diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/before-send/scenario.ts b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/before-send/scenario.ts
index 2b90554e068b..4c6f464b62f9 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/before-send/scenario.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/before-send/scenario.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import { loggingTransport } from '@sentry-internal/node-integration-tests';
 // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-floating-promises
 (async () => {
   Sentry.init({
-    traceLifecycle: 'static',
     dsn: 'https://public@dsn.ingest.sentry.io/1337',
     transport: loggingTransport,
     beforeSend(event) {
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/event-processor-throws/scenario-async.ts b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/event-processor-throws/scenario-async.ts
index bade2d046447..f92604e5971d 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/event-processor-throws/scenario-async.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/event-processor-throws/scenario-async.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ import * as Sentry from '@sentry/node';
 import { loggingTransport } from '@sentry-internal/node-integration-tests';
 
 Sentry.init({
-  traceLifecycle: 'static',
   dsn: 'https://public@dsn.ingest.sentry.io/1337',
   transport: loggingTransport,
 });
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/event-processors/scenario.ts b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/event-processors/scenario.ts
index 56a4eef4831b..70af7e321108 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/event-processors/scenario.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/event-processors/scenario.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import { loggingTransport } from '@sentry-internal/node-integration-tests';
 // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-floating-promises
 (async () => {
   Sentry.init({
-    traceLifecycle: 'static',
     dsn: 'https://public@dsn.ingest.sentry.io/1337',
     transport: loggingTransport,
   });
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/traces-sampler-throws/scenario-fallback.ts b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/traces-sampler-throws/scenario-fallback.ts
index 9d5524afe3ab..8f838322f5ec 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/traces-sampler-throws/scenario-fallback.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/traces-sampler-throws/scenario-fallback.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ import * as Sentry from '@sentry/node';
 import { loggingTransport } from '@sentry-internal/node-integration-tests';
 
 Sentry.init({
-  traceLifecycle: 'static',
   dsn: 'https://public@dsn.ingest.sentry.io/1337',
   transport: loggingTransport,
   tracesSampleRate: 1,
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/traces-sampler-throws/test.ts b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/traces-sampler-throws/test.ts
index e511fc97e8a9..965985ea78d0 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/traces-sampler-throws/test.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/client-reports/drop-reasons/traces-sampler-throws/test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { afterAll, test } from 'vitest';
+import { afterAll, expect, test } from 'vitest';
 import { cleanupChildProcesses, createRunner } from '../../../../utils/runner';
 
 afterAll(() => {
@@ -25,9 +25,11 @@ test('records a client report and no error event when tracesSampler throws', asy
 
 test('sends the span when tracesSampler throws but tracesSampleRate is 1', async () => {
   await createRunner(__dirname, 'scenario-fallback.ts')
+    .unordered()
     .expect({
-      transaction: {
-        transaction: 'sampled via tracesSampleRate fallback',
+      span: container => {
+        const segment = container.items.find(span => span.is_segment);
+        expect(segment?.name).toBe('sampled via tracesSampleRate fallback');
       },
     })
     .start()
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/featureFlags/featureFlagsIntegration/onSpan/scenario.ts b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/featureFlags/featureFlagsIntegration/onSpan/scenario.ts
index 2f78fabdebe9..2c07e46b40ed 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/featureFlags/featureFlagsIntegration/onSpan/scenario.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/featureFlags/featureFlagsIntegration/onSpan/scenario.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ import * as Sentry from '@sentry/node';
 import { loggingTransport } from '@sentry-internal/node-integration-tests';
 
 Sentry.init({
-  traceLifecycle: 'static',
   dsn: 'https://public@dsn.ingest.sentry.io/1337',
   sampleRate: 1.0,
   tracesSampleRate: 1.0,
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/featureFlags/featureFlagsIntegration/onSpan/test.ts b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/featureFlags/featureFlagsIntegration/onSpan/test.ts
index 4a417a3c3959..b62c330ce81e 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/featureFlags/featureFlagsIntegration/onSpan/test.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/featureFlags/featureFlagsIntegration/onSpan/test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { _INTERNAL_MAX_FLAGS_PER_SPAN as MAX_FLAGS_PER_SPAN } from '@sentry/core';
+import { _INTERNAL_MAX_FLAGS_PER_SPAN as MAX_FLAGS_PER_SPAN, type SerializedStreamedSpanContainer } from '@sentry/core';
 import { afterAll, expect, test } from 'vitest';
 import { cleanupChildProcesses, createRunner } from '../../../../utils/runner';
 
