---
title: "Live Dev Session: Expo SDK 54 Beta Is Here, Next.js 15.5, RNEF Renamed Rock"
description: "Explore what's new in Expo SDK 54 Beta: Liquid Glass, faster iOS builds, RN 0.81, and more dev upgrades from this week's livestream."
url: https://www.callstack.com/events/live-dev-session-week-34
updated: 2026-10-24T08:39:20.719Z
---

# Live Dev Session: Expo SDK 54 Beta Is Here, Next.js 15.5, RNEF Renamed Rock

Explore what's new in Expo SDK 54 Beta: Liquid Glass, faster iOS builds, RN 0.81, and more dev upgrades from this week's livestream.

_Livestream · 8/21/2025, 5PM [CEST] · Online · Recording: 02:18:57 · Category: Community_

Organizer: Callstack

Speakers: Łukasz Chludziński (Engineering Manager @ Callstack), Kewin Wereszczyński (Software Engineer @ Callstack)

[Watch the recording](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFgGfkGk9fQ)

This week on the stream, we got our hands on Expo SDK 54 Beta, and it’s easily one of the most exciting updates from the Expo team in a while.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s new, what we tested live, and why this release matters.

## Expo 54 Beta: What’s new?

Released August 19, 2025, Expo SDK 54 brings some major upgrades:

- React Native 0.81 and React 19.1
- Precompiled XCFrameworks for iOS (dramatically faster iOS build times)
- Edge-to-edge layouts on Android by default
- Predictive Back Gesture support (Android 14+)
- Liquid Glass icons & UI support for iOS 26
- Updated Expo UI Kit and Icon Composer

Check out the full changelog [here](https://expo.dev/changelog/sdk-54-beta)

## Liquid Glass: It’s real, and it’s easier to use than ever

One of the most visually striking additions in SDK 54 is the new Liquid Glass icon and UI support: shiny, fluid, and native to iOS 26. We demoed it live and it works great (if you set things up correctly):

- Xcode 15 beta
- iOS 26 simulator
- Expo SDK 54
- Use a development build (Expo Go won’t support this yet)

## Faster iOS builds with precompiled XCFrameworks

For iOS devs, this might be the biggest time-saver: precompiled frameworks cut clean build times by up to 10x (based on internal tests using RNTester + M4 Max).

No config needed; just install the beta and build as usual.

## Other news we covered

### Next.js 15.5

- TypeScript support for App Routes
- Middleware can now run in Node.js, not just Edge
- TurboPack improvements (still beta)

Full release blog post available [here](https://nextjs.org/blog/next-15-5).

### RNEF is now Rock

The React Native Enterprise Framework got a new name: Rock.

Still built by Callstack, still focused on teams building at scale.

- `npm create rock` gets you started quickly
- Used by teams like Expensify, Rainbow and Uniswap

Read more [on our blog](https://www.callstack.com/blog/react-native-enterprise-framework-is-now-rock).

### Bonus: SVGs finally make sense

If you’ve ever struggled with `<path>` and `d` attributes in SVGs, this is for you:

- [A Friendly Intro to SVGs](https://www.joshwcomeau.com/svg/friendly-introduction-to-svg/)
- [Interactive Path Guide](https://www.joshwcomeau.com/svg/interactive-guide-to-paths/)

## Final thoughts

Expo 54 Beta is a solid step forward, especially for dev experience.

Faster builds, shinier UIs, smoother Android gestures; it’s the kind of polish that makes a difference.

We’ll be testing it more in upcoming streams, so if you haven’t tried it yet, now’s a great time to spin up a development build and play around.

And if you missed the livestream, don’t worry. The recap’s live on socials, and we’ll see you next Thursday at 5PM CEST.