React Native and Expo in 2026 and Why JavaScript Developers Who Add Mobile to Their Resume Earn 25% More

A React web developer with three years of experience averages $135,000 in remote job listings right now. A React developer who also lists React Native on their resume averages $168,000. That is a $33,000 difference for knowing how to take the same language, the same component model, and the same state management patterns and apply them to a different render target.

React Native in 2026 is not the same framework that frustrated developers in 2020 with red error screens, slow bridge communication, and an ecosystem of half-maintained native modules. The New Architecture that Meta spent four years building is now the default. The JavaScript bridge is gone, replaced by JSI (JavaScript Interface) that lets JavaScript call native code synchronously. Fabric replaced the old rendering system. TurboModules replaced the old native module system. And Expo, which used to be "React Native with training wheels," is now the recommended way to build React Native apps according to the official React Native documentation.

I run a JavaScript job board and track what companies ask for every day. React Native appears in 18% of all JavaScript job listings that mention mobile development. Flutter appears in 22%. Swift and Kotlin together appear in 35%. But here is what those numbers miss. React Native listings pay more on average because they target existing JavaScript developers who can work across web and mobile, not specialists who only do mobile. Companies want one person who can build both. That person costs more and is harder to find.

This article covers everything a JavaScript web developer needs to know to add React Native and Expo to their skill set in 2026. Not theory. Production patterns, real performance data, and the specific knowledge that turns a web developer into a web-plus-mobile developer worth $168,000.

Why React Native Matters More in 2026 Than Any Previous Year

Three things changed in the last eighteen months that made React Native a serious production choice again.

First, the New Architecture became the default in React Native 0.76 and is now standard in all new projects. This is not a minor update. The old architecture had a fundamental bottleneck where every communication between JavaScript and native code went through an asynchronous JSON bridge. Touching a button, scrolling a list, running an animation, all of it crossed the bridge. The new architecture eliminates that bridge entirely. JSI gives JavaScript direct access to native objects. The performance difference is measurable. List scrolling that used to drop to 45fps on mid-range Android devices now holds 60fps consistently. Gesture handling that used to feel sluggish compared to native apps is now indistinguishable from Swift or Kotlin implementations.

Second, Expo became the official recommendation. The React Native team at Meta updated their documentation to recommend Expo for all new projects. This matters because Expo solved the hardest part of React Native development, which is the native build toolchain. Setting up Xcode, Android Studio, CocoaPods, Gradle, and all the native dependencies used to take a full day and broke regularly. Expo handles all of it. You write JavaScript and TypeScript. Expo builds the native binaries in the cloud. EAS Build compiles your iOS app on Apple silicon servers and your Android app on Linux servers. You download the binary and submit to the app stores. No local Xcode required.

Third, teams got smaller. With over 500,000 tech workers laid off since 2022 and junior hiring down 67%, companies cannot afford separate web and mobile teams. They need developers who can build both. A JavaScript developer who knows React Native can ship a web app with Next.js on Monday and a mobile app with Expo on Tuesday using shared business logic, shared state management, and shared API calls. This is not theoretical. Companies like Shopify, Microsoft, and Coinbase run production apps this way. The developer who can do both is the developer who survives the next round of cuts.

React Native New Architecture and What Actually Changed Under the Hood

The New Architecture has three components that web developers need to understand. JSI, Fabric, and TurboModules. If you understand how React works on the web, the mental model transfers directly.

JSI and Why the Bridge Being Gone Changes Everything

The old React Native architecture serialized every message between JavaScript and native code as JSON, sent it across an asynchronous bridge, deserialized it on the other side, and sent the response back the same way. Imagine if every DOM manipulation in a web browser required serializing a JSON message, sending it to a separate process, waiting for a response, and then updating the screen. That was React Native before JSI.

JSI is a C++ layer that gives JavaScript direct, synchronous access to native objects. When your JavaScript code calls a native function through JSI, it calls it directly. No serialization. No async bridge. No waiting. The function executes and returns a value in the same frame.

For practical purposes this means animations that previously stuttered on Android now run at 60fps. Gesture handlers that previously felt delayed now respond instantly. And native modules that previously required complex async patterns now work with simple function calls.

