React has changed a lot in the last year: React 19, 19.1 and now 19.2 brought a stable React Compiler, new hooks like useEffectEvent, the <Activity /> API, and better SSR primitives such as Partial Pre-rendering. And more

In this talk we’ll take a demo React app that’s full of effects, memoization and “old school” patterns, and modernize it step by step.

React 18 introduces the React Compiler, a powerful tool for optimizing component rendering and enhancing performance. In this talk, we'll explore how the compiler works, demonstrate practical performance improvements, and show you how to integrate these optimizations into your projects. Whether you're working on new or existing applications, you'll leave with actionable insights to harness the full potential of React 18.

React 19.2 just landed, and it’s not just another version bump — it’s a real upgrade for how we build apps. From smoother background updates with Activity, cleaner side effects with useEffectEvent, to smarter server-side handling with cacheSignal, React 19.2 is all about making your code faster, cleaner, and easier to understand.

In this talk, we’ll walk through the new features, what problems they solve, and how you can use them right away in your projects. We’ll also look at Performance Tracks in Chrome DevTools — a new way to actually see how your app performs under the hood.

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced React dev, you’ll walk away knowing how to use these tools to write less buggy code, improve app speed, and enjoy coding with React a little more.

React 19 came out with a lot of new APIs but I still see devs falling back to plain'ol useState and useEffect for everything. Lets explore alternatives.