React Native 0.82: Mandatory New Architecture & React 19 Support

React Native 0.82, released on October 8, 2025, introduces some major changes. Here's the overview.

New Architecture is Mandatory:

Starting with 0.82, the New Architecture is no longer optional; it is mandatory now. The build flag newArchitecture=falsewill be ignored, and all apps will build using the New Architecture by default.

Bundled with React 19.1.1:

This release ships with React 19.1.1. A key benefit is support for the full component owner stack in error reporting. When an error occurs, you can now see the complete parent component hierarchy, which makes tracing the error easier.

DOM-like Node APIs via Refs:

Native components now expose DOM-like node properties and methods via refs. This enables more web-aligned interactions, such as directly calling getBoundingClientRect().