Fabric and How the New Rendering System Mirrors React DOM

Fabric is React Native's new rendering engine, and it works more like React DOM than the old renderer did. On the web, React creates a virtual DOM, diffs it against the previous version, and commits the minimal set of changes to the real DOM. Fabric does the same thing but with native views instead of DOM elements.

The key improvement is concurrent rendering support. Fabric works with React 18's concurrent features including Suspense, transitions, and automatic batching. If you have used React performance optimization patterns on the web, the same patterns work in React Native with Fabric. useMemo, useCallback, React.memo, startTransition, all of it applies.

import { useCallback, startTransition, useState } from "react";
import { FlatList, Text, TextInput, View } from "react-native";

function SearchableList({ items }: { items: Item[] }) {
  const [query, setQuery] = useState("");
  const [filtered, setFiltered] = useState(items);

  const handleSearch = useCallback(
    (text: string) => {
      setQuery(text);
      startTransition(() => {
        setFiltered(
          items.filter((item) =>
            item.name.toLowerCase().includes(text.toLowerCase())
          )
        );
      });
    },
    [items]
  );

  return (
    <View style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <TextInput
        value={query}
        onChangeText={handleSearch}
        placeholder="Search..."
        style={{ padding: 12, borderBottomWidth: 1 }}
      />
      <FlatList
        data={filtered}
        keyExtractor={(item) => item.id}
        renderItem={({ item }) => (
          <Text style={{ padding: 16 }}>{item.name}</Text>
        )}
      />
    </View>
  );
}

This code looks almost identical to a React web component. The difference is View instead of div, Text instead of span, TextInput instead of input, and FlatList instead of mapping over an array. The concurrent rendering behavior with startTransition works exactly the same. The text input stays responsive while the list filtering happens in a lower priority update.

TurboModules and Why App Startup Is 40% Faster

The old native module system loaded every native module at app startup, whether you used it or not. An app with 30 native modules loaded all 30 before showing the first screen. TurboModules load on demand. When your JavaScript code first calls a native module, TurboModules initializes it at that moment. If a screen does not use the camera module, the camera module never loads.

The startup time improvement is significant. Apps with many native dependencies see 20-40% faster cold starts. For a typical e-commerce app with camera, push notifications, analytics, payments, and maps, that can mean the difference between a 2.5 second cold start and a 1.5 second cold start on mid-range Android hardware.

Expo in 2026 and Why It Replaced Bare React Native for Most Teams

If you are starting a new React Native project in 2026 and you are not using Expo, you need a specific reason. "I don't trust Expo" is not a specific reason anymore. "I need a custom native module that Expo does not support" might be, but even that argument is weaker now than ever.

Expo Router and File-Based Navigation That Mirrors Next.js

Expo Router is the biggest reason web developers feel at home in React Native immediately. It brings file-based routing to mobile, the same pattern that Next.js uses for the web. If you have built a Next.js application with dynamic routes and nested layouts, you already understand Expo Router.

app/
  _layout.tsx          // Root layout (navigation structure)
  index.tsx            // Home screen (/)
  settings.tsx         // Settings screen (/settings)
  (tabs)/
    _layout.tsx        // Tab navigation layout
    home.tsx           // Home tab
    search.tsx         // Search tab
    profile.tsx        // Profile tab
  jobs/
    [id].tsx           // Dynamic route (/jobs/123)
    index.tsx          // Job list (/jobs)
  (auth)/
    login.tsx          // Login screen
    register.tsx       // Register screen

// app/(tabs)/_layout.tsx
import { Tabs } from "expo-router";
import { Home, Search, User } from "lucide-react-native";

export default function TabLayout() {
  return (
    <Tabs
      screenOptions={{
        tabBarActiveTintColor: "#2563eb",
        headerShown: false,
      }}
    >
      <Tabs.Screen
        name="home"
        options={{
          title: "Home",
          tabBarIcon: ({ color }) => <Home size={24} color={color} />,
        }}
      />
      <Tabs.Screen
        name="search"
        options={{
          title: "Search",
          tabBarIcon: ({ color }) => <Search size={24} color={color} />,
        }}
      />
      <Tabs.Screen
        name="profile"
        options={{
          title: "Profile",
          tabBarIcon: ({ color }) => <User size={24} color={color} />,
        }}
      />
    </Tabs>
  );
}

