diff --git a/.github/workflows/enforce-pr-labels.yml b/.github/workflows/enforce-pr-labels.yml
index 211458ce1e979f..1909bf66da216f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/enforce-pr-labels.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/enforce-pr-labels.yml
@@ -1,18 +1,18 @@
 name: Enforce labels on Pull Request
 on:
-  pull_request_target:
-    types: [opened, labeled, unlabeled, synchronize]
+    pull_request_target:
+        types: [opened, labeled, unlabeled, synchronize]
 jobs:
-  type-related-labels:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    permissions:
-      pull-requests: write
-    steps:
-      - uses: mheap/github-action-required-labels@v5
-        with:
-          mode: exactly
-          count: 1
-          labels: "[Type] Accessibility (a11y), [Type] Automated Testing, [Type] Breaking Change, [Type] Bug, [Type] Build Tooling, [Type] Code Quality, [Type] Copy, [Type] Developer Documentation, [Type] Enhancement, [Type] Experimental, [Type] Feature, [Type] New API, [Type] Task, [Type] Performance, [Type] Project Management, [Type] Regression, [Type] Security, [Type] WP Core Ticket"
-          add_comment: true
-          message: "## ⚠️ Type of PR label error\n To merge this PR, it requires {{ errorString }} {{ count }} label indicating the type of PR. Other labels are optional and not being checked here. \n- **Type-related labels to choose from**: {{ provided }}.\n- **Labels found**: {{ applied }}.\n\nYou can learn more about the Type labels in Gutenberg [here](https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/labels?q=type)"
-          exit_type: failure
+    type-related-labels:
+        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+        permissions:
+            pull-requests: write
+        steps:
+            - uses: mheap/github-action-required-labels@v5
+              with:
+                  mode: exactly
+                  count: 1
+                  labels: '[Type] Accessibility (a11y), [Type] Automated Testing, [Type] Breaking Change, [Type] Bug, [Type] Build Tooling, [Type] Code Quality, [Type] Copy, [Type] Developer Documentation, [Type] Enhancement, [Type] Experimental, [Type] Feature, [Type] New API, [Type] Task, [Type] Performance, [Type] Project Management, [Type] Regression, [Type] Security, [Type] WP Core Ticket'
+                  add_comment: true
+                  message: "## ⚠️ Type of PR label error\n To merge this PR, it requires {{ errorString }} {{ count }} label indicating the type of PR. Other labels are optional and not being checked here. \n- **Type-related labels to choose from**: {{ provided }}.\n- **Labels found**: {{ applied }}.\n\nYou can learn more about the Type labels in Gutenberg [here](https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/labels?q=type)"
+                  exit_type: failure
diff --git a/.github/workflows/rnmobile-android-runner.yml b/.github/workflows/rnmobile-android-runner.yml
index 8b086a30566448..7b0244b0ec5059 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/rnmobile-android-runner.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/rnmobile-android-runner.yml
@@ -28,8 +28,8 @@ jobs:
             - name: Use desired version of Java
               uses: actions/setup-java@cd89f46ac9d01407894225f350157564c9c7cee2 # v3.12.0
               with:
-                  distribution: 'temurin'
-                  java-version: '11'
+                  distribution: 'corretto'
+                  java-version: '17'
 