@@ -8,24 +8,31 @@ afterAll(() => {
 
 test('Flags captured on span attributes with max limit', async () => {
   // Based on scenario.ts.
-  const expectedFlags: Record<string, boolean> = {};
+  const expectedFlags: Record<string, { type: 'boolean'; value: boolean }> = {};
   for (let i = 1; i <= MAX_FLAGS_PER_SPAN; i++) {
-    expectedFlags[`flag.evaluation.feat${i}`] = i === 3;
+    expectedFlags[`flag.evaluation.feat${i}`] = { type: 'boolean', value: i === 3 };
   }
+  const spans: SerializedStreamedSpanContainer['items'] = [];
 
   await createRunner(__dirname, 'scenario.ts')
+    .unordered()
     .expect({
-      transaction: {
-        spans: [
-          expect.objectContaining({
-            description: 'test-span',
-            data: expect.objectContaining({}),
-          }),
-          expect.objectContaining({
-            description: 'test-nested-span',
-            data: expect.objectContaining(expectedFlags),
-          }),
-        ],
+      span: container => {
+        spans.push(...container.items);
+        const children = spans.filter(span => !span.is_segment);
+        expect(children).toHaveLength(2);
+        expect(children).toEqual(
+          expect.arrayContaining([
+            expect.objectContaining({
+              name: 'test-span',
+              attributes: expect.objectContaining({}),
+            }),
+            expect.objectContaining({
+              name: 'test-nested-span',
+              attributes: expect.objectContaining(expectedFlags),
+            }),
+          ]),
+        );
       },
     })
     .start()
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/featureFlags/growthbook/onSpan/scenario.ts b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/featureFlags/growthbook/onSpan/scenario.ts
index 7f9da04fdbd8..b25f36f00951 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/featureFlags/growthbook/onSpan/scenario.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/featureFlags/growthbook/onSpan/scenario.ts
@@ -44,7 +44,6 @@ class GrowthBookWrapper {
 const gb = new GrowthBookWrapper();
 
 Sentry.init({
-  traceLifecycle: 'static',
   dsn: 'https://public@dsn.ingest.sentry.io/1337',
   sampleRate: 1.0,
   tracesSampleRate: 1.0,
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/featureFlags/growthbook/onSpan/test.ts b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/featureFlags/growthbook/onSpan/test.ts
index 3f0011b4f617..8f5d4fdbdf9b 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/featureFlags/growthbook/onSpan/test.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/featureFlags/growthbook/onSpan/test.ts
@@ -7,26 +7,26 @@ afterAll(() => {
 
 test('GrowthBook flags are added to active span attributes on span end', async () => {
   await createRunner(__dirname, 'scenario.ts')
+    .unordered()
     .expect({
-      transaction: {
-        contexts: {
-          trace: {
-            data: {
-              'flag.evaluation.feat1': true,
-              'flag.evaluation.feat2': false,
-              'flag.evaluation.bool-feat': true,
-              // string-feat should NOT be here since it's not boolean
-            },
-            op: 'function',
-            origin: 'manual',
-            status: 'ok',
-            span_id: expect.stringMatching(/[a-f\d]{16}/),
-            trace_id: expect.stringMatching(/[a-f\d]{32}/),
+      span: container => {
+        expect(container.items).toHaveLength(1);
+        const span = container.items.find(item => item.is_segment);
+        expect(span).toMatchObject({
+          name: 'test-span',
+          status: 'ok',
+          span_id: expect.stringMatching(/[a-f\d]{16}/),
+          trace_id: expect.stringMatching(/[a-f\d]{32}/),
+          attributes: {
+            'flag.evaluation.feat1': { type: 'boolean', value: true },
+            'flag.evaluation.feat2': { type: 'boolean', value: false },
+            'flag.evaluation.bool-feat': { type: 'boolean', value: true },
+            'sentry.op': { type: 'string', value: 'function' },
+            'sentry.origin': { type: 'string', value: 'manual' },
           },
-        },
-        spans: [],
-        transaction: 'test-span',
-        type: 'transaction',
+        });
+        // string-feat should NOT be here since it's not boolean
+        expect(span?.attributes['flag.evaluation.string-feat']).toBeUndefined();
       },
     })
     .start()
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/ignore-custom-name.js b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/ignore-custom-name.js
index 5005a1bc3e2c..f85ebfada002 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/ignore-custom-name.js
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/ignore-custom-name.js
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ const Sentry = require('@sentry/node');
 const { expectProcessToExit } = require('../../../utils/expect-process-to-exit');
 
