Expo Audio: What Does Daily React Native Player Offer?

Updated 4 November 2026 · Standard formula, shown below

Expo Audio’s Daily React Native player offers a pre-built, cross-platform audio playback component that integrates Daily’s real-time audio features into Expo apps, providing features like call controls, participant management, and customizable UI, all without requiring native code. It is designed for developers using Expo who need to add voice calls or audio conferencing to their React Native applications.

Background and Purpose

Daily is a cloud-based platform that provides real-time video and audio APIs. For React Native developers, Daily offers a dedicated library, @daily-co/react-native-daily-js, which wraps their core SDK. Expo is a popular framework for building React Native apps, but it abstracts away some native modules for simplicity. The Daily React Native player is an Expo-compatible component that bridges this gap, allowing developers to use Daily’s audio features within the Expo managed workflow without ejecting or writing custom native code.

The player is particularly useful for apps that need voice calls, audio rooms, or live audio streaming. It handles the complexities of WebRTC, such as connection management and audio routing, behind a simple React component. This means developers can focus on the user interface and app logic rather than the underlying audio infrastructure.

Key Features of the Player

The Daily React Native player offers a range of features designed to simplify audio integration:

Pre-built UI components: It includes a default call interface with mute/unmute, speaker toggle, and leave buttons, which can be customized to match your app’s design.
Participant management: The player displays a list of participants, their audio status (muted or speaking), and allows you to manage them programmatically.
Connection handling: It manages the WebRTC connection lifecycle, including joining and leaving calls, reconnection, and error handling.
Expo compatibility: The player is designed to work with Expo’s managed workflow, using only Expo-compatible modules and APIs.
Customization options: You can pass props to control the UI, such as showParticipants, showLeaveButton, and showMuteButton, and you can also build your own UI using the underlying hooks and methods.

How It Works

The player integrates with Daily’s prebuilt UI and the underlying WebRTC engine. When you render the DailyAudio component (or similar), it initializes a Daily call object, connects to the room, and manages audio streams. The component uses Expo’s expo-av or similar modules to handle audio output, ensuring it works on both iOS and Android.

To use it, you install the package, obtain an API key and room URL from Daily, and then render the component with the room URL as a prop. The player handles the rest, including permissions for microphone access. Under the hood, it uses Daily’s useDaily and useDailyEvent hooks to manage the call state and events, which you can also use to build custom UI if needed.

How to Choose the Right Setup

When deciding whether to use the Daily React Native player, consider the following:

Project type: If you are using Expo managed workflow and want to avoid native code, the player is the easiest path. If you are using Expo bare workflow or React Native CLI, you might have more flexibility with the core SDK directly.
Customization needs: The player offers moderate customization. If you need a highly custom UI (e.g., a full-screen call screen with custom layouts), you may prefer to build your own using Daily’s hooks and methods, which the player also exposes.
Audio-only vs. video: The player is optimized for audio, but it can also handle video if you enable it. For video-heavy apps, consider the full Daily React Native SDK, which includes video components.
Maintenance: Using the player means you rely on Daily’s updates for bug fixes and new features. If you need to control every aspect, building your own with the core SDK gives you more control but requires more maintenance.

Common Problems and Solutions

Developers often encounter a few common issues when using the Daily React Native player:

Microphone permissions not granted: Ensure you have added the appropriate permissions to your app.json (iOS: NSMicrophoneUsageDescription; Android: RECORD_AUDIO). The player will request permission on join, but if denied, the call will not have audio.
Audio not playing on Android: Android sometimes requires specific audio focus handling. The player usually handles this, but if you have other audio players in your app, you may need to manage audio focus manually.
Connection drops: Network issues can cause disconnections. The player has automatic reconnection logic, but you can also listen to network-quality-change events to inform the user.
UI not updating: If you are using custom UI, ensure you are using the hooks correctly (e.g., useParticipant) and that your component re-renders on state changes.

Comparison with Alternatives

There are other ways to add audio calls to an Expo app:

Daily core SDK: More control, but requires native modules and is not Expo-managed compatible without config plugins.
Other WebRTC libraries: Libraries like react-native-webrtc are lower-level and require you to build the entire call logic yourself.
Third-party call APIs: Services like Twilio or Agora offer React Native SDKs, but they may have different pricing, features, and Expo compatibility. Daily’s player is unique in that it is specifically designed for Expo.

The main advantage of the Daily player is its simplicity and Expo compatibility. The trade-off is less flexibility compared to a full SDK.

Cost and Pricing Considerations

Daily offers a free tier that includes a limited number of monthly meeting minutes, which is suitable for testing and small projects. Paid plans are based on usage (minutes) and features like recording or live streaming. The player itself is free to use; you only pay for Daily’s service. For detailed pricing, you should check Daily’s website, as it can change.

Safety and Privacy

When implementing audio calls, consider privacy and security:

Encryption: Daily encrypts audio in transit by default, which is standard for WebRTC.
Permissions: Only request microphone access when needed, and explain why in your app’s permission prompt.
Data handling: Be transparent with users about how their audio data is used. Daily does not store audio unless you enable recording, and then you are responsible for compliance.
Child safety: If your app is aimed at children, ensure you have appropriate parental consent mechanisms and comply with COPPA or GDPR-K.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Daily React Native player work with Expo Go?

No, the player requires native modules that are not included in Expo Go. You need to use a development build (via expo-dev-client) or a standalone build to use the player.

Can I use the player for video calls too?

Yes, the player supports video if you enable it, but it is optimized for audio. For a full video experience, you may need to add additional components from the Daily SDK.

How do I customize the player’s UI?

You can pass props to the player to show or hide elements, or you can build your own UI using the underlying hooks like useDaily and useParticipant. The player’s UI is built with React Native components, so you can override styles.

What if I need to run multiple audio rooms simultaneously?

The player is designed for a single call at a time. For multiple simultaneous calls, you would need to manage multiple Daily call objects manually, which is possible but complex.

Is the player free to use?

The player component itself is free, but you need a Daily account, which has a free tier with limited minutes. Beyond that, you pay for usage.

Can I use the player with TypeScript?

Yes, the Daily React Native SDK includes TypeScript definitions, and the player is fully typed, making it easy to use in a TypeScript project.

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