--- title: The next generation of Expo APIs: MediaLibrary and Contacts description: Expo SDK 55 introduces next-generation versions of the MediaLibrary and Contacts libraries, available as `expo-media-library/next` and `expo-contacts/next`.... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/the-next-generation-of-expo-apis-medialibrary-and-contacts-zkwfr1bab twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: The next generation of Expo APIs: MediaLibrary and Contacts | daily.dev og:description: Expo SDK 55 introduces next-generation versions of the MediaLibrary and Contacts libraries, available as `expo-media-library/next` and `expo-contacts/next`.... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/the-next-generation-of-expo-apis-medialibrary-and-contacts-zkwfr1bab og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/zkWfR1Bab.png og:image:alt: The next generation of Expo APIs: MediaLibrary and Contacts og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # The next generation of Expo APIs: MediaLibrary and Contacts **[Expo Blog](https://daily.dev/sources/expo-blog)** · 6 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Expo SDK 55 introduces next-generation versions of the MediaLibrary and Contacts libraries, available as `expo-media-library/next` and `expo-contacts/next`. Both libraries are rebuilt around Shared Objects and Shared Refs, making native data interaction more intuitive and performant. MediaLibrary@Next introduces object-oriented `Asset` and `Album` classes, granular property getters (e.g., `getLocation()`, `getShape()`), and a builder-pattern `Query` class for filtering media. Contacts@Next replaces manual ID-passing with instance methods, adds granular update helpers like `addEmail()` and `setImage()`, and introduces a `patch()` method for partial updates that pairs cleanly with `getDetails()` for efficient field-specific fetching. TypeScript types are narrowed based on requested fields, providing compile-time safety. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [An early look at Expo Modules 2.0 — Expo blog](https://daily.dev/posts/an-early-look-at-expo-modules-2-0-expo-blog-fqyfapxkh) · Expo Blog · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [Making React Native actually native](https://daily.dev/posts/making-react-native-actually-native-bdan1xdzt) · Bytes by ui.dev · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [Crease-Proof Layouts, Brain Rot Without the Black Frames, and Un-Breaking a Non-Breaking Release](https://daily.dev/posts/crease-proof-layouts-brain-rot-without-the-black-frames-and-un-breaking-a-non-breaking-release-mnygz7755) · Medium · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Artsy Mobile 2025 Wrapped](https://daily.dev/posts/artsy-mobile-2025-wrapped-mz1geidqj) · Artsy.net · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Expo Go, Ease, Screen Transitions, LegendList, JSI, Gradle, Radon, Baguette, Rozenite, AI](https://daily.dev/posts/expo-go-ease-screen-transitions-legendlist-jsi-gradle-radon-baguette-rozenite-ai-gf1afzeey) · This Week In React · 28 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#mobile](https://daily.dev/tags/mobile), [#typescript](https://daily.dev/tags/typescript), [#react-native](https://daily.dev/tags/react-native) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/the-next-generation-of-expo-apis-medialibrary-and-contacts-zkwfr1bab) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"The next generation of Expo APIs: MediaLibrary and Contacts","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-next-generation-of-expo-apis-medialibrary-and-contacts-zkwfr1bab","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-next-generation-of-expo-apis-medialibrary-and-contacts-zkwfr1bab"},"datePublished":"2026-03-22T11:31:07.317Z","dateModified":"2026-03-22T11:37:07.856Z","description":"Expo SDK 55 introduces next-generation versions of the MediaLibrary and Contacts libraries, available as `expo-media-library/next` and `expo-contacts/next`....","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/03ed527d9a1c85f984ee46d61f345842?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/03ed527d9a1c85f984ee46d61f345842?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Expo Blog","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Expo Blog","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--E7LK6L3y--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774179051/logos/expo-blog?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/expo-blog"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-next-generation-of-expo-apis-medialibrary-and-contacts-zkwfr1bab","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"mobile,typescript,react-native","timeRequired":"PT6M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Expo Blog","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/expo-blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The next generation of Expo APIs: MediaLibrary and Contacts"}]} ```