React Native Radio RNR 347 - Skylight: Smart Displays Powered by React Native
Nov 14, 2025
Alex Lanclos, Principal Software Engineer at Skylight, shares insights on powering smart displays with React Native. He discusses the architectural upgrades that enhanced performance and explains the transition from native Android to React Native. Alex delves into tools like Zustand for state management and TanStack Query for API caching, emphasizing the importance of testing and QA with tools like Maestro. He also offers valuable advice for startups considering React Native and reflects on the framework's advantages for future engineering efficiency.
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Choose A Fast Styling System
- Migrate styling to performant libraries like UniStyles for media queries and tokens.
- Alex recommended Unistyles v3 for better performance and component behavior.
Separate API Cache From Local UI State
- Use Zustand for local UI state and TanStack Query for API caching to separate concerns.
- Keep REST API caching in TanStack Query and local UX state in Zustand.
Add Automated Intent Tests Early
- Invest in automated integration tests as your team grows to avoid relying solely on manual QA.
- Skylight uses Maestro for easy-to-write intent tests integrated into their workflow.