             - name: Setup Node.js and install dependencies
               uses: ./.github/setup-node
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index c4da75a973bd5b..4cf9a362b07da9 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -8649,6 +8649,11 @@
 			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@react-native/assets/-/assets-1.0.0.tgz",
 			"integrity": "sha512-KrwSpS1tKI70wuKl68DwJZYEvXktDHdZMG0k2AXD/rJVSlB23/X2CB2cutVR0HwNMJIal9HOUOBB2rVfa6UGtQ=="
 		},
+		"@react-native/gradle-plugin": {
+			"version": "0.72.11",
+			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@react-native/gradle-plugin/-/gradle-plugin-0.72.11.tgz",
+			"integrity": "sha512-P9iRnxiR2w7EHcZ0mJ+fmbPzMby77ZzV6y9sJI3lVLJzF7TLSdbwcQyD3lwMsiL+q5lKUHoZJS4sYmih+P2HXw=="
+		},
 		"@react-native/normalize-color": {
 			"version": "2.0.0",
 			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@react-native/normalize-color/-/normalize-color-2.0.0.tgz",
@@ -18368,6 +18373,7 @@
 				"@react-native-community/blur": "4.2.0",
 				"@react-native-community/slider": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wordpress-mobile/react-native-slider/v3.0.2-wp-4/react-native-community-slider-3.0.2-wp-4.tgz",
 				"@react-native-masked-view/masked-view": "0.2.9",
+				"@react-native/gradle-plugin": "0.72.11",
 				"@react-navigation/core": "5.12.0",
 				"@react-navigation/native": "6.0.14",
 				"@react-navigation/routers": "5.4.9",
diff --git a/packages/react-native-aztec/android/.java-version b/packages/react-native-aztec/android/.java-version
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..03b6389f32ad57
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/react-native-aztec/android/.java-version
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+17.0
diff --git a/packages/react-native-aztec/android/build.gradle b/packages/react-native-aztec/android/build.gradle
index 5e7d12279cf710..71cb631a6cbf6d 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-aztec/android/build.gradle
+++ b/packages/react-native-aztec/android/build.gradle
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 buildscript {
     ext {
+        // node modules
         supportLibVersion = '29.0.2'
         tagSoupVersion = '1.2.1'
         glideVersion = '3.7.0'
@@ -7,9 +8,21 @@ buildscript {
         robolectricVersion = '3.5.1'
         jUnitVersion = '4.12'
         jSoupVersion = '1.10.3'
-        wordpressUtilsVersion = '3.3.0'
         espressoVersion = '3.0.1'
+
+        // libs
         aztecVersion = 'v1.6.4'
+        wordpressUtilsVersion = '3.3.0'
+
+        // main
+        androidxAppcompatVersion = '1.2.0'
+        androidxCardviewVersion = '1.0.0'
+        androidxGridlayoutVersion = '1.0.0'
+        androidxLegacyVersion = '1.0.0'
+        androidxRecyclerviewVersion = '1.1.0'
+
+        // test
+        junitAztecVersion = '4.13'
     }
 }
 
@@ -34,6 +47,8 @@ List<String> dirs = [
         'template'] // boilerplate code that is generated by the sample template process
 
 android {
+    namespace "org.wordpress.mobile.ReactNativeAztec"
+
     compileSdkVersion 33
 
     defaultConfig {
@@ -59,7 +74,7 @@ android {
         androidTest.java.srcDirs = ['tests/src']
     }
 
-    lintOptions {
+    lint {
         disable 'GradleCompatible'
         abortOnError false
     }
@@ -85,12 +100,13 @@ dependencies {
     api "org.wordpress.aztec:glide-loader:$aztecVersion"
     implementation "org.wordpress:utils:$wordpressUtilsVersion"
 
-    implementation 'androidx.legacy:legacy-support-v4:1.0.0'
-    implementation 'androidx.gridlayout:gridlayout:1.0.0'
-    implementation 'androidx.cardview:cardview:1.0.0'
-    implementation 'androidx.appcompat:appcompat:1.2.0'
-    implementation 'androidx.recyclerview:recyclerview:1.1.0'
-    testImplementation 'junit:junit:4.13'
+    implementation "androidx.legacy:legacy-support-v4:$androidxLegacyVersion"
+    implementation "androidx.gridlayout:gridlayout:$androidxGridlayoutVersion"
+    implementation "androidx.cardview:cardview:$androidxCardviewVersion"
+    implementation "androidx.appcompat:appcompat:$androidxAppcompatVersion"
+    implementation "androidx.recyclerview:recyclerview:$androidxRecyclerviewVersion"
+
+    testImplementation "junit:junit:$junitAztecVersion"
 
     def rnVersion = readReactNativeVersion('../../../package.json', 'devDependencies')
     println "react-native version for react-native-aztec: $rnVersion"
@@ -105,7 +121,6 @@ project.afterEvaluate {
 
                 groupId 'org.wordpress-mobile.gutenberg-mobile'
                 artifactId 'react-native-aztec'
-                artifact tasks.named("androidSourcesJar")
                 // version is set by 'publish-to-s3' plugin
 
                 addDependenciesToPom(pom)
diff --git a/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradle.properties b/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradle.properties
index ce566007126c27..81529680627fbb 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradle.properties
+++ b/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradle.properties
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
+# Project-wide Gradle settings.
+
 org.gradle.jvmargs=-Xmx2g -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError
+
+# React Native Aztec properties.
+
 android.useAndroidX=true
 android.enableJetifier=false
-shouldPublishBinary=false
 
