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Vercel & React Native - A New Era of Mobile Development?

Jan Kaiser

Jan Kaiser

Published Apr 4, 2025

Updated Apr 4, 2025

6 min read

Vercel & React Native - A New Era of Mobile Development?

Vercel & React Native - A New Era of Mobile Development?

Jared Palmer of Vercel recently announced an acquisition that spiked our interest. Having worked extensively with both Next.js and Vercel, as well as React Native, we were curious to see what the appointment of Fernando Rojo, the creator of Solito, as Vercel's Head of Mobile, would mean for the future of React Native and Vercel.

While we can only speculate on what the future holds, we can look closer at Solito and its current integration with Vercel. Based on the information available, we can also make some educated guesses about what the future might hold for React Native and Vercel.

What is Solito?

Based on a recent tweet by Guillermo Rauch, one might assume that Solito allows you to build mobile apps with Next.js. While that might become a reality in the future, Jamon Holmgren, the CTO of Infinite Red, added some context to the conversation. According to Jamon, Solito is a cross-platform framework built on top of two existing technologies:

  • For the web, Solito leverages Next.js.
  • For mobile, Solito takes advantage of Expo.

That means that, at the moment, you can't build mobile apps using Next.js & Solito only - you still need Expo and React Native. Even Jamon, however, admits that even the current integration of Solito with Vercel is exciting.

Let's take a closer look at what Solito is according to its official website:

This library is two things:

  1. A tiny wrapper around React Navigation and Next.js that lets you share navigation code across platforms.

  2. A set of patterns and examples for building cross-platform apps with React Native + Next.js.

We can see that Jamon was right - Solito allows you to share navigation code between Next.js and React Native and provides some patterns and components that you can use to build cross-platform apps, but it doesn't replace React Native or Expo.

The Cross-Platformness of Solito

So, we know Solito provides a way to share navigation and some patterns between Next.js and React Native. But what precisely does that entail?

Cross-Platform Hooks and Components

If you look at Solito's documentation, you'll see that it's not only navigation you can share between Next.js and React Native. There are a few components that wrap Next.js components and make them available in React Native:

  • Link - a component that wraps Next.js' Link component and allows you to navigate between screens in React Native.
  • TextLink - a component that also wraps Next.js' Link component but accepts text nodes as children.
  • MotiLink - a component that wraps Next.js' Link component and allows you to animate the link using moti, a popular animation library for React Native.
  • SolitoImage - a component that wraps Next.js' Image component and allows you to display images in React Native.

On top of that, Solito provides a few hooks that you can use for shared routing and navigation:

  • useRouter() - a hook that lets you navigate between screens across platforms using URLs and Next.js Url objects.
  • useLink() - a hook that lets you create Link components across the two platforms.
  • createParam() - a function that returns the useParam() and useParams() hooks which allow you to access and update URL parameters across platforms.

Shared Logic

The Solito starter project is structured as a monorepo containing:

  • apps/next - the Next.js application.

  • apps/expo or apps/native - the React Native application.

  • packages/app - shared packages across the two applications:

    • features
    • providers
    • navigation

The shared packages contain the shared logic and components you can use across the two platforms. For example, the features package contains the shared components organized by feature, the providers package contains the shared context providers, and the navigation package includes the shared navigation logic.

One of the key principles of Solito is gradual adoption, meaning that if you use Solito and follow the recommended structure and patterns, you can start with a Next.js application only and eventually add a React Native application to the mix.

Deployments

Deploying the Next.js application built on Solito is as easy as deploying any other Next.js application. You can deploy it to Vercel like any other Next.js application, e.g., by linking your GitHub repository to Vercel and setting up automatic deployments.

Deploying the React Native application built on top of Solito to Expo is a little bit more involved - you cannot directly use the Github Action recommended by Expo without some modification as Solito uses a monorepo structure.

The adjustment, however, is luckily just a one-liner. You just need to add the working-directory parameter to the eas update --auto command in the Github Action. Here's what the modified part of the Expo Github Action would look like:

### the beginning of the Github action...

- name: Create preview
  uses: expo/expo-github-action/preview@v8
  with:
    command: eas update --auto
    working-directory: ./apps/expo # This needs to be added in order to work with the monorepo structure

What Does the Future Hold?

While we can't predict the future, we can make some educated guesses about what the future might hold for Solito, React Native, Expo, and Vercel, given what we know about the current state of Solito and the recent acquisition of Fernando Rojo by Vercel.

A Competitor to Expo?

