6 reasons to use EAS Update

EAS Update is a flexible and powerful tool for seamlessly delivering live app updates, urgent bug fixes, content changes, beta features, and more to give your users the best experience possible.

The ability to quickly ship fixes for urgent bugs has obvious benefits for end users, but the impact of EAS Update on developer experience is more far reaching than that. Many users ship changes to their test apps with EAS Update to give employees a chance to QA before the changes get pushed to production apps, which speeds up iteration cycles and improves app quality.

It’s difficult to narrow down the value of EAS Update because it’s used differently by different teams. So we’ve put together a short list of six different important (and sometimes overlooked) values of the tool.

EAS Update offers a dashboard accessible through a web browser that streamlines the management of app updates for developers. Developers can effortlessly track the status of updates as they are deployed, rather than dealing with complex text commands or waiting for feedback without visuals.

For instance, when an update is released to fix a bug, developers can immediately observe its progress and distribution to users. They have the ability to intervene if issues arise. This provides an exceptional level of control and real-time management directly through the website's user interface.

EAS Update offers a republish command that acts like an efficient safety feature for app maintenance. If an update isn't performing as expected, developers can republish a previous, stable version on top of the problematic one, much like a new "commit" in version control systems.

This process is straightforward — if an issue arises with the latest update, with a few clicks, developers can select a reliable past release and republish it, effectively overwriting the troublesome update. This ensures that user experience remains consistent, as the app is restored to a well-functioning state with minimal disruption.

EAS Update comes with a handy tool for developers called rollouts. This feature lets users send out a new update to just a few people at first, rather than everyone at once. Developers can choose to give only some users the new update, watch how it does, and make sure there aren't any big problems. If everything looks good, they can then share the update with everyone else.

This allows users to test new features without risking the whole app's stability. If there are issues with a new feature the impact is contained because most users keep having a smooth experience while the kinks get ironed out.

EAS Update provides an enhanced experience for developers when debugging their apps, thanks to a smooth integration with Sentry. This integration, now part of the @sentry/react-native package from SDK 50, automates the tracking of code versions with Sentry's Debug ID system—all behind the scenes.

Developers don't need to concern themselves with the intricacies of Debug IDs; they are handled automatically, ensuring that every app crash is easily traceable to the specific update responsible. This means that when an error occurs, developers can quickly see which update caused it. By automatically connecting crashes to their respective updates, this tool simplifies the debugging process, saving time and effort, and allowing developers to focus on creating a more robust and reliable app for their users.

EAS Update has an improved JavaScript API that enhances the app update process, including a React hook called useUpdates(). This hook provides developers with detailed information about the currently running app bundle and any new updates that are available or have been downloaded. It is linked to a native state machine, ensuring it reflects the most current state of the system at all times. The useUpdates() hook can be utilized from any component within the application and keeps track of when the device last queried the update server.

Furthermore, developers can use existing asynchronous methods such as checkForUpdateAsync() and fetchUpdateAsync() more effectively—the state updates automatically once these methods conclude their operations. And the hook is designed to surface any errors encountered during the update process, from initialization to download, allowing developers to address issues promptly. This all contributes to a more streamlined, reliable, and efficient update management experience in applications leveraging EAS Update.

EAS Update includes a free tier that caters to the needs of both new and expanding applications by allowing up to 1,000 users every month to receive updates without any charges. This feature is particularly beneficial for smaller projects or companies at the start of their growth journey, offering them the tools for app updates without the pressure of upfront costs.

When an app's user base grows beyond this complimentary service, EAS Update remains cost-effective and prices go down as you scale up MAUs. Our pricing structure helps developers keep their apps up-to-date and continue to improve user experience, all while keeping expenses low.

These six examples of EAS Update capabilities represent a small snapshot of how existing Expo customers are using the tool today. When we meet with customers we’re often pleasantly surprised to hear about the new and unexpected ways they’re improving developer experience with the service. In the coming year, we plan to automate bundle compatibility across different app builds and ensure a seamless delivery process through our @expo/fingerprint API. This will streamline update workflows and provide even smoother integrations for our users' projects.

It bears mentioning that EAS Update is intended to fit with EAS Build and EAS Submit to form an efficient app delivery and maintenance experience that allows developers to focus on building features and delighting users. You can learn more about those services here and please don’t hesitate to reach out to ask questions in our Discord.