+# React Native Aztec publishing settings.
+
+shouldPublishBinary=false
diff --git a/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar b/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar
index 249e5832f090a2..033e24c4cdf41a 100644
Binary files a/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar and b/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar differ
diff --git a/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties b/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
index ae04661ee73343..c747538fb38b53 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
+++ b/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 distributionPath=wrapper/dists
-distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-7.5.1-bin.zip
+distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-8.2.1-all.zip
+networkTimeout=10000
+validateDistributionUrl=true
 zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 zipStorePath=wrapper/dists
diff --git a/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradlew b/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradlew
index a69d9cb6c20655..fcb6fca147c0cd 100755
--- a/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradlew
+++ b/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradlew
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@
 #       Darwin, MinGW, and NonStop.
 #
 #   (3) This script is generated from the Groovy template
-#       https://github.com/gradle/gradle/blob/master/subprojects/plugins/src/main/resources/org/gradle/api/internal/plugins/unixStartScript.txt
+#       https://github.com/gradle/gradle/blob/HEAD/subprojects/plugins/src/main/resources/org/gradle/api/internal/plugins/unixStartScript.txt
 #       within the Gradle project.
 #
 #       You can find Gradle at https://github.com/gradle/gradle/.
@@ -80,13 +80,10 @@ do
     esac
 done
 
-APP_HOME=$( cd "${APP_HOME:-./}" && pwd -P ) || exit
-
-APP_NAME="Gradle"
+# This is normally unused
+# shellcheck disable=SC2034
 APP_BASE_NAME=${0##*/}
-
-# Add default JVM options here. You can also use JAVA_OPTS and GRADLE_OPTS to pass JVM options to this script.
-DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS='"-Xmx64m" "-Xms64m"'
+APP_HOME=$( cd "${APP_HOME:-./}" && pwd -P ) || exit
 
 # Use the maximum available, or set MAX_FD != -1 to use that value.
 MAX_FD=maximum
@@ -133,22 +130,29 @@ location of your Java installation."
     fi
 else
     JAVACMD=java
-    which java >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH.
+    if ! command -v java >/dev/null 2>&1
+    then
+        die "ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH.
 
 Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the
 location of your Java installation."
+    fi
 fi
 
 # Increase the maximum file descriptors if we can.
 if ! "$cygwin" && ! "$darwin" && ! "$nonstop" ; then
     case $MAX_FD in #(
       max*)
+        # In POSIX sh, ulimit -H is undefined. That's why the result is checked to see if it worked.
+        # shellcheck disable=SC3045
         MAX_FD=$( ulimit -H -n ) ||
             warn "Could not query maximum file descriptor limit"
     esac
     case $MAX_FD in  #(
       '' | soft) :;; #(
       *)
+        # In POSIX sh, ulimit -n is undefined. That's why the result is checked to see if it worked.
+        # shellcheck disable=SC3045
         ulimit -n "$MAX_FD" ||
             warn "Could not set maximum file descriptor limit to $MAX_FD"
     esac
@@ -193,6 +197,10 @@ if "$cygwin" || "$msys" ; then
     done
 fi
 
+
+# Add default JVM options here. You can also use JAVA_OPTS and GRADLE_OPTS to pass JVM options to this script.
+DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS='"-Xmx64m" "-Xms64m"'
+
 # Collect all arguments for the java command;
 #   * $DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS, $JAVA_OPTS, and $GRADLE_OPTS can contain fragments of
 #     shell script including quotes and variable substitutions, so put them in
diff --git a/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradlew.bat b/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradlew.bat
index 53a6b238d414d9..6689b85beecde6 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradlew.bat
+++ b/packages/react-native-aztec/android/gradlew.bat
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ if "%OS%"=="Windows_NT" setlocal
 
 set DIRNAME=%~dp0
 if "%DIRNAME%"=="" set DIRNAME=.
+@rem This is normally unused
 set APP_BASE_NAME=%~n0
 set APP_HOME=%DIRNAME%
 
diff --git a/packages/react-native-aztec/android/settings.gradle b/packages/react-native-aztec/android/settings.gradle
index 365441bced0ebf..11cf7c1990544b 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-aztec/android/settings.gradle
+++ b/packages/react-native-aztec/android/settings.gradle
@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
 pluginManagement {
     gradle.ext.kotlinVersion = '1.6.10'
+    gradle.ext.agpVersion = '8.1.0'
+    gradle.ext.automatticPublishToS3Version = '0.8.0'
 