 Sentry.init({
-  traceLifecycle: 'static',
   dsn: 'https://public@dsn.ingest.sentry.io/1337',
   integrations: [
     Sentry.onUnhandledRejectionIntegration({
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/ignore-default.js b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/ignore-default.js
index 84676901b052..d59cd557a4cb 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/ignore-default.js
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/ignore-default.js
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ const Sentry = require('@sentry/node');
 const { expectProcessToExit } = require('../../../utils/expect-process-to-exit');
 
 Sentry.init({
-  traceLifecycle: 'static',
   dsn: 'https://public@dsn.ingest.sentry.io/1337',
   // Use default mode: 'warn' - integration is active but should ignore AI_NoOutputGeneratedError
 });
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/mode-none.js b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/mode-none.js
index 5db0588888ec..cad5ce1c8fe5 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/mode-none.js
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/mode-none.js
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ const Sentry = require('@sentry/node');
 const { expectProcessToExit } = require('../../../utils/expect-process-to-exit');
 
 Sentry.init({
-  traceLifecycle: 'static',
   dsn: 'https://public@dsn.ingest.sentry.io/1337',
   integrations: [Sentry.onUnhandledRejectionIntegration({ mode: 'none' })],
 });
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/mode-strict.js b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/mode-strict.js
index 1eeaf1e71cab..841668b4b4ac 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/mode-strict.js
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/mode-strict.js
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ const Sentry = require('@sentry/node');
 const { expectProcessToExit } = require('../../../utils/expect-process-to-exit');
 
 Sentry.init({
-  traceLifecycle: 'static',
   dsn: 'https://public@dsn.ingest.sentry.io/1337',
   integrations: [Sentry.onUnhandledRejectionIntegration({ mode: 'strict' })],
 });
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/mode-warn-error.js b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/mode-warn-error.js
index a9d3648132b8..45a84bbf5594 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/mode-warn-error.js
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/mode-warn-error.js
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ const Sentry = require('@sentry/node');
 const { expectProcessToExit } = require('../../../utils/expect-process-to-exit');
 
 Sentry.init({
-  traceLifecycle: 'static',
   dsn: 'https://public@dsn.ingest.sentry.io/1337',
 });
 
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/mode-warn-string.js b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/mode-warn-string.js
index 2be232cfa92e..79ea78de095f 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/mode-warn-string.js
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/mode-warn-string.js
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ const Sentry = require('@sentry/node');
 const { expectProcessToExit } = require('../../../utils/expect-process-to-exit');
 
 Sentry.init({
-  traceLifecycle: 'static',
   dsn: 'https://public@dsn.ingest.sentry.io/1337',
 });
 
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/scenario-strict.ts b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/scenario-strict.ts
index 053a73a4b790..a26e19de58d3 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/scenario-strict.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/scenario-strict.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ import * as Sentry from '@sentry/node';
 import { loggingTransport } from '@sentry-internal/node-integration-tests';
 
 Sentry.init({
-  traceLifecycle: 'static',
   dsn: 'https://public@dsn.ingest.sentry.io/1337',
   release: '1.0',
   transport: loggingTransport,
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/scenario-warn.ts b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/scenario-warn.ts
index 9ed5ee4a447a..24b3093a554c 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/scenario-warn.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/scenario-warn.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ import * as Sentry from '@sentry/node';
 import { loggingTransport } from '@sentry-internal/node-integration-tests';
 
 Sentry.init({
-  traceLifecycle: 'static',
   dsn: 'https://public@dsn.ingest.sentry.io/1337',
   release: '1.0',
   transport: loggingTransport,
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/scenario-with-span-ended.ts b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/scenario-with-span-ended.ts
index af022a693202..72d83d70ec72 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/scenario-with-span-ended.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/scenario-with-span-ended.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ import * as Sentry from '@sentry/node';
 import { loggingTransport } from '@sentry-internal/node-integration-tests';
 
