React Conf 2024 Recap

Summary

React Conf 2024 (May 22, 2024) brought 700+ in-person attendees together for two days of announcements, deep dives, and community showcases. The event highlighted major releases and preview builds engineers should evaluate: React 19 Release Candidate (RC), the React Native New Architecture Beta, and an experimental open-source React Compiler. Day 1 and Day 2 sessions and Q&As are available online for follow-up.

Key Points

• React 19 RC announced — engineers are encouraged to test in production and review the React 19 release post and deep-dive talks for migration guidance.
• React Native New Architecture is now in Beta — production adoption is supported; Meta recommends starting new apps with a framework like Expo and the updated Getting Started docs.
• React Compiler released as an open-source experimental build — try the compiler and read the compiler docs and deep-dive talks for optimization opportunities.
• Community releases and integrations highlighted: React Router v7, Universal Server Components in Expo Router, and React Server Components support in RedwoodJS.
• Resources: full day streams, keynote talks, and Q&A sessions available for implementation details and troubleshooting patterns.
• Practical next steps for engineers:
  • Evaluate React 19 RC in a staging environment and subscribe to the migration guides.
  • Plan and test the React Native New Architecture on representative apps; consider Expo for new projects.
  • Experiment with the React Compiler on performance-sensitive builds and review compiler docs.

Additional Notes

• Talks covered accessibility, CSS in server-component workflows, real-time server components, and error reporting best practices.
• Thanks to organizers, sponsors, and contributors; recordings and docs linked from the conference post for follow-up.