React Native 0.86 is out: edge-to-edge on Android and no breaking changes

What's new

• Edge-to-edge on Android 15+. Fixes for the mode the OS enforces: correct measureInWindow coordinates, a working KeyboardAvoidingView, accurate window dimensions, StatusBar with a Modal open.
• DevTools. Light and dark mode emulation — test your theming without changing device settings.
• A new home. The React Native repository, together with React, Metro, Yoga and the website, moved from the facebook GitHub organization to react.

What breaks when upgrading

Nothing: 0.86 has no user-facing breaking changes, and you can upgrade from 0.85 without touching app code. Only ViewUtil.getUIManagerType and the second argument of AppRegistry.setComponentProviderInstrumentationHook are deprecated.

How to upgrade

1. Go through the versions one by one and compare native file changes in the Upgrade Helper.
2. Check third-party libraries for compatibility with the new version.
3. Run regression tests on real iOS and Android devices before submitting to the stores.

We upgrade mobile apps built with React Native: we will estimate how many versions you are behind and which libraries need replacing, and ship the update to the App Store and Google Play.

Sources: release announcement, React Native release schedule.