What’s New in React 18? New Features and Updates

Concurrent React

Concurrent React is a powerful new feature that can improve the performance, responsiveness, and simplicity of React Native app development.

It can make React Native applications more performant and responsive by rendering multiple versions of the UI at the same time. This can be especially beneficial for complex user interfaces or asynchronous operations applications.

Concurrent React can also make it simpler to develop React Native applications by providing a single way to manage state and rendering. As a result, the code may become easier to read and maintain.

However, an upcoming ” OffScreen ” component will allow you to use this feature and continue the procedure.

Improved Automatic Batching

All state updates using event handlers are grouped using React’s built-in batching features. It prevents the files from going through an unnecessary rendering procedure. React 18 also has the feature of a modified version of batching called React 18 Automatic Batching that links all state modifications which is made by createRoot altogether.

The procedure uses timers, applications, and event listeners to make changes, without the need for detailed updates. With this update, some of the top react native app developers will implement this to develop apps much faster.

New Start Transition API to Maintain Responsiveness of Your App

Transition is the latest feature in React 18’s list that will keep your app responsive. The developers can develop a priority list based on how frequently changes occur. Direct contacts, such as a click, type, press, or other actions, result in the necessary changes. These changes are made as soon as the developer requests them.

There are two ways to use a transition.

State Transition: The transition begins if there isn’t an opening hook available.

User transition: When a hook is already present, the user transition is used to start the transition update. The function stores a value to maintain a remaining check.

Improvements to the Architecture and New Suspense SSR

React Suspense allows developers to display a loading state while complicated operations are in progress. It then displays its fallback feature. This functionality can be combined with the transition API with the most recent React version. It even pauses the rendering schedule that minimizes the loading effect by preventing the content from being updated.

The react suspense is helpful since it delivers an accessible loading state when the user is dealing with a network problem.

New APIs in Hooks

According to the developer’s requirement, React provides some of the predefined hooks to carry out particular tasks. The following are some of the most recent React hooks that you can use in React Native app development services for your project.

startTransition(): It is a function in the startTransition API that checks whether a transition is available or not. This API is used to perform the developer’s desired state modification. Updates that are executed within the startTransition API are considered non-urgent updates. Urgent updates like keypresses, clicks, etc., can override them. A basic example that shows how the startTransition() API is described below.  

UseTransition (): It creates new state changes with a lower priority than the preexisting ones. The code returns the state of the transition and a function to start it. Below is an example for the useTransition() API.  

useDeferredValue(): Use the hook function useDeferredValue() to duplicate a value after receiving it as a parameter. A more urgent update than the previous one is being referred by the new reference. The new element is further presented after the critical updates have been compiled. The example is provided below.

The new APIs and hooks for managing state updates can be a powerful tool for improving the performance and user experience of React apps. Using these APIs and hooks, you can make the state updates and control how they are rendered. This can lead to smoother animations, faster transitions, and a better overall user experience.  

IE11 Is Not Supported Any Longer

Since IE11 does not support React 18, developers who switched to React 18 could not use it. So, if your project still functions properly with IE11, you should wait to update it to the most recent version.

Rendering APIs for the Client and Server

The APIs have been updated in React 18 to support client and server rendering. Users can migrate to the new React 18 APIs when they are still using the old React 17 APIs because of the new APIs. Hence, React-dom/client is a new package in React that provides client-specific APIs for initializing an app on the client. 

createRoot  

This new technique lets you create a root element, which you can then use to render or remove other elements. This approach can be used instead of ReactDOM.render. Without it, new features in React 18 are inaccessible.  

hydrateRoot  

The latest method for hydrating server-rendered applications is unique. It can be used as a subpart for ReactDOM, along with the new React DOM Server APIs, hydrate. With it, improvements in React 18 are functional.  

Both createRoot and hydrateRoot use the new onRecoverableError option if you want to be notified when React recovers from errors during hydration or rendering for monitoring. React will use a console. error or reportError in its outdated browsers. 

React DOM Server

react-dom/server offers full support for streaming suspense and exports additional APIs:

renderToPipeableStream

In Node environments, streaming is done via it.

renderToReadableStream

It is for cutting-edge edge runtime systems like Deno and Cloudflare workers.

Though it is not recommended, the renderToString method is still functional.

Strict Mode New Behaviors

A Strict Mode was introduced to the React community in version 16.3. The tool was created to specify the coding practices that may interfere with React’s concurrent rendering APIs. To help developers write better code, it runs in development mode and displays error messages or code recommendations.

All the wrapped components in a React project have a different behavior when <StrictMode> is added by developers. React will re-render all components when developers run it in “strict mode” to eliminate possible harmful effects.  

• A component is mounted by reacting.
• There are created layout effects.
• These are produced effects.
• Unmounting the component is simulated by React.
• Effects on the layout are destroyed.
• Effects are eliminated.
• Using the prior state, React simulates mounting the component.
• There are generated layout effects.
• Effects setup code is run.

Performance

React 18 gives the functionality of automatically batches state updates together, which can lead to significant performance improvements.

With the help of React render you can render multiple versions of the UI at the same time, which makes applications more responsive and prevents blocking.

It also includes several improvements to server-side rendering, which can make applications faster and more SEO-friendly.

Development experience

React 18 gives better support for concurrent mode and makes it easier to use concurrent mode, which can lead to significant performance improvements.

The latest update of React has improved server-side rendering and made it simple to develop and debug server-rendered applications.

React 18 provides support for the newest version of React DevTools, which provides some features to help developers to create and debug React