Not your grandparents’ Expo

Our ancestors once asked, “should my app use Expo or plain React Native?” Under the glow of their CRT’s, they recounted epic trials at the fork in the road between Mount Bare and Managed Valley, an agonizing decision that foretold an eventual showdown with The Dreaded Eject. Ah, but kids these days! They no longer have to walk to school uphill both ways in three feet of snow, and they can quickly integrate whatever Expo tools enhance their workflow *right now*. From the viewpoint of its evolution, let’s explore the modern Expo landscape, where any React Native app can take advantage of Expo modules, EAS Build, and more. Learn how today’s Expo adapts as you need to customize your native projects, speeds up local development, and provides complex build setups to a simple configuration file. We’ll wrap up with a look towards a future where using Expo unlocks even more of the best patterns from web development while balancing the unique complexities of mobile.