Expo SDK 54: React Native Made Easy

Expo SDK 54 lands with a fresh set of APIs, performance boosts, and developer‑friendly defaults that make building React Native apps feel almost magical. Whether you’re a seasoned mobile engineer or just dipping your toes into cross‑platform development, the new SDK removes a lot of friction—no native code, instant updates, and a smoother bridge between JavaScript and the device. In this guide we’ll walk through the most exciting changes, show you how to get a project up and running in minutes, and dive into a couple of real‑world examples that demonstrate why Expo is now more powerful than ever.

Getting Started with Expo SDK 54

The first step is installing the latest expo-cli and initializing a blank project. Expo now defaults to the bare workflow when you need native modules, but the managed workflow remains the easiest path for most apps.

# Install the CLI globally
npm install -g expo-cli

# Create a new managed project with SDK 54
expo init my-awesome-app --template blank
cd my-awesome-app

# Start the development server
expo start

Once the Metro bundler is up, you can scan the QR code with the Expo Go app on iOS or Android. The new “Fast Refresh” is even quicker, thanks to optimizations in the underlying Hermes engine.

Why the Managed Workflow Still Rocks

With the managed workflow you never touch Xcode or Android Studio. Expo handles all native dependencies, builds, and OTA updates. SDK 54 introduces config plugins that let you add native capabilities (like custom fonts or splash screens) via the app.json without ejecting.

Pro tip: Keep your app.json tidy. Group related config keys under a custom namespace (e.g., "myApp": { "apiUrl": "…" }) so you can reference them easily with expo-constants.

New APIs Worth Your Attention

Expo SDK 54 ships with three headline APIs: expo-image for high‑performance image handling, expo-location with a revamped permission model, and expo-notifications that now supports scheduled notifications on both platforms without extra setup.

expo-image: Faster, Smarter, Cleaner

The expo-image component replaces the old Image from React Native with built‑in caching, progressive loading, and placeholder support. It’s a drop‑in replacement that can dramatically improve perceived performance in image‑heavy apps.

import { Image } from 'expo-image';
import { View, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';

export default function Avatar({ uri }) {
  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <Image
        source={{ uri }}
        style={styles.avatar}
        placeholder={require('./assets/avatar-placeholder.png')}
        contentFit="cover"
        transition={300}
      />
    </View>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: { alignItems: 'center', marginTop: 20 },
  avatar: { width: 120, height: 120, borderRadius: 60 },
});

Notice the transition prop—it animates the image fade‑in once the network request completes, delivering a polished feel without extra code.

expo-location: Permission‑First Design

Location permissions are now requested through a unified requestForegroundPermissionsAsync call that automatically adapts to the platform’s best practices. The API returns a detailed status object, making it easier to handle denied, limited, or permanently blocked states.

import * as Location from 'expo-location';
import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
import { Text, View } from 'react-native';

export default function CurrentLocation() {
  const [location, setLocation] = useState(null);
  const [errorMsg, setErrorMsg] = useState(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    (async () => {
      const { status } = await Location.requestForegroundPermissionsAsync();
      if (status !== 'granted') {
        setErrorMsg('Permission to access location was denied');
        return;
      }

      const loc = await Location.getCurrentPositionAsync({});
      setLocation(loc);
    })();
  }, []);

  return (
    <View>
      {errorMsg ? <Text>{errorMsg}</Text> : null}
      {location ? (
        <Text>Lat: {location.coords.latitude}, Lon: {location.coords.longitude}</Text>
      ) : (
        <Text>Fetching location…</Text>
      )}
    </View>
  );
}

This pattern encourages you to handle every permission outcome gracefully, which translates to a smoother user experience and fewer app store rejections.

Real‑World Use Case: A Delivery Tracker App

Imagine you’re building a food‑delivery tracking screen. You need fast image loading for restaurant logos, live location updates for the courier, and push notifications when the order status changes. SDK 54’s new APIs let you stitch all these pieces together with minimal boilerplate.

Step 1: Display Restaurant Logo with expo-image

Use the Image component from expo-image to render the restaurant’s logo. The built‑in cache ensures that the logo loads instantly on subsequent visits.

import { Image } from 'expo-image';
import { View, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';

function RestaurantHeader({ logoUrl, name }) {
  return (
    <View style={styles.header}>
      <Image
        source={{ uri: logoUrl }}
        style={styles.logo}
        placeholder={require('./assets/logo-placeholder.png')}
        contentFit="contain"
      />
      <Text style={styles.title}>{name}</Text>
    </View>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  header: { flexDirection: 'row', alignItems: 'center', padding: 10 },
  logo: { width: 60, height: 60, marginRight: 12 },
  title: { fontSize: 20, fontWeight: '600' },
});

Step 2: Live Courier Position with expo-location

Subscribe to location updates using watchPositionAsync. The hook below abstracts the logic and provides a clean {latitude, longitude} object for your map component.

import * as Location from 'expo-location';
import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';

export function useCourierLocation() {
  const [coords, setCoords] = useState(null);
  const [error, setError] = useState(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    let subscription;
    (async () => {
      const { status } = await Location.requestForegroundPermissionsAsync();
      if (status !== 'granted') {
        setError('Location permission denied');
        return;
      }

      subscription = await Location.watchPositionAsync(
        { accuracy: Location.Accuracy.High, timeInterval: 3000 },
        (location) => setCoords(location.coords)
      );
    })();

    return () => {
      if (subscription) subscription.remove();
    };
  }, []);

  return { coords, error };
}

Plug useCourierLocation into a react-native-maps component and watch the pin glide across the screen as the driver moves.

