Taking React Native Into VR on Meta Quest React Universe On Air
Itās a practical, developerāfocused look at the early days of React Native on VR: what works today, whatās different from mobile, and why so many app ideas translate better than you might expect.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to React Native on Meta Quest
01:10 Meet the guests: Jan Jaworski and Ram N
01:28 Ramās background and experience
04:10 Janās background and experience
06:09 Exploring React Native on Meta Quest
07:09 How Meta Quest started
11:00 Getting started with React Native on Meta Quest
14:30 Betting on AOSP
17:00 First-mover advantage and developer opportunities
21:32 Differences between mobile and VR
24:45 Running Expo projects on the headset
25:28 React Native on Meta Quest, now for real
27:27 Starting a React Native project on Meta Quest
28:49 Developing and debugging on Meta Quest
30:19 Do you need a headset or an emulator?
31:57 Virtual Reality Development Experience
38:09 AI tooling
40:02 Meta Horizon Start Developer Competition
45:02 Conclusion and final thoughts
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React Native at Scale With NFL
The NFL runs on tight deadlines. Every kickoff and Super Bowl demands that millions of fans get flawless live video, stats, and fantasy features, whether theyāre on iPhones, Xboxes, or connected TVs.
In this episode of React Universe On Air, Mike Grabowski talks with Michael Blanchard (Director of Engineering at the NFL), about how React Native became the backbone of this high-pressure, multi-platform ecosystem.
Michael shares his journey from web engineer to leading NFLās engineering teams across nfl.com, three mobile apps, a cross-platform video player, and a suite of connected TV apps. Together with Mike, he explores the NFLās migration strategy, the transition from Haul/Webpack to Metro and Expo, and the cultural shifts that helped merge web and native engineers into one collaborative team.
Youāll learn:
ā”ļø Why the NFL went full Greenfield (twice)
ā”ļø How NFL+ shaped their second rewrite
ā”ļø Lessons from moving from Haul/Webpack to Metro
ā”ļø How Expo SDKs gradually replaced community libraries
ā”ļø How GitHub Actions + EAS Build reshaped their CI/CD pipeline
ā”ļø Strategies for handling 20ā30 PRs daily in a monorepo
ā”ļø How React Native powers mobile, web, and multiple connected TVs
ā”ļø What cultural shifts enabled true cross-platform collaboration
Catch more React Universe On Air episodes š§Ā https://clstk.com/4gp8Cw5
Sign up for our newsletter āļøĀ https://clstk.com/4mfmRof
Follow us on X š¦Ā https://x.com/callstackio
Chapters:
00:00 Welcome to the React Universe
01:35 Meet Michael Blanchard from NFL
03:03 NFL's digital presence and platforms
04:24 React Native in NFL's mobile apps
08:32 How React spread across all platforms
11:47 Collaboration between web and native teams
18:11 Technical decisions regarding different platforms
23:48 V2 of NFL's flagship app
25:14 Choosing migration strategy
30:10 Maintaining more product versions
34:33 Adopting Expo
42:10 Modernizing CI/CD
46:48 Team structure and workflow at NFL
53:29 Final thoughts
What really happens when React Nativeās core contributors gather behind closed doors?
In this episode of React Universe On Air, recorded live at React Universe Conf 2025, host Åukasz ChludziÅski sits down with Joel Arvidsson, Jay Meistrich, and Thibault Malbranche to unpack the hottest debates and wisest insights from the Core Contributor Summit.
They dive into:
ā”ļøĀ How the cooperation between consultancies, big organizations like Meta or Microsoft, and OSS contributors looks like
ā”ļøĀ 2025 as the āyear of stabilityā for React Native
ā”ļøĀ The promise (and pain) of React Native for desktop apps
ā”ļøĀ Flipperās decline and new community-driven DevTools
ā”ļøĀ Whether React Native 1.0 is just a marketing label or a true milestone
ā”ļøĀ How agencies and individuals balance open source with client work
ā”ļøĀ Practical advice for engineers who want to contribute and join the conversation
Chapters:
00:00 Welcome to the React Universe
01:21 Meet our guests: Thibault Malbranche, Joel Arvidsson, Jay Meistrich
02:33 What is Core Contributor Summit
04:02 Meta vs. community usage of React Native
07:19 Year of stability & tooling challenges
09:00 Surprise session: React Native for Desktop
16:10 Concrete outcomes vs. planting seeds
21:02 Open Source dynamics & collaboration
27:30 React Native 1.0
33:45 Future directions & getting involved
36:50 Final thoughts
Catch more React Universe On Air episodes š§Ā https://clstk.com/423vF9D
Sign up for our newsletter āļøĀ https://clstk.com/3Kb23kM
Follow us on X š¦Ā https://x.com/callstackio
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Observability & OpenTelemetry in React Native
Many React Native apps ship without full observability. The result? Blind spots in performance, crashes, and user behavior once your app is in the wild.
