React Native at Scale with Kadi Kraman, Developer at Expo | Mobile Development, EAS, OTA Updates

What does it actually take to build production React Native apps in 2026, and where does Expo fit in?

In this episode of Señors at Scale, Dan sits down with Kadi Kraman, software developer at Expo, who has spent over six years in the React Native ecosystem wearing every hat from IC to director. Kadi shares the story of how she went from writing C++ in a maths degree to becoming one of the early React Native engineers at Formidable, and eventually joining Expo to work on the platform itself.

We dig into what makes React Native genuinely competitive with native iOS and Android development today, why Expo Go is now just for prototyping, how EAS workflows and fingerprint-based repacks dramatically speed up CI, the real story on OTA updates (and where the legal gray area sits), and what's still missing from the ecosystem. Kadi also gives a rare look at the new Expo agent for vibe-coding mobile apps, the case for React Native brownfield, and her honest take on Lynx as competition.

Key Topics:
- Why React Native + Expo is faster than native Xcode/Android Studio workflows
- The mental shift from web to native (display points, gestures, pixel density)
- Expo Go vs development builds, and why the recommendation has changed
- EAS workflows, repack jobs, and project fingerprints
- React Native performance, list rendering, and the React Compiler
- OTA updates: when to use them, when not to, and what the stores actually allow
- Debugging strategies (expo-doctor, native logs, AI-assisted log analysis)
- Brownfield React Native and embedding RN screens into existing native apps
- Lynx, competition, and the future of cross-platform mobile
- Career advice on imposter syndrome, applying anyway, and finding talk topics

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:30 From maths degree to mobile development
04:08 Early React Native days and joining Formidable
06:11 React Native vs native (Swift, Kotlin) limitations
08:36 The mental shift from web dev to React Native
11:24 How to learn React Native in the AI era
16:31 What is Expo, and why you need it
21:12 How Expo evolved: from Expo Go to development builds
24:15 EAS workflows, repack jobs, and fingerprints
27:11 What React Native and Expo still struggle with
28:41 Performance, lists, and the React Compiler
31:01 Lynx and the case for competition
32:41 Debugging React Native apps
38:48 OTA updates explained (and the legal gray area)
46:42 Best career advice Kadi has received
48:49 Imposter syndrome and finding your first talk topic
51:42 Growing the React Native community and conferences
54:27 Book recommendations: Project Hail Mary and more
59:15 Outro

GUEST: Kadi Kraman, Software Developer at Expo
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kadikraman/
🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/kadikraman
🐙 GitHub: https://github.com/kadikraman
🌐 Website: https://kadikraman.com/

FOLLOW & SUBSCRIBE
🎙️ Podcast: https://neciudan.dev/senors-at-scale
📩 Newsletter: https://neciudan.dev/subscribe
💼 LinkedIn (Show): https://www.linkedin.com/company/senors-scale/
💼 LinkedIn (Dan): https://www.linkedin.com/in/neciudan
📸 Instagram (Show): https://www.instagram.com/senorsatscale/
📸 Instagram (Dan): https://www.instagram.com/neciudev

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Expo: https://expo.dev/
- Kadi's "From Web to Native with React" blog post: https://expo.dev/blog
- EAS Workflows: https://docs.expo.dev/eas-workflows/get-started/
- Expo Doctor: https://docs.expo.dev/more/expo-cli/#expo-doctor
- Expo Fetch (streaming support): https://docs.expo.dev/versions/latest/sdk/expo/

#ReactNative #Expo #MobileDevelopment #JavaScript #iOS #Android #EAS #ExpoRouter #SoftwareEngineering #SeñorsAtScale

💬 What's your biggest pain point building React Native apps today, and have EAS workflows changed your CI setup?

Видео React Native at Scale with Kadi Kraman, Developer at Expo | Mobile Development, EAS, OTA Updates канала Neciu Dan - The Señor Developer