Step 3: Notify the User When the Order Is Near

Expo’s notifications API now works out‑of‑the‑box with scheduled alerts. When the courier is within 500 meters of the destination, you can fire a local notification to nudge the user.

import * as Notifications from 'expo-notifications';
import * as TaskManager from 'expo-task-manager';
import * as Location from 'expo-location';

const BACKGROUND_TASK = 'courier-proximity-task';

TaskManager.defineTask(BACKGROUND_TASK, async ({ data, error }) => {
  if (error) {
    console.error(error);
    return;
  }
  const { location } = data;
  const distance = Location.getDistance(
    { latitude: location.coords.latitude, longitude: location.coords.longitude },
    { latitude: DEST_LAT, longitude: DEST_LON }
  );

  if (distance < 500) {
    await Notifications.scheduleNotificationAsync({
      content: {
        title: 'Your order is arriving!',
        body: 'The courier is just around the corner.',
      },
      trigger: null,
    });
    // Stop the task once the notification is sent
    await Location.stopLocationUpdatesAsync(BACKGROUND_TASK);
  }
});

// Start background tracking when the screen mounts
await Location.startLocationUpdatesAsync(BACKGROUND_TASK, {
  accuracy: Location.Accuracy.High,
  distanceInterval: 50,
  showsBackgroundLocationIndicator: true,
});

This background task runs even when the app is minimized, ensuring the user gets a timely alert without needing to keep the screen open.

Pro tip: Remember to add the appropriate permissions to app.json (e.g., "android": { "permissions": ["ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION"] }) and configure the iOS background modes; otherwise the task will be killed by the OS.

Performance Optimizations in SDK 54

Beyond new APIs, Expo 54 brings under‑the‑hood improvements that translate into smoother UI and lower memory footprints. The most notable changes include the default use of the Hermes JavaScript engine, reduced bundle size for the managed workflow, and a new “Turbo Modules” bridge that shortens the round‑trip between JS and native code.

• Hermes by default: Faster start‑up times and less RAM usage on Android devices.
• Turbo Modules: Native modules are lazily loaded, meaning you only pay for what you use.
• Asset preloading: expo-asset now supports a preloadAsync helper that can be called during splash screen display.

To take advantage of these optimizations, simply run expo prebuild if you ever need to customize native code, or stay in the managed workflow and let Expo handle it for you.

Using expo-asset for Seamless Splash Screens

A polished splash screen can mask the time it takes for the JavaScript bundle to load. With expo-asset you can preload fonts, images, and even JSON data before the first render.

import { Asset } from 'expo-asset';
import { SplashScreen } from 'expo-router';
import { useEffect } from 'react';
import { View, Text } from 'react-native';

export default function App() {
  useEffect(() => {
    async function loadResources() {
      const images = [require('./assets/logo.png'), require('./assets/bg.jpg')];
      await Asset.preloadAsync(images);
      SplashScreen.hideAsync();
    }
    loadResources();
  }, []);

  return (
    <View style={{ flex: 1, justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center' }}>
      <Text>Welcome to the Expo 54 experience!</Text>
    </View>
  );
}

By hiding the splash screen only after assets are ready, you eliminate the dreaded “white flash” that can happen on slower devices.

Testing and Debugging Made Simpler

Expo SDK 54 introduces a built‑in expo-dev-client that mirrors the production binary but still supports Fast Refresh and the full Expo Go developer tools. This hybrid approach gives you the confidence of native testing while retaining the speed of a managed workflow.

To create a dev client, run:

expo run:android   # or expo run:ios

The resulting app can be installed on a device or emulator, and you can still open it via QR code. It’s especially handy when you need to test custom native modules or verify that a background task behaves correctly on real hardware.

Pro tip: Use expo start --dev-client to launch Metro with the correct bundler settings for the dev client. This avoids mismatched JS bundle versions that can cause cryptic errors.

Deploying with EAS Build and EAS Update

Expo Application Services (EAS) have become the standard way to ship production binaries and OTA updates. With SDK 54, the build pipeline now supports incremental builds, meaning only changed native code is recompiled, shaving minutes off CI times.

Here’s a minimal eas.json configuration for a typical managed app:

{
  "cli": {
    "version": ">= 0.54.0"
  },
  "build": {
    "production": {
      "android": {
        "buildType": "app-bundle"
      },
      "ios": {
        "workflow": "managed"
      }
    }
  },
  "submit": {
    "production": {}
  }
}

Run eas build --profile production --platform all to generate both iOS and Android artifacts. Once the builds finish, you can push an OTA update with eas update --branch production, and every user with the latest binary will receive the new JavaScript bundle instantly.

Best Practices for Scaling an Expo Project

As your codebase grows, keeping the bundle lean and the navigation smooth becomes critical. Below are three practices that pair nicely with SDK 54.

1. Code‑splitting with dynamic imports: Load heavy screens only when needed. Expo’s Metro bundler respects import() calls, creating separate chunks automatically.
2. Modular config plugins: Instead of a monolithic app.json, break platform‑specific tweaks into separate plugins. This makes version upgrades painless.
3. Monitor bundle size: Use expo export --dump-asset-manifest to audit assets and prune unused images or fonts.

Implementing these habits early prevents the dreaded “slow app on older phones” scenario and keeps your CI pipeline fast.

Conclusion

Expo SDK 54 delivers a compelling blend of new APIs, performance upgrades, and developer ergonomics that truly make React Native development feel effortless. From the high‑performance expo-image component to the streamlined permission flow in expo-location, the SDK equips you to build sophisticated, production‑ready apps without wrestling with native code. Combine these tools with EAS Build, the dev client, and best‑practice patterns, and you have a modern mobile development stack that scales from hobby projects to enterprise‑grade solutions. Dive in, experiment with the examples above, and let Expo’s latest features accelerate your next React Native masterpiece.