     plugins {
-        id "com.android.library" version "7.2.1"
+        id "com.android.library" version gradle.ext.agpVersion
         id "org.jetbrains.kotlin.android" version gradle.ext.kotlinVersion
-        id "com.automattic.android.publish-to-s3" version "0.7.0"
+        id "com.automattic.android.publish-to-s3" version gradle.ext.automatticPublishToS3Version
     }
     repositories {
         maven {
diff --git a/packages/react-native-aztec/android/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml b/packages/react-native-aztec/android/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
deleted file mode 100644
index d937b1806d40fe..00000000000000
--- a/packages/react-native-aztec/android/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,20 +0,0 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<!--
- Copyright 2014 The Android Open Source Project
-
- Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- You may obtain a copy of the License at
-
-     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-
- Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- limitations under the License.
--->
-
-<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
-    package="org.wordpress.mobile.ReactNativeAztec">
-</manifest>
diff --git a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/.java-version b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/.java-version
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..03b6389f32ad57
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/.java-version
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+17.0
diff --git a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradle.properties b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradle.properties
index 570019612adf35..eb15f4b384486b 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradle.properties
+++ b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradle.properties
@@ -1,4 +1,8 @@
+# Project-wide Gradle settings.
+
 org.gradle.jvmargs=-Xmx2g -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError
+
+# React Native Bridge properties.
+
 android.useAndroidX=true
 android.enableJetifier=false
-
diff --git a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar
index 249e5832f090a2..033e24c4cdf41a 100644
Binary files a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar and b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar differ
diff --git a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
index ae04661ee73343..c747538fb38b53 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
+++ b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 distributionPath=wrapper/dists
-distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-7.5.1-bin.zip
+distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-8.2.1-all.zip
+networkTimeout=10000
+validateDistributionUrl=true
 zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 zipStorePath=wrapper/dists
diff --git a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradlew b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradlew
index a69d9cb6c20655..fcb6fca147c0cd 100755
--- a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradlew
+++ b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradlew
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@
 #       Darwin, MinGW, and NonStop.
 #
 #   (3) This script is generated from the Groovy template
-#       https://github.com/gradle/gradle/blob/master/subprojects/plugins/src/main/resources/org/gradle/api/internal/plugins/unixStartScript.txt
+#       https://github.com/gradle/gradle/blob/HEAD/subprojects/plugins/src/main/resources/org/gradle/api/internal/plugins/unixStartScript.txt
 #       within the Gradle project.
 #
 #       You can find Gradle at https://github.com/gradle/gradle/.
@@ -80,13 +80,10 @@ do
     esac
 done
 
-APP_HOME=$( cd "${APP_HOME:-./}" && pwd -P ) || exit
-
-APP_NAME="Gradle"
+# This is normally unused
+# shellcheck disable=SC2034
 APP_BASE_NAME=${0##*/}
-
-# Add default JVM options here. You can also use JAVA_OPTS and GRADLE_OPTS to pass JVM options to this script.
-DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS='"-Xmx64m" "-Xms64m"'
+APP_HOME=$( cd "${APP_HOME:-./}" && pwd -P ) || exit
 
 # Use the maximum available, or set MAX_FD != -1 to use that value.
 MAX_FD=maximum
@@ -133,22 +130,29 @@ location of your Java installation."
     fi
 else
     JAVACMD=java
-    which java >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH.
+    if ! command -v java >/dev/null 2>&1
+    then
+        die "ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH.
 
 Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the
 location of your Java installation."
+    fi
 fi
 
 # Increase the maximum file descriptors if we can.
 if ! "$cygwin" && ! "$darwin" && ! "$nonstop" ; then
     case $MAX_FD in #(
       max*)
+        # In POSIX sh, ulimit -H is undefined. That's why the result is checked to see if it worked.
+        # shellcheck disable=SC3045
         MAX_FD=$( ulimit -H -n ) ||
             warn "Could not query maximum file descriptor limit"
     esac
     case $MAX_FD in  #(
       '' | soft) :;; #(
       *)
+        # In POSIX sh, ulimit -n is undefined. That's why the result is checked to see if it worked.
+        # shellcheck disable=SC3045
         ulimit -n "$MAX_FD" ||
             warn "Could not set maximum file descriptor limit to $MAX_FD"
     esac
@@ -193,6 +197,10 @@ if "$cygwin" || "$msys" ; then
     done
 fi
 
