---
title: "Introducing Solito 5 and the Web-Native Mindset"
description: "Join us on November 20 for a deep dive into Solito 5 with its creator, Fernando Rojo, and the Callstack team."
url: https://www.callstack.com/events/exploring-solito-5-building-cross-platform-apps-with-react-and-react-native
updated: 2026-10-24T08:39:19.682Z
---

# Introducing Solito 5 and the Web-Native Mindset

Join us on November 20 for a deep dive into Solito 5 with its creator, Fernando Rojo, and the Callstack team.

_Livestream · 11/20/2025, 6PM [CET] · Online · Recording: 02:18:18 · Category: Cross-Platform_

Organizer: Callstack

Speakers: Łukasz Chludziński (Engineering Manager @ Callstack), Fernando Rojo (Head of Mobile @ Vercel), Kewin Wereszczyński (Software Engineer @ Callstack), Szymon Chmal (Software Developer @ Callstack)

[Watch the recording](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwPf_TJam0U)

This week’s session brought Fernando Rojo, the creator of Solito and Head of Mobile at Vercel, to walk us through Solito 5 and the patterns behind building truly shared web and mobile experiences.

## Introducing Solito 5

The conversation kicked off with the [motivation behind Solito](#yt-time=00:40:39): giving teams a way to write React Native and Next.js apps that share screens, logic, and structure without compromising the strengths of either platform. Solito’s core ideas center on flexibility rather than forcing a single paradigm across platforms. Navigation remains native to each environment-React Navigation or Expo Router on mobile, and Next.js routing on the web, while the screens and business logic live in shared packages.

## How Solito structures cross-platform projects

Fernando walked through the [starter setup](#yt-time=00:09:07): a monorepo with `apps/` for platform shells and `packages/app` for shared screens and logic. The key concept is simple but powerful: the “app shells” on each platform decide how navigation and routing work, while the screens themselves stay platform-agnostic. This avoids the pitfalls of trying to replicate mobile navigation on web, or forcing web layout patterns into React Native.

Instead, Solito provides a small set of primitives-like `Link` and typed routes, that adapt to both environments. When needed, platform-specific files (`.native.tsx`, `.web.tsx`) allow for fine-grained behavior without fragmenting the codebase.

## Real-world constraints: Auth, styling, and navigation

Then, we explored [real-world scenarios](#yt-time=00:14:58) where the two platforms diverge. Take authentication as an example: mobile might use Apple or Google sign-in, and web might use cookies or server-managed sessions. Fernando explained how to approach these differences through shared interfaces and platform-specific implementations.

We also covered platform-aware navigation, gradual adoption paths, and how teams can migrate an existing Expo or React Native project into a Solito monorepo without a full rewrite. Solito pairs especially well with Expo Router since both ultimately target React Navigation under the hood.

## The state of styling: React Native Web, Strict DOM, Uniwind, and more

A major update in Solito 5 is the [removal of React Native Web](#yt-time=00:48:46) from the core web rendering path. Instead, Solito now renders pure HTML + Next.js components, which opens the door to modern styling solutions like Tailwind, ShadCN, and design systems without React Native Web’s constraints. Fernando discussed upcoming tools like [Uniwind](#yt-time=00:53:04), high-performance Tailwind for native, and React Strict DOM, which flips the classic approach by bringing web styling primitives to native instead of the other way around. Both offer a glimpse of how shared UI may evolve.

## Building cross-platform apps without compromises

The session highlighted a key philosophy behind Solito: shared code should not come at the cost of platform quality. Solito exists not to merge web and native into a single abstraction, but to allow teams to build first-class experiences on each side while reusing as much logic and UI as possible.

Fernando emphasized that Solito shines in mature, multi-target apps where teams care about performance, fine-tuned navigation, and long-term maintainability. For newer developers, Solito’s flexibility may feel overwhelming at first, but its patterns closely follow how real production apps evolve over time.

## What’s next for Solito and the ecosystem

Fernando teased ongoing work in the ecosystem, from Uniwind to Vercel’s mobile efforts-and encouraged developers to explore Vercel’s new v0 app, built heavily with React Native and native code. He also hinted at a deep-dive blog post about the app’s architecture, spanning AI, native modules, and cross-platform UI.