How to Prepare your React Native Application for iOS 15 and Android 12?

The Internet is swarming with the news regarding iOS15 and Android 12 updates. With these updates, the two operating systems have brought in more security and reliability in the operating system. It would help developers unleash safe and secure apps for the end-users.

If you have developed a cross-platform app solution using React Native, you might want to include support for these two OS versions. This tutorial will take you through what you need to do to ensure your existing app supports new OS versions. 

There are two ways to implement the new versions of your existing app.

Without Upgrading React Native Version

This is the first way of upgrading your app to support new versions. Here, you will be working with the existing React Native framework version and upgrading the SDK and emulator versions.

For Android App

You need to download the Android SDK and Android Studio first to upgrade to the newer version. Once you have downloaded these, you will need to add the APIs.

If you already have these downloaded (assuming you are the one who developed the app and are upgrading it to the new version), you need to follow the next step.

You will open a page where you need to select the SDK you want your app to support. You will need to tick the Android SDK Build Tools, Google Play Service, and Android SDK Tools you want your app to support.

Once you select the platforms, you will need to select the emulator. You will need to include the latest emulator that will help you test the app for the Android 12 version. 

For details on adding the SDK and including the emulator, you can refer to the Android Guide.

For iOS App

It is important to note that you don’t need to go through a prolonged process to update your app for iOS 15.

You don’t need an SDK to get started with the newer version; on any iOS supported device (Mac), you can download the iOS version 15 to get started.

Once you have implemented the new version, you can use Xcode as your emulator to test on iOs15 supported devices. It will help you know if the new version supports your existing React Native app.

Upgrade your React Native Version

This is the other approach you can take to include iOS15 and React Native devices support.

React Native v0.66 is the latest version that extends support to iOS15 and Android 12. You can update your React Native framework to this version and allow apps built on the platform to be accessible on new versions.

Apart from accessibility to the latest versions, upgrading can also help you access APIs, developer tools, and other elements that improve the developer’s productivity and enhance the overall process.

Let’s take a quick look at how you can upgrade to the new version.

A React Native project includes the iOS project, the Android project, and the JavaScript project. You cannot upgrade the framework without impacting your projects running within. You have the upgrade helper that allows you to proceed with this process manually, or you can automate using the React Native CLI.

Using React Native CLI

You need to use the upgrade command that completes the requisite action in a single step in this process. You can also update the source files to match the new requirements using a single command without experiencing conflicts.

This is an automated process. Inside the command line program, rn-diff-purge works to identify the projects that need to be deleted, removed, created, and modified.

It is a two-step process:

• You have to run the upgrade command. For this to work, your project should be in Git.
  • You need to specify the version of RN you want to upgrade to
  • The project will be updated using Git apply combined with a 3-way merge
• If you observe any conflicts, you will need to resolve them. Every conflicted file comes with a delimiter that helps you identify what caused the conflict and the possible resolution.

Manual Process with Upgrade Helper

An upgrade helper is a web tool that offers you a complete understanding of the possible changes when you update from one version to another.

Here are the steps you need to follow when moving from one version to another.

• Select the version you want to upgrade to; by default, the system will select the latest versions.
• Once selected, click on the show me how to upgrade button.
• It will show you the files package.json. You should ideally update the dependencies to ensure the smooth running of the project. If you see react-native and react in the changes, you should use yarn add to install the project.
• The next step is to upgrade all the project files individually. It would help if you used the command npx react-native init to generate the list of files in the upgrade helper.
• If you don’t get a list of changes, you need to rebuild the project and continue development.
• You will need to update them using the copy-paste manual method in case of changes.

What’s New with Android 12 and iOS 15?

When you have been asked to update to the latest versions that come to your mind, why should I update? What’s so interesting about the latest versions?

The latest versions are inching developers towards innovation and enhancing the security roadmap. Let’s look at what’s new individually with each of these releases.

iOS15 - what’s new?

New enhanced privacy: The latest version ensures that the user information stays protected. Email privacy has also been enhanced. You can also hide IP addresses from the data so your location cannot be traced.

Keys and IDs: A lot has entered the digital Apple wallet, from car keys to personal IDs. So, with a single wallet, user can show their identity, open their houses/cars, and access almost everything.

Android 12 – What’s new?

Enhanced Security Features: Privacy toggles allow you to turn on/off the access to any in-built devices such as a microphone, camera, etc. You can password protect your photos folder. Additionally, when you are viewing online content outside the Google browser, the same site cookie setting will be activated to reduce tracking.

A Cleaner Interface: This is exciting at all levels. It will enhance the usability and interaction between the customers and the interface. With the new material design, color palettes have improved immensely. Additionally, you will notice an improvement in the gesture design.

Efficient Performance: This will be a more power-efficient version as it will save your CPU time by 22% and core system usage by 15%.

Restrictive App Standby Bucket: You will see a new restricted bucket, which comes with low priority.

• Active
• Working Set
• Rare
• Frequent
• Restricted

These are some of the fundamental changes that we have discussed as part of this article. For a detailed understanding of changes in Android 12, you can refer to this guide.

Conclusion

It is essential to upgrade your app to the latest version so that end customers can enjoy all the benefits and experiences of the upgrade. The new version also comes with developer tools and productivity maps that enhance the development process.

If you are not sure how to proceed with the upgrade, you can connect with our experienced developers. At Expert App Devs, we have dedicated teams to help you with your project needs.

Get in touch with your query, and our team will get back within 24 hours to extend support and help.

Anand Makwana

Project Manager

Anand Makwana is a Project Manager specializing in mobile app development, including Flutter app development, Android app development, iOS app development, React Native app development & Cross Platform Mobile App Development. He has extensive experience with IoT Application Development and Android Watch Apps.