In this episode of React Universe On Air, Åukasz ChludziÅski sits down with Jonathan Munz (Senior Software Engineer at Embrace) and Adam Horodyski (React Native Expert at Callstack) to unpack how OpenTelemetry can bring structure and clarity to mobile monitoring.
They break down why mobile observability is harder than observability on backend, what the OTLP protocol enables, and how to instrument React Native apps without locking into a single vendor. Youāll also hear how community-driven tooling like React Native OpenTelemetry and the Embrace React Native SDK can simplify setup and improve data portability.
Youāll learn:
ā”ļø How observability and OpenTelemetry work together
ā”ļø The 3 core OpenTelemetry signal types for mobile
ā”ļø Why mobile instrumentation is more complex than backend telemetry
ā”ļø How OTLP improves interoperability between tools
ā”ļø Where auto-instrumentation is still missing in React Native
ā”ļø The role of Embrace and open-source libraries in reducing setup overhead
Check out episode resources on our website šĀ https://clstk.com/4104nAF
Catch more React Universe On Air episodes š§Ā https://clstk.com/45EWnYe
Monitor what matters in your React Native app with Callstackās help š¤Ā https://clstk.com/3HoM3KI
Sign up for our newsletter āļøĀ https://www.callstack.com/newsletter
Follow us on X š¦Ā https://x.com/callstackio
Chapters
00:00 Welcome to the React Universe
01:07 Meet our guests
03:07 Defining observability and OpenTelemetry
04:32 Signals in observability
11:57 Challenges with observability in React & React Native
16:04 Standardization and OpenTelemetry protocol
18:08 Embrace and Open Telemetry
21:29 Future of OpenTelemetry in mobile
27:23 Exploring React Native OpenTelemetry
29:54 Community involvement in OpenTelemetry
37:34 Real observability in React Native
46:41 Future of React Native observability
50:40 Hey, listeners, hereās what we want you to do
54:46 Conclusion and final thoughts
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Monorepo Architecture with Nx
Should you be afraid of monorepos? Not with Nx. Tune in and learn how to scale apps without scaling pain.
In this episode of React Universe On Air, Åukasz ChludziÅski chats with Jordan Powell from Nx to explore what it really takes to build and manage a monorepo at scale. From dependency graphs to distributed CI tasks, they break down how Nx helps teams stay fast, focused, and frustration-free. Whether you're just getting started with Yarn Workspaces or running into CI bottlenecks, this episode gives you the strategies and context to go further with less overhead.
Key learnings
ā”ļø The difference between monorepos and monoliths
ā”ļø How Nx graphs improve selective builds and testing
ā”ļø What āownership rulesā mean for large codebases
ā”ļø How distributed task execution saves time in CI
ā”ļø Why better DX equals better business outcomes
ā”ļø Real-world patterns for React Native and full-stack monorepos
Catch more React Universe On Air episodes š§Ā https://clstk.com/44Bj51X
Get your React Universe Conf 2025 tickets šĀ https://clstk.com/4nFqTZ1
Sign up for our newsletter āļøĀ https://clstk.com/3TrnIGH
Follow us on X š¦Ā https://x.com/callstacki
00:00 Welcome to the React Universe
00:42 Meet Jordan Powell from Nx
02:42 The joy and pain of testing
04:03 Understanding monorepos
06:52 The origins of Nx
09:41 Developer experience and its business impact
12:10 Nx vs. other tooling and a closer look at its features
21:07 Getting started with Nx
25:27 Collaborating on projects
28:00 Assigning ownership and scoping projects
29:30 Managing dependencies in a monorepo
31:16 Handling multiple framework versions and migrations
32:40 Real-world examples of large-scale monorepos
36:10 Distributed task execution with Nx Cloud
39:08 Efficient testing in a monorepo
42:55 The Future of Nx with AI integration
47:27 Conclusion and final thoughts
React Universe On Air is your go-to podcast about building cross-platform apps with React and React Native, featuring practical lessons, forward-looking ideas, and talks with industry leaders.