// app/jobs/[id].tsx
import { useLocalSearchParams } from "expo-router";
import { View, Text, ScrollView } from "react-native";
import { useQuery } from "@tanstack/react-query";

export default function JobDetail() {
  const { id } = useLocalSearchParams<{ id: string }>();

  const { data: job, isLoading } = useQuery({
    queryKey: ["job", id],
    queryFn: () =>
      fetch(`https://api.example.com/jobs/${id}`).then((r) => r.json()),
  });

  if (isLoading) return <LoadingSkeleton />;

  return (
    <ScrollView style={{ flex: 1, padding: 16 }}>
      <Text style={{ fontSize: 24, fontWeight: "bold" }}>
        {job.title}
      </Text>
      <Text style={{ fontSize: 16, color: "#6b7280", marginTop: 4 }}>
        {job.company} · {job.location}
      </Text>
      <Text style={{ fontSize: 18, color: "#2563eb", marginTop: 8 }}>
        {job.salary}
      </Text>
      <Text style={{ fontSize: 16, lineHeight: 24, marginTop: 16 }}>
        {job.description}
      </Text>
    </ScrollView>
  );
}

useLocalSearchParams is the equivalent of useParams in Next.js. The file structure determines the URL structure. Layouts wrap child routes. The mental model is identical. A developer who has built three Next.js apps can build an Expo app in an afternoon because the routing concepts are the same.

EAS Build and Why You Never Need Xcode Again

EAS Build compiles your app in the cloud. You run eas build --platform ios and Expo's servers handle Xcode, CocoaPods, code signing, and provisioning profiles. The build takes 10-20 minutes and you download an .ipa file ready for App Store submission.

This eliminates the biggest barrier for JavaScript developers entering mobile development. You do not need a Mac to build iOS apps. You do not need to understand Xcode project configuration. You do not need to manage CocoaPods or Swift Package Manager. You write TypeScript, push to git, and EAS builds the native binary.

The free tier includes 30 builds per month for iOS and Android. For most teams shipping weekly updates, that is more than enough. The paid tier at $99/month adds priority builds that finish in 5 minutes instead of 20, plus more concurrent builds for larger teams.

Expo Modules API and When You Actually Need Native Code

The old criticism of Expo was that it locked you out of native code. That is no longer true. The Expo Modules API lets you write native Swift and Kotlin code that integrates with your Expo project. You do not eject. You do not lose Expo's build system. You add a native module alongside your TypeScript code.

// modules/my-native-module/ios/MyNativeModule.swift
import ExpoModulesCore

public class MyNativeModule: Module {
  public func definition() -> ModuleDefinition {
    Name("MyNativeModule")

    Function("getDeviceInfo") {
      return [
        "model": UIDevice.current.model,
        "systemVersion": UIDevice.current.systemVersion,
        "batteryLevel": UIDevice.current.batteryLevel,
      ]
    }
  }
}

// In your TypeScript code
import { requireNativeModule } from "expo-modules-core";

const MyNativeModule = requireNativeModule("MyNativeModule");
const info = MyNativeModule.getDeviceInfo();

Most developers will never need this. Expo's built-in modules cover camera, notifications, file system, sensors, biometrics, maps, payments, and dozens more. But knowing that native escape hatches exist eliminates the last argument against using Expo.

Sharing Code Between Next.js and React Native and Why This Is Where the Salary Premium Comes From

A developer who can share 60-80% of business logic between a web app and a mobile app saves a company the cost of a second developer. That is worth the 25% salary increase. The pattern is a monorepo with shared packages. The most common setup uses Turborepo or Nx to manage three packages.

apps/
  web/              # Next.js app
    app/
    package.json
  mobile/           # Expo app
    app/
    package.json
packages/
  shared/           # Shared business logic
    src/
      api/          # API client and queries
      hooks/        # Shared React hooks
      types/        # TypeScript types
      utils/        # Utility functions
      stores/       # Zustand stores
    package.json
turbo.json
package.json

The shared package contains everything that is not UI. API clients, Zod validation schemas, TypeScript types, React Query hooks, and Zustand stores all live here. Both apps import from the same source.

