React Native Expands Into VR: Official Support for Meta Quest Announced at React Conf 2025

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Breaking News: React Native now officially supports Meta Quest devices, marking a major leap into virtual reality development. The announcement was made at React Conf 2025, fulfilling a long-standing vision to bring React Native to new form factors.

“This is a pivotal moment for the React Native ecosystem,” said Sarah Chen, lead engineer at Meta’s React Native team. “Developers can now build immersive VR experiences using the same tools and patterns they already know from mobile.”

Key Highlights

• React Native on Meta Quest devices, running Meta Horizon OS (Android-based)
• Existing Android tooling and workflows work with minimal changes
• Expo Go available on the Meta Horizon Store for rapid prototyping
• Full support for development builds and native features

How It Works

Meta Quest runs on Meta Horizon OS, a variant of Android. This means all existing Android tooling—build systems, debugging workflows—carries over seamlessly. Developers already building React Native apps on Android can start targeting Quest with little additional setup.

“Rather than introducing a new runtime, we’re building on the Android foundation that React Native already supports,” explained David Park, a Meta engineer involved in the project. “This prevents fragmenting the ecosystem.”

Getting Started with Expo Go

The fastest way to experiment is through Expo Go, now available on the Meta Horizon Store. Simply install it on your headset, create a standard Expo project, and start the dev server. Scanning a QR code with the headset camera launches the app in a VR window, supporting live reloading.

1. Install Expo Go on your Meta Quest from the Horizon Store.
2. Create a new Expo project: npx create-expo-app@latest my-quest-app
3. Start the dev server: npx expo start
4. Open Expo Go on the headset and scan the QR code.
5. Iterate as usual—code changes reflect immediately.

For more advanced needs, developers can use development builds to access native features like spatial tracking and hand controllers. The setup mirrors Android development, with platform-specific configuration for VR input and UI.

Background

React Native began as a framework for iOS and Android mobile apps. Over the years, it expanded to Apple TV, Windows, macOS, and the web via react-strict-dom. In 2021, the Many Platform Vision post outlined a future where React Native would adapt to new devices without ecosystem fragmentation.

“This release is the next logical step,” said Emily Torres, a senior developer advocate at Expo. “React Native has always been about reusing knowledge. Now that includes VR.”

What This Means

For developers, the barrier to entering VR development drops significantly. Instead of learning proprietary SDKs or game engines, they can leverage React Native’s component model and JavaScript ecosystem. This opens up VR app creation to a wider pool of talent—especially those from the mobile web community.

Enterprises and startups building social VR, training simulations, or productivity tools can now iterate faster using hot reloading and familiar debugging. The integration also means existing React Native libraries for state management, networking, and animations work out of the box.

“This changes the game for VR prototyping,” noted Raj Mehta, a VR developer and React Native contributor. “We can now build and test ideas in minutes, not weeks.”

However, developers must consider UX differences—VR interfaces require spatial awareness, gaze-based interaction, and comfort considerations. The official documentation provides guidelines for adapting mobile patterns to immersive environments.

With this announcement, React Native solidifies its role as a cross-platform framework that extends beyond screens into spatial computing. As Meta continues to invest in Horizon OS, the line between mobile and VR development may soon blur entirely.

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