React Native 0.85 Launches with New Animation Engine and Jest Package Separation

Breaking News: React Native 0.85 Released

The React Native team today announced the immediate release of version 0.85, featuring a brand-new Shared Animation Backend developed in collaboration with Software Mansion. The update also moves the Jest preset to a dedicated package and introduces several breaking changes, including dropped support for end-of-life Node.js versions.

React Native 0.85 Launches with New Animation Engine and Jest Package Separation

“This release marks a significant leap forward in animation performance and developer tooling,” said a React Native core contributor. “The new backend allows Reanimated to achieve optimizations that were previously impossible, while also ensuring long-term stability across future React Native updates.”

New Shared Animation Backend

React Native 0.85 introduces a revamped internal engine that powers how animations are applied for both the Animated and Reanimated libraries. By moving the main animation update logic into React Native core, Reanimated can now land performance improvements that were not feasible before.

The team confirmed that the new backend also enables animating layout props (such as Flexbox and position properties) with the native driver in Animated. This lifts a previous limitation documented in earlier React Native versions.

Developers can opt into the experimental animation backend starting from React Native 0.85.1, which will be released in the immediate future. Code examples are available in the rn-tester directory.

React Native DevTools Upgrades

DevTools receive several enhancements in this release:

Multiple CDP connections – Simultaneous support for Chrome DevTools Protocol connections from React Native DevTools, VS Code, and AI agents, enabling richer composable workflows without session interruptions.
Native tabs on macOS – The desktop app now compiles for macOS 26 and supports system-level tab handling (Window > Merge All Windows).
Request payload previews – On Android, the Network Panel’s request body previews are restored after a previous regression.

“These improvements make debugging sessions more fluid and collaborative,” noted a senior developer at Meta.

Metro TLS Support

The Metro dev server now accepts a TLS configuration object, enabling HTTPS and secure WebSocket (WSS) for Fast Refresh during development. This is a direct response to growing security requirements in modern development environments.

Breaking Changes to Note

Jest Preset Moved to New Package – The Jest preset has been extracted from the core and is now available as a separate package. Developers must update their configurations accordingly.
Dropped Support for EOL Node.js Versions – Older Node.js versions that have reached end-of-life are no longer supported.
StyleSheet.absoluteFillObject Removed – This legacy utility has been removed; developers should use the StyleSheet.absoluteFill shorthand instead.
Other Breaking Changes – A full list is available in the release changelog.

“Teams should test their codebases against these changes as soon as possible,” advised a community expert. “The Jest package move is straightforward, but the animation backend opt‑in requires careful verification.”

Background

React Native 0.84 and earlier versions relied on a legacy animation engine that made certain performance optimizations difficult for third-party libraries like Reanimated. The new Shared Animation Backend addresses this by centralizing the update loop in the core framework. Additionally, the Jest preset had historically been bundled with the main React Native package, causing versioning and dependency management challenges for teams using custom testing setups.

What This Means

For developers, the most immediate benefit is the ability to animate layout properties using the native driver, which previously required JavaScript‑side handling. Combined with Reanimated’s improved performance, this can reduce frame drops and jank in UI animations. The Jest preset separation simplifies upgrades and allows independent version control. However, projects must update their test configurations and remove references to the old @react-native/jest-preset path.

“This is a strategic move that aligns React Native more closely with industry standards,” commented a technical lead at a major cross‑platform agency. “Developers should plan for a minor migration effort but can expect better long‑term maintainability.”

For full details and migration guides, visit the official React Native blog.

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