●DEADLINE — From August 31, every new app and app update on Google Play must target Android 16 (API level 36). Eight days to go●EXTENSION — Eligible developers can request an extension through November 1 via a form in Play Console, but the request itself has to be filed before the deadline●EXISTING — Even apps you leave alone need at least API level 35 to stay discoverable to new users on recent Android devices. Standing still quietly cuts off new installs●EXPO — Expo SDK 57 moves React Native from 0.85 to 0.86 as a small, one-command upgrade with no breaking changes. React stays at 19.2, same as SDK 56●MEMORY — expo@57.0.9 bumps React Native to 0.86.2 and clears the Hermes V1 memory regression that inflated usage in apps importing reanimated or worklets●PREBUILD — expo prebuild now clears and regenerates the native directories by default, which collides easily with hand-edited config from your API 36 migration●DEADLINE — From August 31, every new app and app update on Google Play must target Android 16 (API level 36). Eight days to go●EXTENSION — Eligible developers can request an extension through November 1 via a form in Play Console, but the request itself has to be filed before the deadline●EXISTING — Even apps you leave alone need at least API level 35 to stay discoverable to new users on recent Android devices. Standing still quietly cuts off new installs●EXPO — Expo SDK 57 moves React Native from 0.85 to 0.86 as a small, one-command upgrade with no breaking changes. React stays at 19.2, same as SDK 56●MEMORY — expo@57.0.9 bumps React Native to 0.86.2 and clears the Hermes V1 memory regression that inflated usage in apps importing reanimated or worklets●PREBUILD — expo prebuild now clears and regenerates the native directories by default, which collides easily with hand-edited config from your API 36 migration

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Android 16¹ Expo¹ React Native¹ config plugin¹

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Predictive back on Android 16: what to fix before August 31, and what can wait

Targeting API 36 turns predictive back on by default and stops onBackPressed from firing. Here is how I split the work that the deadline actually requires from the work that does not, and how I kept the opt-out from disappearing on the next prebuild.