I tried to live an entire day inside apps built with Expo. Here's where it broke.
There are thousands of apps on the App Store and Google Play running on Expo 's open source tooling. That's a big number, but it doesn't tell you much. What I actually wanted to know: do those apps cover a full day, start to finish, without me reaching for anything else on my phone? So I ran the experiment. One day, Expo apps only. By breakfast I'd paid a celebrity to record a video. By lunch I…
On a single day, I attempted to navigate life using only apps built with Expo, a popular open-source tooling platform. The experiment aimed to determine if these apps could support a full day of activities, from morning to bedtime.
The day began with Rise, a sleep tracker that predicted energy spikes and optimal wind-down times. Next, Espresso from The Economist provided quick news updates, demonstrating Expo's capability in handling content-heavy apps. WeatherWise, an air quality index app, offered forecast and live radar data, while AirNow, from the US EPA, displayed current air quality and weekly outlooks.
For dinner ideas, I turned to Delish, which offered hand-picked recipes with video steps. However, the messaging gap was significant, as there was no Expo-built messaging app to communicate with my wife. I resorted to using Cameo, an app that allows users to pay celebrities to record personalized videos.
Navigating around town was facilitated by Tesla's navigation and car controls, Tommy's Express for drive-through car washes, and Replit for coding with a built-in agent. Mercari, a second-hand marketplace, helped me find unique items for sale.
In the evening, Runna personalized a running plan for an upcoming race, Rover connected me with a pet sitter, and Once Upon transformed my photos into a printed photo book. Lastly, the Book of the Month Club app simplified book choices by narrowing options down to a shortlist.
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