 Sentry.init({
-  traceLifecycle: 'static',
   dsn: 'https://public@dsn.ingest.sentry.io/1337',
   release: '1.0',
   tracesSampleRate: 1,
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/scenario-with-span.ts b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/scenario-with-span.ts
index 214ab0a52855..edff30f114ca 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/scenario-with-span.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/scenario-with-span.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ import * as Sentry from '@sentry/node';
 import { loggingTransport } from '@sentry-internal/node-integration-tests';
 
 Sentry.init({
-  traceLifecycle: 'static',
   dsn: 'https://public@dsn.ingest.sentry.io/1337',
   release: '1.0',
   tracesSampleRate: 1,
diff --git a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/test.ts b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/test.ts
index 0cc15ce97173..199f3dffe5aa 100644
--- a/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/test.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/node-integration-tests/suites/public-api/onUnhandledRejectionIntegration/test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type { Event } from '@sentry/node';
+import type { Event, SerializedStreamedSpanContainer } from '@sentry/node';
 import * as childProcess from 'child_process';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import { afterAll, describe, expect, test } from 'vitest';
@@ -142,15 +142,16 @@ test rejection`);
       .completed();
   });
 
-  // Bun: the error event arrives before the transaction, or has a different span id.
-  test.skipIf(RUNTIME === 'bun')('handles unhandled rejection in spans', async () => {
-    let transactionEvent: Event | undefined;
+  test('handles unhandled rejection in spans', async () => {
+    let segment: SerializedStreamedSpanContainer['items'][number] | undefined;
     let errorEvent: Event | undefined;
 
     await createRunner(__dirname, 'scenario-with-span.ts')
+      .unordered()
       .expect({
-        transaction: transaction => {
-          transactionEvent = transaction;
+        span: container => {
+          segment = container.items.find(span => span.is_segment);
+          expect(segment?.name).toBe('test-span');
         },
       })
       .expect({
@@ -161,23 +162,24 @@ test rejection`);
       .start()
       .completed();
 
-    expect(transactionEvent).toBeDefined();
+    expect(segment).toBeDefined();
     expect(errorEvent).toBeDefined();
 
-    expect(transactionEvent!.transaction).toBe('test-span');
-
-    expect(transactionEvent!.contexts!.trace!.trace_id).toBe(errorEvent!.contexts!.trace!.trace_id);
-    expect(transactionEvent!.contexts!.trace!.span_id).toBe(errorEvent!.contexts!.trace!.span_id);
+    expect(segment!.trace_id).toBe(errorEvent!.contexts!.trace!.trace_id);
+    expect(segment!.span_id).toBe(errorEvent!.contexts!.trace!.span_id);
   });
 
+  // Bun: the rejection event's span ID differs from the already-ended span's ID.
   test.skipIf(RUNTIME === 'bun')('handles unhandled rejection in spans that are ended early', async () => {
-    let transactionEvent: Event | undefined;
+    let segment: SerializedStreamedSpanContainer['items'][number] | undefined;
     let errorEvent: Event | undefined;
 
     await createRunner(__dirname, 'scenario-with-span-ended.ts')
+      .unordered()
       .expect({
-        transaction: transaction => {
-          transactionEvent = transaction;
+        span: container => {
+          segment = container.items.find(span => span.is_segment);
+          expect(segment?.name).toBe('test-span');
         },
       })
       .expect({
@@ -188,13 +190,11 @@ test rejection`);
       .start()
       .completed();
 
-    expect(transactionEvent).toBeDefined();
+    expect(segment).toBeDefined();
     expect(errorEvent).toBeDefined();
 
-    expect(transactionEvent!.transaction).toBe('test-span');
-
-    expect(transactionEvent!.contexts!.trace!.trace_id).toBe(errorEvent!.contexts!.trace!.trace_id);
-    expect(transactionEvent!.contexts!.trace!.span_id).toBe(errorEvent!.contexts!.trace!.span_id);
+    expect(segment!.trace_id).toBe(errorEvent!.contexts!.trace!.trace_id);
+    expect(segment!.span_id).toBe(errorEvent!.contexts!.trace!.span_id);
   });
 
   test('should not warn when AI_NoOutputGeneratedError or AbortError is rejected (default ignore)', () =>