// packages/shared/src/api/jobs.ts
import { z } from "zod";

export const JobSchema = z.object({
  id: z.string(),
  title: z.string(),
  company: z.string(),
  salary: z.string(),
  location: z.string(),
  description: z.string(),
  requirements: z.array(z.string()),
  postedAt: z.string().datetime(),
});

export type Job = z.infer<typeof JobSchema>;

export async function fetchJobs(params?: {
  category?: string;
  page?: number;
}): Promise<Job[]> {
  const searchParams = new URLSearchParams();
  if (params?.category) searchParams.set("category", params.category);
  if (params?.page) searchParams.set("page", String(params.page));

  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.example.com/jobs?${searchParams}`
  );
  const data = await response.json();
  return data.map((job: unknown) => JobSchema.parse(job));
}

// packages/shared/src/hooks/useJobs.ts
import { useQuery } from "@tanstack/react-query";
import { fetchJobs, fetchJob } from "../api/jobs";

export function useJobs(category?: string, page?: number) {
  return useQuery({
    queryKey: ["jobs", category, page],
    queryFn: () => fetchJobs({ category, page }),
  });
}

export function useJob(id: string) {
  return useQuery({
    queryKey: ["job", id],
    queryFn: () => fetchJob(id),
  });
}

Both the Next.js app and the Expo app import from @shared/hooks and @shared/api. The API layer, data validation, types, and React Query hooks are identical. The only thing that differs is the UI layer. Next.js uses HTML elements and CSS. Expo uses native components and StyleSheet.

For developers who enforce TypeScript patterns that catch errors across platforms, the shared package approach means types defined once are enforced everywhere. Change the API response shape in the shared package and both apps get type errors until you update them. No more mobile app silently breaking because someone changed the web API contract without telling the mobile team. There is no separate mobile team. It is the same developer using the same types.

The state management patterns using Zustand work identically in web and mobile. Zustand has zero dependencies on any specific platform. A Zustand store created in the shared package works in Next.js and Expo without a single line of platform-specific code.

React Native Performance Optimization Patterns That Actually Matter on Mobile

Performance on mobile is less forgiving than on the web. A web user with a janky scroll might not notice or might not care. A mobile user with a janky scroll will uninstall your app. The 60fps threshold is not a nice-to-have on mobile. It is the minimum acceptable experience.

FlatList Optimization for Large Data Sets

FlatList is React Native's virtualized list component. It only renders items that are currently visible on screen, recycling off-screen items. But the defaults are not optimized for large lists. Here is a production configuration for a list of 5,000+ items.

<FlatList
  data={jobs}
  keyExtractor={(item) => item.id}
  renderItem={renderJob}
  removeClippedSubviews={true}
  maxToRenderPerBatch={10}
  windowSize={5}
  initialNumToRender={10}
  getItemLayout={(data, index) => ({
    length: ITEM_HEIGHT,
    offset: ITEM_HEIGHT * index,
    index,
  })}
  extraData={selectedId}
/>

removeClippedSubviews detaches off-screen views from the native view hierarchy. maxToRenderPerBatch limits how many items render per frame. windowSize controls how many screens worth of content to keep rendered above and below the viewport. getItemLayout skips the measurement step when all items have the same height.

The single biggest FlatList performance killer is inline functions in renderItem. Every render creates a new function reference, which forces every list item to re-render. Extract the render function and memoize the item component.

const MemoizedJobCard = React.memo(function JobCard({
  job,
  onPress,
}: {
  job: Job;
  onPress: (id: string) => void;
}) {
  return (
    <Pressable onPress={() => onPress(job.id)} style={styles.card}>
      <Text style={styles.title}>{job.title}</Text>
      <Text style={styles.company}>{job.company}</Text>
      <Text style={styles.salary}>{job.salary}</Text>
    </Pressable>
  );
});

function JobList({ jobs }: { jobs: Job[] }) {
  const handlePress = useCallback((id: string) => {
    router.push(`/jobs/${id}`);
  }, []);

  const renderItem = useCallback(
    ({ item }: { item: Job }) => (
      <MemoizedJobCard job={item} onPress={handlePress} />
    ),
    [handlePress]
  );

  return (
    <FlatList
      data={jobs}
      renderItem={renderItem}
      keyExtractor={keyExtractor}
    />
  );
}

Image Optimization With expo-image Instead of the Default Image Component

The Image component from React Native is slow and lacks caching. Use expo-image instead. It uses native image loading libraries (SDWebImage on iOS, Glide on Android), supports blur hash placeholders, caching, and modern image formats.

