diff --git a/packages/react-reconciler/src/ReactFiberScheduler.js b/packages/react-reconciler/src/ReactFiberScheduler.js
index 47fd98f69b65d..46cef6cec6c02 100644
--- a/packages/react-reconciler/src/ReactFiberScheduler.js
+++ b/packages/react-reconciler/src/ReactFiberScheduler.js
@@ -1094,8 +1094,22 @@ export default function<T, P, I, TI, HI, PI, C, CC, CX, PL>(
   }
 
   function computeInteractiveExpiration(currentTime: ExpirationTime) {
-    // Should complete within ~500ms. 600ms max.
-    const expirationMs = 500;
+    let expirationMs;
+    // We intentionally set a higher expiration time for interactive updates in
+    // dev than in production.
+    // If the main thread is being blocked so long that you hit the expiration,
+    // it's a problem that could be solved with better scheduling.
+    // People will be more likely to notice this and fix it with the long
+    // expiration time in development.
+    // In production we opt for better UX at the risk of masking scheduling
+    // problems, by expiring fast.
+    if (__DEV__) {
+      // Should complete within ~500ms. 600ms max.
+      expirationMs = 500;
+    } else {
+      // In production things should be more responsive, 150ms max.
+      expirationMs = 150;
+    }
     const bucketSizeMs = 100;
     return computeExpirationBucket(currentTime, expirationMs, bucketSizeMs);
   }