One question that comes to mind is whether Vercel will work towards creating a competitor to Expo. While it's too early to tell, it's not entirely out of the question. Vercel has been expanding its offering beyond Next.js and static sites, and it's not hard to imagine that it might want to provide a more integrated, frictionless solution for building mobile apps, further bridging the gap between web and mobile development.

However, Expo is a mature and well-established platform, and building a mobile app toolchain from scratch is no trivial task. It would be easier for Vercel to build on top of Expo and partner with them to provide a more integrated solution for building mobile apps with Next.js.

Furthermore, we need to consider Vercel's target audience. Most of Vercel's customers are focused on web development with Next.js, and switching to a mobile-first approach might not be in their best interest. That being said, Vercel has been expanding its offering to cater to a broader audience, and providing a more integrated solution for building mobile apps might be a step in that direction.

A Cross-Platform Framework for Mobile Apps with Next.js?

Imagine a future where you write your entire application in Next.js — using its routing, file structure, and dev tools — and still produce native mobile apps for iOS and Android.

It's unlikely such functionality would be built from scratch. It would likely still rely on React Native + Expo to handle the actual native modules, build processes, and distribution. From the developer’s point of view, however, it would still feel like writing Next.js.

While this idea sounds exciting, it's not likely to happen in the near future. Building a cross-platform framework that allows you to build mobile apps with Next.js only would require a lot of work and coordination between Vercel, Expo, and the React Native community. Furthermore, there are some conceptual differences between Next.js and React Native that would need to be addressed, such as Next.js being primarily SSR-oriented and native mobile apps running on the client.

Vercel Building on Top of Solito?

One of the more likely scenarios is that Vercel will build on top of Solito to provide a more integrated solution for building mobile apps with Next.js. This could involve providing more components, hooks, and patterns for building cross-platform apps, as well as improving the deployment process for React Native applications built on top of Solito.

A potential partnership between Vercel and Expo, or at least some kind of closer integration, could also be in the cards in this scenario. While Expo already provides a robust infrastructure for building mobile apps, Vercel could provide complementary services or features that make it easier to build mobile apps on top of Solito.

Conclusion

Some news regarding Vercel and mobile development is very likely on the horizon. After all, Guillermo Rauch, the CEO of Vercel, has himself stated that Vercel will keep raising the quality bar of the mobile and web ecosystems.

While it's unlikely we'll see a full-fledged mobile app framework built on top of Next.js or a direct competitor to Expo in the near future, it's not hard to imagine that Vercel will provide more tools and services for building mobile apps with Next.js. Solito is a step in that direction, and it's exciting to see what the future holds for mobile development with Vercel.

This Dot is a consultancy dedicated to guiding companies through their modernization and digital transformation journeys. Specializing in replatforming, modernizing, and launching new initiatives, we stand out by taking true ownership of your engineering projects.

We love helping teams with projects that have missed their deadlines or helping keep your strategic digital initiatives on course. Check out our case studies and our clients that trust us with their engineering.

About the author(s)
  • Author Jan Kaiser

    Jan Kaiser

    Software engineer passionate about everything web-related. Particularly loves Angular, SCSS, TypeScript, soccer and dachshunds