import { Image } from "expo-image";

function CompanyLogo({ uri }: { uri: string }) {
  return (
    <Image
      source={{ uri }}
      style={{ width: 48, height: 48, borderRadius: 8 }}
      contentFit="cover"
      placeholder={{ blurhash: "LKO2?U%2Tw=w]~RBVZRi};RPxuwH" }}
      transition={200}
      cachePolicy="memory-disk"
    />
  );
}

The blurhash placeholder shows a blurred version of the image while it loads. The transition animates from placeholder to loaded image. The cachePolicy ensures images are cached both in memory and on disk, so scrolling back up does not re-download images. On a job listing screen with 50 company logos, the difference between Image and expo-image is the difference between visible flicker and smooth scrolling.

Avoiding Re-renders With Architecture That Separates State From UI

The same re-render patterns that kill web performance kill mobile performance, but mobile is less forgiving. A re-render that takes 4ms on a desktop browser might take 16ms on a mid-range Android phone, which means a dropped frame.

Use the React DevTools profiler connected to your Expo app to identify unnecessary re-renders. The most common sources are context providers that update too frequently, unmemoized callbacks passed to child components, and state stored too high in the component tree. The fix is the same as on the web. Move state down, memoize callbacks, and split contexts. The difference is that on mobile, the penalty for skipping these optimizations is visible to the user as jank.

React Native vs Flutter in 2026 and Which One to Learn for Maximum Career Impact

This comparison matters for career decisions. Both frameworks target cross-platform mobile development. Both are backed by major companies. Both have mature ecosystems. The choice depends on what you already know and what jobs you want.

If you are a JavaScript developer with React experience, React Native is the obvious choice. You already know the component model, the hooks API, the state management patterns, and the ecosystem including React Query, Zustand, and React Hook Form. Learning React Native means learning how View maps to div, how StyleSheet differs from CSS, and how navigation works. You can be productive in a week.

Flutter requires learning Dart, a language that looks like Java and TypeScript had a child. The widget system is different from React's component model. State management patterns like Riverpod and Bloc are different from what you know. The ecosystem is separate from JavaScript entirely. The learning curve is 2-3 months to be productive.

Flutter's advantage is consistent rendering across platforms. Flutter draws every pixel itself using Impeller, which means iOS and Android look identical. React Native uses platform native components, which means an iOS button looks like an iOS button and an Android button looks like an Android button. Whether this is an advantage or disadvantage depends on your design requirements.

In job listings on jsgurujobs, React Native positions pay 8-12% more than Flutter positions on average. The reason is that React Native developers are expected to work on both web and mobile. Flutter developers are usually mobile-only. The cross-platform capability commands a premium.

For JavaScript developers reading this article, the answer is React Native. You will be productive faster, the job market pays more, and you can share code with your web projects. Learn Flutter only if you specifically want to work at a company that uses it or if you want to diversify beyond the JavaScript ecosystem entirely.

Building a Production React Native App With Expo From Zero to App Store

Let me walk through the actual setup for a production Expo app in 2026. Not a tutorial app with a counter. The kind of app that a company with paying users would ship.

Project Setup and Essential Dependencies

npx create-expo-app@latest my-app --template tabs
cd my-app

This creates a project with Expo Router, TypeScript, tab navigation, and a working file structure. Install essential production dependencies.

npx expo install expo-image expo-secure-store expo-haptics
npx expo install @react-native-async-storage/async-storage
npm install @tanstack/react-query zustand zod
npm install react-hook-form @hookform/resolvers

Authentication Flow With Secure Token Storage

// lib/auth.ts
import * as SecureStore from "expo-secure-store";

const TOKEN_KEY = "auth_token";

export async function getToken(): Promise<string | null> {
  return SecureStore.getItemAsync(TOKEN_KEY);
}

export async function setToken(token: string): Promise<void> {
  await SecureStore.setItemAsync(TOKEN_KEY, token);
}

export async function removeToken(): Promise<void> {
  await SecureStore.deleteItemAsync(TOKEN_KEY);
}

export async function login(email: string, password: string) {
  const response = await fetch("https://api.example.com/auth/login", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
    body: JSON.stringify({ email, password }),
  });

  if (!response.ok) {
    throw new Error("Invalid credentials");
  }

  const data = await response.json();
  await setToken(data.token);
  return data.user;
}

Note the use of expo-secure-store instead of AsyncStorage for tokens. SecureStore uses the iOS Keychain and Android Keystore, which are encrypted at the hardware level. AsyncStorage stores data in plain text. Authentication tokens must go in SecureStore. This is the mobile equivalent of the httpOnly cookie pattern from web development. Sensitive credentials need secure storage, and developers who skip this step create the same category of vulnerabilities that plague web applications with improper token handling.