+
+# Add default JVM options here. You can also use JAVA_OPTS and GRADLE_OPTS to pass JVM options to this script.
+DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS='"-Xmx64m" "-Xms64m"'
+
 # Collect all arguments for the java command;
 #   * $DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS, $JAVA_OPTS, and $GRADLE_OPTS can contain fragments of
 #     shell script including quotes and variable substitutions, so put them in
diff --git a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradlew.bat b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradlew.bat
index 53a6b238d414d9..6689b85beecde6 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradlew.bat
+++ b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/gradlew.bat
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ if "%OS%"=="Windows_NT" setlocal
 
 set DIRNAME=%~dp0
 if "%DIRNAME%"=="" set DIRNAME=.
+@rem This is normally unused
 set APP_BASE_NAME=%~n0
 set APP_HOME=%DIRNAME%
 
diff --git a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/react-native-bridge/build.gradle b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/react-native-bridge/build.gradle
index ac702b760b3637..4c7882ad0ffdba 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/react-native-bridge/build.gradle
+++ b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/react-native-bridge/build.gradle
@@ -1,3 +1,19 @@
+buildscript {
+    ext {
+        // libs
+        wordpressUtilsVersion = '3.3.0'
+
+        // main
+        googleMaterialVersion = '1.2.1'
+
+        // react native
+        facebookFrescoVersion = '2.0.0'
+
+        // test
+        junitVersion = '4.13'
+    }
+}
+
 plugins {
     id "com.android.library"
     id "org.jetbrains.kotlin.android"
@@ -14,6 +30,11 @@ group='org.wordpress-mobile.gutenberg-mobile'
 def buildAssetsFolder = 'build/assets'
 
 android {
+    // IMPORTANT: Any updates to the namespace should be reflected in
+    // the `package` attribute of the main `AndroidManifest.xml` file.
+    // File reference: `react-native-bridge/android/react-native-bridge/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml`
+    namespace "org.wordpress.mobile.ReactNativeGutenbergBridge"
+
     compileSdkVersion 33
 
     defaultConfig {
@@ -22,7 +43,7 @@ android {
         buildConfigField "boolean", "SHOULD_ATTACH_JS_BUNDLE", willPublishReactNativeBridgeBinary.toString()
     }
 
-    lintOptions {
+    lint {
         abortOnError false
     }
 
@@ -41,6 +62,10 @@ android {
             assets.srcDirs += '../../../../../resources/unsupported-block-editor'
         }
     }
+
+    buildFeatures {
+        buildConfig true
+    }
 }
 
 repositories {
@@ -52,11 +77,11 @@ repositories {
 
 dependencies {
     // For animated GIF support
-    implementation 'com.facebook.fresco:animated-gif:2.0.0'
-    implementation 'com.google.android.material:material:1.2.1'
-    implementation "org.wordpress:utils:3.3.0"
+    implementation "com.facebook.fresco:animated-gif:$facebookFrescoVersion"
+    implementation "com.google.android.material:material:$googleMaterialVersion"
+    implementation "org.wordpress:utils:$wordpressUtilsVersion"
 
-    testImplementation "junit:junit:4.13"
+    testImplementation "junit:junit:$junitVersion"
 
     def rnVersion = readReactNativeVersion('../../../../package.json', 'devDependencies')
     println "react-native version for react-native-bridge: $rnVersion"
@@ -100,7 +125,6 @@ project.afterEvaluate {
 
                 groupId 'org.wordpress-mobile.gutenberg-mobile'
                 artifactId 'react-native-gutenberg-bridge'
-                artifact tasks.named("androidSourcesJar")
                 // version is set by 'publish-to-s3' plugin
 
                 addDependenciesToPom(pom)
diff --git a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/react-native-bridge/src/debug/AndroidManifest.xml b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/react-native-bridge/src/debug/AndroidManifest.xml
index 49ddd2f355c40e..918ee013ea2711 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/react-native-bridge/src/debug/AndroidManifest.xml
+++ b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/react-native-bridge/src/debug/AndroidManifest.xml
@@ -1,10 +1,7 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
-<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
-          xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
-          package="org.wordpress.mobile.ReactNativeGutenbergBridge">
+<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
 
     <application>
-
         <activity android:name="com.facebook.react.devsupport.DevSettingsActivity" />
     </application>
 
diff --git a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/react-native-bridge/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/react-native-bridge/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
index 7d31a2d03bd6cf..a26c55b7434e35 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/react-native-bridge/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
+++ b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/react-native-bridge/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
-
-<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
-          package="org.wordpress.mobile.ReactNativeGutenbergBridge">
+<!--
+    IMPORTANT: Any updates to the package name should be reflected in
+    the `namespace` property of the `build.gradle` file.
+    File reference: `react-native-bridge/android/react-native-bridge/build.gradle`
+-->
+<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" package="org.wordpress.mobile.ReactNativeGutenbergBridge">
 
