
2. Modify your jest.config.js or package.json to reference @react-native/jest-preset instead of react-native/jest-preset.js.

Full migration details can be found in the Testing documentation.

Deprecation of Node.js End-of-Life Versions

React Native 0.85 drops support for Node.js versions that have reached end-of-life (EOL). Specifically, Node.js 16 and earlier are no longer compatible. Ensure your development environment runs Node.js 18 or later to avoid build failures.

Removal of StyleSheet.absoluteFillObject

The utility constant StyleSheet.absoluteFillObject has been removed. It was previously a shorthand for position: 'absolute', top: 0, left: 0, right: 0, bottom: 0. Replace any usages with the explicit style object:

// Before
const style = StyleSheet.absoluteFillObject;

// After
const style = { position: 'absolute', top: 0, left: 0, right: 0, bottom: 0 };

Alternatively, you can create a local constant in your file to avoid repetition.

Additional Breaking Modifications

Beyond the major items above, this release includes several smaller breaking changes. Review the official release notes for a complete list, which covers deprecated APIs, changed default behaviors, and removed internal modules.

Conclusion

React Native 0.85 represents a thoughtful balance between innovation and cleanup. The new animation backend promises smoother, more powerful animations, especially for layout properties. The developer tools get substantial quality-of-life improvements, and the move to TLS for the Metro server modernizes the dev workflow. While the breaking changes require some migration effort, they ultimately pave the way for a leaner, more maintainable framework. Update your projects, test your animations, and enjoy the enhanced debugging experience.