Push Notifications Setup for iOS and Android

// lib/notifications.ts
import * as Notifications from "expo-notifications";
import * as Device from "expo-device";
import { Platform } from "react-native";

Notifications.setNotificationHandler({
  handleNotification: async () => ({
    shouldShowAlert: true,
    shouldPlaySound: true,
    shouldSetBadge: true,
  }),
});

export async function registerForPushNotifications() {
  if (!Device.isDevice) {
    console.log("Push notifications require a physical device");
    return null;
  }

  const { status: existing } =
    await Notifications.getPermissionsAsync();
  let finalStatus = existing;

  if (existing !== "granted") {
    const { status } =
      await Notifications.requestPermissionsAsync();
    finalStatus = status;
  }

  if (finalStatus !== "granted") {
    return null;
  }

  if (Platform.OS === "android") {
    await Notifications.setNotificationChannelAsync("default", {
      name: "default",
      importance: Notifications.AndroidImportance.MAX,
    });
  }

  const token = await Notifications.getExpoPushTokenAsync({
    projectId: "your-project-id",
  });

  return token.data;
}

Push notifications are one of the primary reasons companies build mobile apps instead of progressive web apps. The notification permission flow, token registration, and channel setup shown here covers both iOS and Android with Expo's unified API. One function call handles what would require separate Swift and Kotlin implementations in a native project.

Over-the-Air Updates and Deploying Without App Store Review

One of Expo's most powerful features is EAS Update. You can push JavaScript updates to your users without going through the App Store review process. Fix a bug on Monday, push an update, and users have the fix within hours.

eas update --branch production --message "Fix job detail crash"

The app checks for updates on launch. If an update is available, it downloads in the background and applies on the next restart. No user action required. This is how web developers are used to deploying. Push code, users get it immediately. EAS Update brings that workflow to mobile.

Limitations exist. You cannot add new native modules through OTA updates. You cannot change the app icon or splash screen. Any change that requires a new native binary still needs a full app store submission. But for JavaScript and TypeScript changes, which account for 90%+ of typical updates, OTA deployment works. Ship the native binary once a month. Ship JavaScript fixes and features as often as you want.

The JavaScript Developer's Path to Mobile Development in 2026

The learning curve from React web to React Native is shorter than most developers expect. Here is what transfers directly and what requires new knowledge.

Everything about the React component model transfers. Hooks, state management with Zustand or Redux, data fetching with React Query or SWR, form handling with React Hook Form, TypeScript, and testing patterns with Jest all work the same way. If you understand JavaScript application architecture and how to structure large codebases, the same principles apply to mobile. Separation of concerns, dependency injection, feature-based folder structure, all of it transfers without modification.

What you need to learn is specific but manageable. Flexbox is the only layout system in React Native, so there is no CSS Grid, no float, and no position absolute for page layout. The StyleSheet API replaces CSS with JavaScript objects, which means no cascading, no class names, and all styles are colocated with components. Navigation works through Expo Router or React Navigation instead of URL-based routing. Platform-specific APIs for camera, notifications, file system, and biometrics have their own learning curves. And the app store submission process has its own bureaucracy that takes a few hours to figure out the first time.

The fastest path is to take a React web project you have already built and rebuild it with Expo. Not a todo app. Take something with authentication, API calls, multiple screens, and a list view. A job board app, a note-taking app, or a recipe app. The translation process from web to mobile teaches you everything you need to know because you already understand the business logic and can focus entirely on the mobile-specific parts.

Two weeks of focused work gets a React web developer to "can build a basic React Native app." One month gets to "can ship a production app with confidence." The 25% salary premium starts from that one month investment.