     <queries>
         <intent>
diff --git a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/settings.gradle b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/settings.gradle
index c7a944de425ae1..32d592f7176160 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-bridge/android/settings.gradle
+++ b/packages/react-native-bridge/android/settings.gradle
@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
 pluginManagement {
     gradle.ext.kotlinVersion = '1.6.10'
+    gradle.ext.agpVersion = '8.1.0'
+    gradle.ext.automatticPublishToS3Version = '0.8.0'
 
     plugins {
-        id "com.android.library" version "7.2.1"
+        id "com.android.library" version gradle.ext.agpVersion
         id "org.jetbrains.kotlin.android" version gradle.ext.kotlinVersion
-        id "com.automattic.android.publish-to-s3" version "0.7.0"
+        id "com.automattic.android.publish-to-s3" version gradle.ext.automatticPublishToS3Version
     }
     repositories {
         maven {
@@ -22,11 +24,10 @@ pluginManagement {
 rootProject.name = '@wordpress_react-native-bridge'
 
 include ':react-native-bridge'
-include ':@wordpress_react-native-aztec'
-project(':@wordpress_react-native-aztec').projectDir = new File(rootProject.projectDir, '../../react-native-aztec/android')
-include ':react-native-aztec'
-project(':react-native-aztec').projectDir = new File(rootProject.projectDir, '../../../packages/react-native-aztec/android')
 
 if (hasProperty("willPublishReactNativeBridgeBinary")) {
     assert file("./react-native-bridge/build/assets/index.android.bundle").exists() : "index.android.bundle is necessary to publish a new version!"
+} else {
+    include ':@wordpress_react-native-aztec'
+    project(':@wordpress_react-native-aztec').projectDir = new File(rootProject.projectDir, '../../react-native-aztec/android')
 }
diff --git a/packages/react-native-editor/CHANGELOG.md b/packages/react-native-editor/CHANGELOG.md
index 293dd686f6cfe2..c1dd2a8a5c3625 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-editor/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/packages/react-native-editor/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ For each user feature we should also add a importance categorization label  to i
 -   [*] Remove visual gap in mobile toolbar when a Gallery block is selected [#52966]
 -   [*] Remove Gallery caption button on mobile [#53010]
 -   [**] Upgrade React Native to 0.71.11 [#51303]
+-   [*] Upgrade Gradle to 8.2.1 & AGP to 8.1.0 [#52872]
 
 ## 1.100.1
 -   [**] Add WP hook for registering non-core blocks [#52791]
diff --git a/packages/react-native-editor/android/.java-version b/packages/react-native-editor/android/.java-version
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..03b6389f32ad57
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/react-native-editor/android/.java-version
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+17.0
diff --git a/packages/react-native-editor/android/app/build.gradle b/packages/react-native-editor/android/app/build.gradle
index 70eff0b73dab20..5bbb6e560a4916 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-editor/android/app/build.gradle
+++ b/packages/react-native-editor/android/app/build.gradle
@@ -70,6 +70,10 @@ def reactNativeArchitectures() {
 }
 
 android {
+    // IMPORTANT: Any updates to the namespace should be reflected in
+    // the `package` attribute of the main `AndroidManifest.xml` file.
+    // File reference: `react-native-editor/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml`
+    namespace "com.gutenberg"
     ndkVersion rootProject.ext.ndkVersion
 
     compileSdkVersion rootProject.ext.compileSdkVersion
@@ -79,6 +83,10 @@ android {
         targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
     }
 
+    buildFeatures {
+        buildConfig true
+    }
+
     defaultConfig {
         applicationId "com.gutenberg"
         minSdkVersion rootProject.ext.minSdkVersion
diff --git a/packages/react-native-editor/android/app/src/debug/AndroidManifest.xml b/packages/react-native-editor/android/app/src/debug/AndroidManifest.xml
index 1970c1dc4856e4..150f7cd0cc14db 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-editor/android/app/src/debug/AndroidManifest.xml
+++ b/packages/react-native-editor/android/app/src/debug/AndroidManifest.xml
@@ -1,10 +1,6 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
-<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
-    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools">
-    <application
-        android:networkSecurityConfig="@xml/react_native_config"
-        tools:targetApi="28"
-        tools:ignore="GoogleAppIndexingWarning">
+<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
+    <application android:networkSecurityConfig="@xml/react_native_config">
         <activity android:name="com.facebook.react.devsupport.DevSettingsActivity" android:exported="false" />
     </application>
-</manifest>
\ No newline at end of file
+</manifest>
diff --git a/packages/react-native-editor/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml b/packages/react-native-editor/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
index 3f139808aa706f..8a25e1ad47d1ff 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-editor/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
+++ b/packages/react-native-editor/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
-<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
-    package="com.gutenberg"
-    android:versionCode="1"
-    android:versionName="1.0">
+<!--
+    IMPORTANT: Any updates to the package name should be reflected in
+    the `namespace` property of the `build.gradle` file.
+    File reference: `react-native-editor/android/app/build.gradle`
+-->
+<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" package="com.gutenberg">
 
