Beyond Mobile: Building Android Auto and Android TV Applications with React Native

React Native is increasingly adopted for mobile development, but few developers leverage it for other Android platforms. This session explores extending React Native to Android Auto and Android TV, demonstrating techniques that challenge the assumption that these platforms require fully native development. We'll examine the unique technical constraints of non-mobile Android experiences and present a framework that bridges these gaps, enabling React Native developers to build for larger screens and automotive displays without deep platform expertise. The approach supports specialized input methods (voice commands, D-pad navigation) and platform-specific UI requirements while maintaining React Native's development efficiency. Through practical demonstrations, you'll learn how to implement custom native modules that expose Android TV's Leanback APIs and Android Auto's messaging interfaces to JavaScript, create optimized rendering for 4K displays, and manage resources effectively in automotive environments with limited connectivity. By the end of this session, you'll have a toolkit for expanding your React Native skills beyond smartphones to the broader Android ecosystem, opening new opportunities for cross-platform development. This solution is built on the React Native New Architecture and demonstrates performance previously thought impossible on these platforms using JavaScript frameworks.