    @honzikec@honzikec

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AI-generated apps from tools like v0, Firebase Studio, or Lovable are convenience highways - fast, smooth, and easy to follow - but they quietly nudge you toward specific tech stacks, backend services, databases, and deployment platforms. It's a smart business model. These tools don't just scaffold your app; they bundle in opinions on hosting, auth providers, and DB layers. The convenience is undeniable, but there's a trade-off in flexibility and long-term maintainability. Engineering leaders must stay alert, like seasoned navigators, ensuring that the allure of speed doesn't lead their teams down the alleyways of vendor lock-in. 7. From 'Buy vs Build' to 'Prompt vs Buy' The classic dilemma used to be _“buy vs build”_ - now it’s becoming “prompt vs buy.” Why pay for a bloated tour bus of a SaaS product, packed with destinations and detours you’ll never take (and priced accordingly), when you can chart a custom route with a few well-crafted prompts and have a lightweight internal tool up and running in days—or even hours? Do you need a simple tool to track customer contacts with a few custom fields and a clean interface? In the past, you might have booked a seat on the nearest SaaS solution - one that gets you close enough to your destination but comes with unnecessary stops and baggage. With AI, you can now skip the crowded bus altogether and build a tailor-made vehicle that drives exactly where you need to go, no more, no less. AI reshapes the travel map of product development. The road to MVPs has become faster, cheaper, and more direct. This shift is already rerouting the internal tooling landscape, steering companies away from bulky, one-size-fits-all platforms toward lean, AI-assembled solutions. And over time, it may change not just _how_ we build, but _where_ we build - with the smoothest highways forming around AI-friendly, modular ecosystems like Node, React, and TypeScript, while older “corporate” expressways like .NET, Java, or even Angular risk becoming the slow scenic routes of enterprise tech. 8. Strategic Implications: Velocity vs Maintainability Every shortcut comes with trade-offs. The fast lane that AI offers boosts productivity but can sometimes encourage shortcuts in architecture and design. Speeding to your destination is great - until you hit the maintenance toll booth further down the road. AI tooling makes it easier to throw together an MVP, but without experienced oversight, the resulting codebases can turn into spaghetti highways. Teams need to implement AI-era best practices: structured code reviews, prompt hygiene, and deliberate stack choices that prioritize long-term maintainability over short-term convenience. Failing to do so can lead to a "quick and dirty" mentality, where the focus is on getting things done fast rather than building robust, maintainable solutions, which is particularly concerning for companies that rely on in-house developers or junior teams who may not have the experience to recognize potential pitfalls in AI-generated code. 9. Closing Reflection: Are We Still Choosing Our Stacks? So, where are we heading? Looking at the current "traffic" on the modern software development pathways, one thing becomes clear: AI isn't just a productivity tool - the roads themselves are starting to shape the journey. What was once a deliberate process of choosing the right vehicle for the right terrain - picking our stacks based on product goals, team expertise, and long-term maintainability - now feels more like following GPS directions that constantly recalculate to the path of least resistance. AI is repaving the main routes, widening the lanes for certain tech stacks, and putting up "scenic route" signs for some frameworks while leaving others on neglected backroads. This doesn't mean we've lost control of the steering wheel, but it does mean that the map is changing beneath us in ways that are easy to overlook. The risk is clear: we may find ourselves taking the smoothest on-ramps without ever asking if they lead to where we actually want to go. Convenience can quietly take priority over appropriateness. Productivity gains in the short term can pave over technical debt potholes that become unavoidable down the road. But the story isn't entirely one of caution. There's a powerful opportunity here too. With AI as a co-pilot, we can explore more destinations than ever before - venturing into unfamiliar tech stacks, accelerating MVP development, or rapidly prototyping ideas that previously seemed out of reach. The key is to remain intentional about when to cruise with AI autopilot and when to take the wheel with both hands and steer purposefully. In this new era of AI-shaped development, the question every engineering team should be asking is not just "how fast can we go?" but "are we on the right road?" and "who's really choosing our route?" And let’s not forget — some of these roads are still being built. Open-source maintainers and framework authors play a pivotal role in shaping which paths become highways. By designing AI-friendly architectures, providing structured, machine-readable documentation, and baking in patterns that are easy for AI models to learn and suggest, they can guide where AI directs traffic. Frameworks that proactively optimize for AI tooling aren’t just improving developer experience — they’re shaping the very flow of adoption in this AI-accelerated landscape. If we're not mindful, we risk becoming passengers on a journey defined by default choices. However, if we remain vigilant, we can utilize AI to create more accurate maps, not just follow the fastest roads, but also chart new ones. Because while the routes may be getting redrawn, the destination should always be ours to choose. In the end, the real competitive advantage will belong to those who can harness AI's speed while keeping their hands firmly on the wheel - navigating not by ease, but by purpose. In this new era, the most valuable skill may not be prompt engineering - it might be strategic discernment....

Aug 7, 2025

11 mins

AIArtificial IntelligenceArchitecture
Understanding Sourcemaps: From Development to Production cover image