     <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
 
diff --git a/packages/react-native-editor/android/build.gradle b/packages/react-native-editor/android/build.gradle
index ace9cf3dfe4d3d..4746f9f3077bee 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-editor/android/build.gradle
+++ b/packages/react-native-editor/android/build.gradle
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 buildscript {
     ext {
-        gradlePluginVersion = '7.2.1'
+        gradlePluginVersion = '8.1.0'
         kotlinVersion = '1.6.10'
         buildToolsVersion = "33.0.0"
         minSdkVersion = 24
diff --git a/packages/react-native-editor/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar b/packages/react-native-editor/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar
index 249e5832f090a2..033e24c4cdf41a 100644
Binary files a/packages/react-native-editor/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar and b/packages/react-native-editor/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar differ
diff --git a/packages/react-native-editor/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties b/packages/react-native-editor/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
index ae04661ee73343..c747538fb38b53 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-editor/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
+++ b/packages/react-native-editor/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 distributionPath=wrapper/dists
-distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-7.5.1-bin.zip
+distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-8.2.1-all.zip
+networkTimeout=10000
+validateDistributionUrl=true
 zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 zipStorePath=wrapper/dists
diff --git a/packages/react-native-editor/android/gradlew b/packages/react-native-editor/android/gradlew
index a69d9cb6c20655..fcb6fca147c0cd 100755
--- a/packages/react-native-editor/android/gradlew
+++ b/packages/react-native-editor/android/gradlew
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@
 #       Darwin, MinGW, and NonStop.
 #
 #   (3) This script is generated from the Groovy template
-#       https://github.com/gradle/gradle/blob/master/subprojects/plugins/src/main/resources/org/gradle/api/internal/plugins/unixStartScript.txt
+#       https://github.com/gradle/gradle/blob/HEAD/subprojects/plugins/src/main/resources/org/gradle/api/internal/plugins/unixStartScript.txt
 #       within the Gradle project.
 #
 #       You can find Gradle at https://github.com/gradle/gradle/.
@@ -80,13 +80,10 @@ do
     esac
 done
 
-APP_HOME=$( cd "${APP_HOME:-./}" && pwd -P ) || exit
-
-APP_NAME="Gradle"
+# This is normally unused
+# shellcheck disable=SC2034
 APP_BASE_NAME=${0##*/}
-
-# Add default JVM options here. You can also use JAVA_OPTS and GRADLE_OPTS to pass JVM options to this script.
-DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS='"-Xmx64m" "-Xms64m"'
+APP_HOME=$( cd "${APP_HOME:-./}" && pwd -P ) || exit
 
 # Use the maximum available, or set MAX_FD != -1 to use that value.
 MAX_FD=maximum
@@ -133,22 +130,29 @@ location of your Java installation."
     fi
 else
     JAVACMD=java
-    which java >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH.
+    if ! command -v java >/dev/null 2>&1
+    then
+        die "ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH.
 
 Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the
 location of your Java installation."
+    fi
 fi
 
 # Increase the maximum file descriptors if we can.
 if ! "$cygwin" && ! "$darwin" && ! "$nonstop" ; then
     case $MAX_FD in #(
       max*)
+        # In POSIX sh, ulimit -H is undefined. That's why the result is checked to see if it worked.
+        # shellcheck disable=SC3045
         MAX_FD=$( ulimit -H -n ) ||
             warn "Could not query maximum file descriptor limit"
     esac
     case $MAX_FD in  #(
       '' | soft) :;; #(
       *)
+        # In POSIX sh, ulimit -n is undefined. That's why the result is checked to see if it worked.
+        # shellcheck disable=SC3045
         ulimit -n "$MAX_FD" ||
             warn "Could not set maximum file descriptor limit to $MAX_FD"
     esac
@@ -193,6 +197,10 @@ if "$cygwin" || "$msys" ; then
     done
 fi
 
