The OTA Illusion: What No One Tells You About Instant Updates at Scale

One of the greatest advantages the web has over native apps is the ability to ship updates instantly. React Native’s Over-The-Air (OTA) feature promises similar agility—but is it really that simple?

In this talk, I’ll explore the challenges, pitfalls, and successes involved in creating a robust OTA solution from scratch. Drawing on our experience at Klarna—where we serve tens of millions of users—I’ll show you the essential architecture, tooling, and strategies needed to reliably deliver updates outside the native release cycle. If you are considering implementing OTA in your project—even with ready-made solutions like CodePush or Expo over-the-air updates—you’ll benefit from this talk by gaining a deeper understanding of the hidden complexities behind such tools.