React Native Job Market Data and What Companies Actually Want in 2026

On jsgurujobs.com, React Native listings share common patterns in what they require and what they offer.

The required skills in 90%+ of listings include React Native, TypeScript (not optional anymore), REST API integration, and state management. About 60% mention Expo specifically. About 40% mention experience with the App Store and Google Play submission process. About 25% mention CI/CD for mobile, usually EAS Build or Fastlane.

The skills that command the highest salaries are shared codebase architecture using monorepos with web and mobile, native module development in Swift or Kotlin when needed, and performance optimization for 60fps on mid-range devices. Developers who can demonstrate all three average $175,000+ in remote positions.

What companies do not care about is your opinion on React Native vs Flutter. Interviewers want to see that you can build, optimize, and ship a mobile app. They want to see that you understand platform differences between iOS and Android. They want to see that you can debug native crashes, not just JavaScript errors.

The interview pattern for React Native roles in 2026 typically includes a take-home project where you build a small app with specific requirements in 48-72 hours, a system design round where you architect a mobile app for a given scenario, and a behavioral round. The take-home project is where most candidates fail because they build something that works but does not follow mobile best practices. No loading states, no error handling, no offline support, no proper list virtualization. These are the details that separate a web developer who downloaded Expo yesterday from a mobile developer who ships production apps.

Companies are paying $135,000 to $185,000 for senior React Native developers who can also work on web. They are paying $95,000 to $125,000 for mid-level developers who show strong fundamentals. The market is smaller than pure web development but the competition is also smaller. Fewer JavaScript developers have mobile experience, which means each qualified candidate has more leverage in negotiation.

The developers who will earn the most from mobile skills in 2026 are not mobile specialists. They are web developers who added mobile to their toolkit. The web-plus-mobile developer is rarer than either specialist alone, and rarity drives salary.

The Mobile Skill Gap Is Your Advantage Right Now

Most JavaScript developers will read this article and add "learn React Native" to their someday list. The list that includes "learn Rust" and "contribute to open source" and "build a side project." That list does not get done.

The developers who actually install Expo this week and rebuild one of their web projects as a mobile app will have a skill that 80% of React developers do not have. They will qualify for jobs that 80% of React developers cannot apply to. And they will earn the premium that comes from being rare in a market that increasingly demands versatility over specialization.

React had broken mobile for years. Expo and the New Architecture fixed it. The framework is ready. The tooling is ready. The job market is paying a 25% premium for the skill. The only question is whether you add it now or wait until everyone else does and the premium disappears.

If you want to track where JavaScript salaries and skills requirements are heading, I share production patterns and market data weekly at jsgurujobs.com.

Frequently Asked Questions About React Native and Expo in 2026

Can I Build iOS Apps Without a Mac Using Expo

Yes. EAS Build compiles iOS apps on Apple silicon servers in the cloud. You write TypeScript on any operating system, push your code, and EAS builds the .ipa file. You need an Apple Developer Account at $99 per year for App Store submission, but you do not need a Mac for development or building. You do need a physical iOS device for testing, but Expo Go on a physical iPhone handles most development testing without requiring Xcode.

Is React Native Still Slower Than Native Swift and Kotlin Apps

With the New Architecture as the default, the performance gap is negligible for most applications. List scrolling, animations, and gesture handling run at 60fps on modern devices. The areas where native still has an advantage are heavy computation like video processing, 3D rendering, and complex image manipulation. For the 95% of apps that are forms, lists, navigation, and API calls, React Native performance is indistinguishable from native.

Should I Learn React Native or Flutter as a JavaScript Developer in 2026

If you already know JavaScript and React, learn React Native. You will be productive in one to two weeks versus two to three months for Flutter. React Native job listings pay 8-12% more on average because companies value developers who can work across both web and mobile platforms. Learn Flutter only if you specifically want to work at a company that uses it or if you want to add Dart to your language toolkit.

How Much Code Can I Actually Share Between Next.js and React Native

In a well-structured monorepo, 60-80% of business logic code is shared. This includes API clients, data validation with Zod, TypeScript types, React hooks for data fetching with React Query, state management stores with Zustand, and utility functions. The UI layer including components and styling is not shared because web uses HTML and CSS while mobile uses native components and StyleSheet. The shared percentage depends on how well you separate business logic from presentation.