+
+# Add default JVM options here. You can also use JAVA_OPTS and GRADLE_OPTS to pass JVM options to this script.
+DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS='"-Xmx64m" "-Xms64m"'
+
 # Collect all arguments for the java command;
 #   * $DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS, $JAVA_OPTS, and $GRADLE_OPTS can contain fragments of
 #     shell script including quotes and variable substitutions, so put them in
diff --git a/packages/react-native-editor/android/gradlew.bat b/packages/react-native-editor/android/gradlew.bat
index 53a6b238d414d9..6689b85beecde6 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-editor/android/gradlew.bat
+++ b/packages/react-native-editor/android/gradlew.bat
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ if "%OS%"=="Windows_NT" setlocal
 
 set DIRNAME=%~dp0
 if "%DIRNAME%"=="" set DIRNAME=.
+@rem This is normally unused
 set APP_BASE_NAME=%~n0
 set APP_HOME=%DIRNAME%
 
diff --git a/packages/react-native-editor/android/settings.gradle b/packages/react-native-editor/android/settings.gradle
index 4fd974817c1e63..1afaaf6df0be3a 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-editor/android/settings.gradle
+++ b/packages/react-native-editor/android/settings.gradle
@@ -3,4 +3,4 @@ rootProject.name = 'gutenberg'
 includeBuild("../../react-native-bridge/android")
 
 include ':app'
-includeBuild('../../../node_modules/react-native-gradle-plugin')
+includeBuild('../../../node_modules/@react-native/gradle-plugin')
diff --git a/packages/react-native-editor/package.json b/packages/react-native-editor/package.json
index 951d6b2bfea54c..2bb4ec6a570e48 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-editor/package.json
+++ b/packages/react-native-editor/package.json
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 		"@react-native-community/blur": "4.2.0",
 		"@react-native-community/slider": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wordpress-mobile/react-native-slider/v3.0.2-wp-4/react-native-community-slider-3.0.2-wp-4.tgz",
 		"@react-native-masked-view/masked-view": "0.2.9",
+		"@react-native/gradle-plugin": "0.72.11",
 		"@react-navigation/core": "5.12.0",
 		"@react-navigation/native": "6.0.14",
 		"@react-navigation/routers": "5.4.9",
diff --git a/patches/react-native-gradle-plugin+0.71.19.patch b/patches/react-native-gradle-plugin+0.71.19.patch
deleted file mode 100644
index 5132c84e17e86b..00000000000000
--- a/patches/react-native-gradle-plugin+0.71.19.patch
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,35 +0,0 @@
-@oguzkocer will remove this patch once AGP 8.0+ update is complete
-
-diff --git a/node_modules/react-native-gradle-plugin/build.gradle.kts b/node_modules/react-native-gradle-plugin/build.gradle.kts
-index 5ea92ee..4a4589a 100644
---- a/node_modules/react-native-gradle-plugin/build.gradle.kts
-+++ b/node_modules/react-native-gradle-plugin/build.gradle.kts
-@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ group = "com.facebook.react"
- 
- dependencies {
-   implementation(gradleApi())
--  implementation("com.android.tools.build:gradle:7.3.1")
-+  implementation("com.android.tools.build:gradle:7.2.1")
-   implementation("com.google.code.gson:gson:2.8.9")
-   implementation("com.google.guava:guava:31.0.1-jre")
-   implementation("com.squareup:javapoet:1.13.0")
-diff --git a/node_modules/react-native-gradle-plugin/src/main/kotlin/com/facebook/react/TaskConfiguration.kt b/node_modules/react-native-gradle-plugin/src/main/kotlin/com/facebook/react/TaskConfiguration.kt
-index c7db4db..d9a1734 100644
---- a/node_modules/react-native-gradle-plugin/src/main/kotlin/com/facebook/react/TaskConfiguration.kt
-+++ b/node_modules/react-native-gradle-plugin/src/main/kotlin/com/facebook/react/TaskConfiguration.kt
-@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ internal fun Project.configureReactTasks(variant: Variant, config: ReactExtensio
- 
-   if (!isDebuggableVariant) {
-     val entryFileEnvVariable = System.getenv("ENTRY_FILE")
-+    @Suppress("UNUSED_VARIABLE")
-     val bundleTask =
-         tasks.register("createBundle${targetName}JsAndAssets", BundleHermesCTask::class.java) {
-           it.root.set(config.root)
-@@ -76,6 +77,6 @@ internal fun Project.configureReactTasks(variant: Variant, config: ReactExtensio
-     // Currently broken inside AGP 7.3 We need to wait for a release of AGP 7.4 in order to use
-     // the addGeneratedSourceDirectory API.
-     // variant.sources.res?.addGeneratedSourceDirectory(bundleTask, BundleHermesCTask::resourcesDir)
--    variant.sources.assets?.addGeneratedSourceDirectory(bundleTask, BundleHermesCTask::jsBundleDir)
-+    // variant.sources.assets?.addGeneratedSourceDirectory(bundleTask, BundleHermesCTask::jsBundleDir)
-   }
- }