---
title: "From Static Hermes to Hermes V1: The Road to Default"
description: "Nicola Corti (Meta) explains the evolution of Static Hermes into Hermes V1, the performance boosts it ships, and the (experimental) path to making it the new default engine."
url: https://www.callstack.com/podcasts/from-static-hermes-to-hermes-v1-the-road-to-default
updated: 2026-10-24T08:39:42.448Z
---

# From Static Hermes to Hermes V1: The Road to Default

Nicola Corti (Meta) explains the evolution of Static Hermes into Hermes V1, the performance boosts it ships, and the (experimental) path to making it the new default engine.

_Guest: Nicola Corti, React Native Team @ Meta · Host: Łukasz Chludziński, Engineering Manager @ Callstack · Published 2025-12-04 · Duration 10:20 · Category: Hermes_

Listen: [YouTube](https://youtu.be/JZip4w4MvuA)

The "Static Hermes" codename is gone, replaced by the official release of Hermes V1. Nicola Corti (Meta) explains that for two years, the team's explorations of static typing benefits lived on a separate branch, with many performance boosts never shipping to users.

Now, Hermes V1 is here (and experimental in RN 0.82), shipping those performance improvements. It is not yet the default; React Native 0.82 pre-builds against the stable Hermes, so developers must enable "build from source" to try V1, which will result in slower build times. This temporary step is necessary to gather feedback from large apps.

Nicola also clarifies that while Hermes V1 will natively support methods like `Set` and `Map` (removing the need for polyfills), the real benefits come from the new performance foundation. He expects V1 to become the stable, default engine in two or three releases, projected for early 2026.

Insights

## Learn more about Hermes

Here's everything we published recently on this topic.

[View all](https://www.callstack.com/insights)

- [Why You Don’t Have to Minify JavaScript Code in React Native Apps](https://www.callstack.com/blog/why-you-dont-have-to-minify-javascript-code-in-react-native-apps) (Dec 18 · Article): React Native skips JavaScript minification in production because Hermes handles dead code elimination at the bytecode level. Here’s how and why it works.
- [Hermes V1: What It Is, What It Isn’t, and What’s Next](https://www.callstack.com/events/hermes-v1-what-it-is-what-it-isnt-and-whats-next) (Nov 6 · Live Stream): Łukasz Chludziński, Szymon Chmal, and Matt Hargett unpack Hermes V1, covering what’s new, what’s changing, and what’s ahead for React Native performance.
- [How to Optimize Your Android App Startup Time With Hermes](https://www.callstack.com/blog/optimize-android-app-startup-time-with-hermes) (Dec 4 · Article): Learn how to achieve better performance and optimize Android app startup time with Hermes.
- [Technical Guide, Part 2: Integrating Hermes With React Native](https://www.callstack.com/blog/technical-guide-integrating-hermes-with-react-native) (Jun 14 · Article): Interested in the Hermes engine? Check the second part of our expert guide to find out how to integrate Hermes with React Native.
- [Technical Guide, Part 1: Compiling Hermes for Apple Platforms](https://www.callstack.com/blog/technical-guide-compiling-hermes-for-apple-platforms) (May 26 · Article): Want to use Hermes in your React Native app on iOS? Find out how to compile Hermes for Apple platforms. Check the first part of our expert technical guide.
- [React Native 0.64 With Hermes for iOS](https://www.callstack.com/podcasts/react-native-0-64-with-hermes-for-ios-ep-5) (May 11 · Podcast): Discover how Hermes boosts React Native performance on iOS and macOS, with insights into AOT, bytecode precompilation, and the future of Hermes support.
- [Hermes Performance on iOS](https://www.callstack.com/blog/hermes-performance-on-ios) (Apr 21 · Article): Wondering how the Hermes engine performs on iOS? We tested it on a React Native mobile app. Check the results and see how it compares to JSC.
- [Bringing Hermes to iOS in React Native 0.64](https://www.callstack.com/blog/bringing-hermes-to-ios-in-react-native) (Apr 14 · Article): Hermes is now available for iOS as well. Find out more about this JS engine - check the first part of our series on bringing Hermes to iOS.