While Navigator API was supposed to be a quick way to get React Native ready for the world, it is still one of the its most addressed "product pains" today.

The good news is, a lot work was put from the community and the team to improve the Navigator API and put it in parity with the React Native's DX and paradigms.

You should rejoice knowing that forces have joined into a new set of APIs and Components gathered under the "Navigation Experimental" umbrella.

• Redux-style navigation logic is easy to reason about
• Navigation state can be easily saved and restored through refreshes
• Declarative navigation views can be implemented in native or JS
• Animations and gestures are isolated and now use the Animated library

If you're not a big fan of breaking changes, you should note that Navigation Experimental is still a moving target, but with the help of Nader Dabit great article about it, you could start grasping its benefits.

First look: React Native Navigator Experimental blog post on Medium

Example using Navigator Experimental with Components on GitHub

When you're ready to dig deeper you could have a look at the official NavigationExperimental UIExplorer Examples on GitHub.

Interested in managing your navigation state into Redux? Check Joshua Lyman's

RN-NavigationExperimental-Redux-Example on GitHub

and another great article by Philip Nuzhnyi:

React Native Experimental Navigation with Redux