Understanding Sourcemaps: From Development to Production

What Are Sourcemaps? Modern web development involves transforming your source code before deploying it. We minify JavaScript to reduce file sizes, bundle multiple files together, transpile TypeScript to JavaScript, and convert modern syntax into browser-compatible code. These optimizations are essential for performance, but they create a significant problem: the code running in production does not look like the original code you wrote. Here's a simple example. Your original code might look like this: ` After minification, it becomes something like this: ` Now imagine trying to debug an error in that minified code. Which line threw the exception? What was the value of variable d? This is where sourcemaps come in. A sourcemap is a JSON file that contains a mapping between your transformed code and your original source files. When you open browser DevTools, the browser reads these mappings and reconstructs your original code, allowing you to debug with variable names, comments, and proper formatting intact. How Sourcemaps Work When you build your application with tools like Webpack, Vite, or Rollup, they can generate sourcemap files alongside your production bundles. A minified file references its sourcemap using a special comment at the end: ` The sourcemap file itself contains a JSON structure with several key fields: ` The mappings field uses an encoding format called VLQ (Variable Length Quantity) to map each position in the minified code back to its original location. The browser's DevTools use this information to show you the original code while you're debugging. Types of Sourcemaps Build tools support several variations of sourcemaps, each with different trade-offs: Inline sourcemaps: The entire mapping is embedded directly in your JavaScript file as a base64 encoded data URL. This increases file size significantly but simplifies deployment during development. ` External sourcemaps: A separate .map file that's referenced by the JavaScript bundle. This is the most common approach, as it keeps your production bundles lean since sourcemaps are only downloaded when DevTools is open. Hidden sourcemaps: External sourcemap files without any reference in the JavaScript bundle. These are useful when you want sourcemaps available for error tracking services like Sentry, but don't want to expose them to end users. Why Sourcemaps During development, sourcemaps are absolutely critical. They will help avoid having to guess where errors occur, making debugging much easier. Most modern build tools enable sourcemaps by default in development mode. Sourcemaps in Production Should you ship sourcemaps to production? It depends. While security by making your code more difficult to read is not real security, there's a legitimate argument that exposing your source code makes it easier for attackers to understand your application's internals. Sourcemaps can reveal internal API endpoints and routing logic, business logic, and algorithmic implementations, code comments that might contain developer notes or TODO items. Anyone with basic developer tools can reconstruct your entire codebase when sourcemaps are publicly accessible. While the Apple leak contained no credentials or secrets, it did expose their component architecture and implementation patterns. Additionally, code comments can inadvertently contain internal URLs, developer names, or company-specific information that could potentially be exploited by attackers. But that’s not all of it. On the other hand, services like Sentry can provide much more actionable error reports when they have access to sourcemaps. So you can understand exactly where errors happened. If a customer reports an issue, being able to see the actual error with proper context makes diagnosis significantly faster. If your security depends on keeping your frontend code secret, you have bigger problems. Any determined attacker can reverse engineer minified JavaScript. It just takes more time. Sourcemaps are only downloaded when DevTools is open, so shipping them to production doesn't affect load times or performance for end users. How to manage sourcemaps in production You don't have to choose between no sourcemaps and publicly accessible ones. For example, you can restrict access to sourcemaps with server configuration. You can make .map accessible from specific IP addresses. Additionally, tools like Sentry allow you to upload sourcemaps during your build process without making them publicly accessible. Then configure your build to generate sourcemaps without the reference comment, or use hidden sourcemaps. Sentry gets the mapping information it needs, but end users can't access the files. Learning from Apple's Incident Apple's sourcemap incident is a valuable reminder that even the largest tech companies can make deployment oversights. But it also highlights something important: the presence of sourcemaps wasn't actually a security vulnerability. This can be achieved by following good security practices. Never include sensitive data in client code. Developers got an interesting look at how Apple structures its Svelte codebase. The lesson is that you must be intentional about your deployment configuration. If you're going to include sourcemaps in production, make that decision deliberately after considering the trade-offs. And if you decide against using public sourcemaps, verify that your build process actually removes them. In this case, the public repo was quickly removed after Apple filed a DMCA takedown. (https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2025/11/2025-11-05-apple.md) Making the Right Choice So what should you do with sourcemaps in your projects? For development: Always enable them. Use fast options, such as eval-source-map in Webpack or the default configuration in Vite. The debugging benefits far outweigh any downsides. For production: Consider your specific situation. But most importantly, make sure your sourcemaps don't accidentally expose secrets. Review your build output, check for hardcoded credentials, and ensure sensitive configurations stay on the backend where they belong. Conclusion Sourcemaps are powerful development tools that bridge the gap between the optimized code your users download and the readable code you write. They're essential for debugging and make error tracking more effective. The question of whether to include them in production doesn't have a unique answer. Whatever you decide, make it a deliberate choice. Review your build configuration. Verify that sourcemaps are handled the way you expect. And remember that proper frontend security doesn't come from hiding your code. Useful Resources * Source map specification - https://tc39.es/ecma426/ * What are sourcemaps - https://web.dev/articles/source-maps * VLQ implementation - https://github.com/Rich-Harris/vlq * Sentry sourcemaps - https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/javascript/sourcemaps/ * Apple DMCA takedown - https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2025/11/2025-11-05-apple.md...

Nov 21, 2025

5 mins

JavaScript

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