Devin vs Cursor, AI hype vs. reality, Figma components and auto layout, SSR explainer and more
The Web Dev space has matured faster than ever with the implementation of AI and the adoption of new technologies:
Figma streamlined the design process with AI-powered enhancements for search, filler content, and layer renaming.
Builder.io’s Visual Copilot 2.0 transforms your Figma designs into production-ready code — connect API data, create interactive elements, and sync the results directly with your codebase.
Github Copilot, Cursor, and Windsurf rose in popularity, and we benefitted from exciting features and enhancements that made web dev easier than ever.
OpenAI’s new $200 subscription and Devin’s $500 entry price for premium AI features has us reflecting on their value in our development processes — are they worth it?
AI’s influence is expanding across design and development tools, and it’s clear that we’re only at the start of a significant shift in how (and how fast) the web and its content are created.
From the Builder Blog
A review and comparison between Devin’s $500/mo and Cursor’s $20/mo subscriptions.
Worried AI might steal your job? Here's why AI is actually a skill multiplier for devs.
Confused about server-side rendering? We've put together a straightforward explainer to clear things up.
Figma's Auto Layout can be a bit of a head-scratcher. We break it down in our guide to Figma Auto Layout, no fancy jargon included.
Speaking of Figma, we've also got a deep dive into Figma components. It's a bit like understanding how LEGO works, but for UI design.
Check out how we used Visual Copilot to build a dashboard and a dropdown. Going from Figma designs to interactive code has never been easier.
Think AI companies are overselling AGI? You're onto something. We break down the hype vs. reality of AI progress and what it actually means for developers.
Want to build your own AI tools? We share our approach to creating reliable, fast AI systems, including how we built Visual Copilot 2.0.
Interesting tidbits
Raymond Camden's got a cool guide on using Transformers.js for AI in the browser, showing how to build apps with on-device AI for tasks like sentiment analysis and image object detection — no server required!
Jacob Paris simplifies the essentials of TypeScript for React, focusing on practical tips that minimize complexity while improving maintainability.
Jacob Groß's got some neat tricks to improve Interaction-to-Next-Paint in React.
Dominik revisits callback refs in React, discussing improvements in React 19, the impact of the React Compiler, and when to use ref callbacks vs. useEffect .
Alex Anderson talks about sharing types and code between server and client.
Addy Osmani drops some truth bombs about AI assisted coding exposing the paradox of AI tools: they speed up coding for experienced developers but leave beginners struggling with hard-to-maintain systems.
Geoff Graham reminds us that alt text isn't always needed and explores when it’s appropriate to skip alt text, emphasizing that screen-reader users often care more about an image’s purpose than its description.
Chrome's got a 2024 CSS wrap-up.
Ahmad Shadeed dives into the wonderful world of overflow: clip.
Tools, libs, utils
React 19 is now stable, introducing Actions for async transitions and improved form management, new hooks (useActionState, useOptimistic, useFormStatus), static DOM APIs, built-in metadata and stylesheet support, the “use” API for rendering resources and more.
Angular 19 is here, delivering incremental hydration, route-level render modes, default event replay, stable reactive primitives, improved theming, two-dimensional drag & drop, a long-requested time picker, and more for a smoother, faster developer experience.
React Router v7 merges the best of Remix back into the core Router, offering framework mode with server rendering, improved type safety, route enhancements, pre-rendering, and new app templates to smoothly bridge the gap between React 18 and 19.
Vite 6 introduces a powerful new Environment API, expanded ecosystem support, improved Node.js compatibility, and flexible asset handling — further enhancing performance, developer experience, and integration for modern web development.
Astro 5.0 arrives with a new Content Layer for unified content sourcing, Server Islands for dynamic and personalized content, simplified prerendering, type-safe environment variables, built-in Vite 6, and experimental responsive images and SVG components.
Expo SDK 52 ships with React Native’s new architecture enabled by default for new projects, React Native 0.76 support, stable expo-video, updated platform targets, and a host of performance, tooling, and library enhancements.
And that’s a wrap for this year! Hope 2024 treated you well and 2025 shapes up to be even better. Thanks for sticking around — happy holidays and see you in the new year!