React Conf Highlights: Exciting Updates and Future Directions

Last week, I had the incredible opportunity to attend React Conf, and I’m thrilled to share some of the interesting and cool stuff I learned about React and React Native. Over the next few weeks, expect a slow drip of recommended talks, ideas to discuss, new stuff to consider, and various other insights from the conference.

The long and short of it is that there are a couple of big, fundamental new things that are very much worth digging into. While there’s no immediate urgency to adopt these changes (though you might want move more quickly after you see them), they’ll certainly impact us in the not-too-distant future. Some of these features can be taken advantage of right now, while others are coming soon (though, honestly nothing seems all that far away). More on that coming soon.

Day One Keynote

If you want to get a general sense of the new stuff and upcoming features for React, I highly recommend watching the Day One keynote. It was really well done and it covers the new features and updates that are coming (or already recently here) to React and React Native.

https://www.youtube.com/live/T8TZQ6k4SLE?si=RN0kMGL5X1p3xksT&t=1789

“Vanilla React” Talk by Ryan Florence

One of the most significant talks of the conference (I think) was “Vanilla React” by Ryan Florence, known for his work on React Router and Remix.

https://www.youtube.com/live/T8TZQ6k4SLE?si=FTa9HVvoDbrZ_2kJ&t=5542

This talk is particularly interesting for a couple of big reasons. The spoiler is that the Remix meta framework is going to “take a little nap” for a bit, and the next version of React Router (v7) will incorporate all the features available from Remix. I mean, this has already been sort of possible already, but everything is going to be clarified and the paths more laid out. As the libraries were moving closer together, this really made sense (as Ryan explains).

This update/idea is super impactful because there are millions of projects using React Router that are currently a bit stuck in their path to access the new, modern features of React. Currently, React recommends using meta frameworks to get there at the moment (Next.js and others). However, with this update, there will soon be a very straightforward path for projects to gradually update and gain access to these really great new features. Ryan Florence demos this in his talk, and it’s very cool stuff. Plus, he’s just great at presenting, making it an entertaining talk to watch.

Overall, React Conf was a really fantastic experience, and I’m excited about the future of React and the opportunities these updates bring. Stay tuned for more insights and recommendations and explorations from the conference in the coming weeks.