If you are looking to run a native build without using Expo Go on a physical iOS device (not a simulator), you can plug in your device to your computer by cable and use the following code:

npx expo run:ios --device

This is useful in cases when you need to test notifications, native code, etc.

Alternatively, if you're using yarn, try:

yarn expo run:ios --device
Answer from Brian Li on Stack Overflow
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Expo
expo.dev
Expo
Expo is an open-source platform for making universal native apps for Android, iOS, and the web with JavaScript and React.
Expo Go
Run your projects on your own device faster and share those projects across your team.
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EAS - Expo Application Services · Acceptable use policy
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Build, submit and update your app with Expo's cloud services.
Pricing
Make Android and iOS builds you can share with your team and submit to the app stores. ... Automate builds, submissions, updates, and more in customizable mobile-optimized CI/CD pipelines. ... Send over-the-air updates to your users containing bug fixes and critical updates. ... Deploy websites and API Routes built with Expo ...
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NotJust
notjust.dev › blog › 2022-03-29-how-to-publish-expo-react-native-app-to-apple-app-store
How To Publish Expo React Native Application To The Apple App Store
February 29, 2024 - Once the installation is finished, we can login to our expo account by typing eas login in the same terminal and providing the username as well as the password of the expo account that we have created earlier. (You can test if you logged in successfully by typing eas whoami in the terminal, which should display your username). The last step before we can start creating our first build is to configure the project. We can simply do that by running eas build:configurein the terminal, and choosing iOS as our platform.
Discussions

How do I run an app on a real iOS device using Expo?
I am using Expo to run my application. I am able to see two options in Expo XDE: open on iOS simulator open on Android I want to run my app by directly connecting to my device. Is it possible with ... More on stackoverflow.com
🌐 stackoverflow.com
[iOS] Internal distribution: app is not installing
I followed the instructions on Internal distribution - Expo Documentation to set up an ad hoc installation on my iPhone. ... Both options seemed to work fine. Also eas build --profile preview --platform all worked fine. When I click on install on my iOS build with my phone, I get the message "Go to your home screen to check the installation process". The problem is that there is nothing on my home screen. The application ... More on github.com
🌐 github.com
31
December 10, 2021
iphone - React Native expo create iOS app without mac? - Stack Overflow
Can I develop for IO using React Native? I don't have mac or money to buy it. I have listen about expo.io which do it on there servers. More on stackoverflow.com
🌐 stackoverflow.com
How to install Expo iOS app on iPhone directly?
You will need an apple developer account for that. After that you can just expo run:ios with a connected iPhone. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/reactnative
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January 22, 2024
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/expo › using expo for ios only development
r/expo on Reddit: Using Expo for iOS only development
April 30, 2025 -

I’ve noticed a few of my friends are taking a different approach to building iOS apps, and I wanted to see how common this is. Currently, I’m learning SwiftUI to build a small app for myself. Since I only plan to target iOS, SwiftUI seemed like the natural choice.

However, a couple of my friends are using Expo and React Native for their projects—even though they have no plans to release their apps on Android. When I asked why, they said Expo is easier to work with and that building apps with SwiftUI is significantly more complex.

Can anyone with experience in both ecosystems weigh in on this? Is SwiftUI really that much harder? Should I consider switching to Expo and focus on learning TypeScript instead?

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App Store
apps.apple.com › us › app › expo-go › id982107779
Expo Go App - App Store
Start building projects using web technologies with just your iOS device and your computer. Expo Go is a developer tool for creating experiences with interactive gestures and graphics using JavaScript and React. Note: some programming experience ...
Rating: 4.8 ​ - ​ 3.85K votes
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React Native
reactnative.dev › docs › environment-setup
Get Started with React Native · React Native
5 days ago - If you’re interested in this path, learn how to set up your environment and how to get started without a framework. Platform support · Android · iOS · TV · Web · Expo is a production-grade React Native Framework.
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GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › android › android-ios-app-development-using-react-native-with-expo
Android & iOS App development using React Native with Expo - GeeksforGeeks
September 30, 2022 - They both allow us to build native apps (iOS & Android) using javascript but there is a difference. You can think Expo is helping hand that helps us in faster development of React-Native applications. Expo apps are actually React-Native apps.
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Pagepro
pagepro.co › home › blog › 40 best expo examples
Expo Examples: 40+ Inspiring Apps Built with React Native
June 9, 2025 - We decided to prepare a list of the best examples of Expo apps to highlight their usefulness across various industries and app categories, like health, finance, food, and entertainment. We selected apps available across platforms, iOS and Android, and rated them around 4 stars on the iOS App Store.
Find elsewhere
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Pagepro
pagepro.co › home › blog › publishing expo apps to app store and google play store: 2025 guide
How to Publish Expo React Native App to iOS and Android in 2025
August 25, 2025 - The app configuration files (app.json, app.config.js, app.config.ts) are utilized for setting up Expo Prebuild generation, determining how a project loads in Expo Go, and managing the OTA update manifest. It’s a little like prepping ingredients for a dinner. What you need is: Name: Your app’s name, clear and simple. Icon: The visual symbol that represents your app. Version: The version number of your app. Typically, devs start with 1.0, or 0.1.0, and go from there. Bundle Identifier and Build Number (iOS): These are iOS-specific details for recognition.
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GitHub
github.com › expo › expo › issues › 15501
[iOS] Internal distribution: app is not installing · Issue #15501 · expo/expo
December 10, 2021 - Expo CLI 4.13.0 environment info: System: OS: macOS 12.1 Shell: 5.8 - /bin/zsh Binaries: Node: 15.0.1 - /usr/local/bin/node Yarn: 1.22.15 - /usr/local/bin/yarn npm: 7.0.3 - /usr/local/bin/npm Watchman: 2021.12.06.00 - /usr/local/bin/watchman Managers: CocoaPods: 1.11.2 - /usr/local/bin/pod SDKs: iOS SDK: Platforms: DriverKit 21.0.1, iOS 15.0, macOS 12.0, tvOS 15.0, watchOS 8.0 Android SDK: API Levels: 28, 29, 30, 31 Build Tools: 29.0.2, 30.0.0, 32.0.0 System Images: android-29 | Google APIs Intel x86 Atom, android-29 | Google Play Intel x86 Atom, android-30 | Google APIs Intel x86 Atom, androi
Published   Dec 10, 2021
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GitHub
github.com › expo › expo
GitHub - expo/expo: An open-source framework for making universal native apps with React. Expo runs on Android, iOS, and the web.
October 26, 2025 - Expo is an open-source platform for making universal native apps that run on Android, iOS, and the web.
Starred by 45.7K users
Forked by 10.3K users
Languages   TypeScript 55.8% | Kotlin 16.9% | Swift 12.3% | Objective-C 4.2% | JavaScript 3.1% | C++ 2.9%
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Natively
natively.dev
Natively
Every app is built with Expo—the industry-standard framework for building native mobile applications. Your apps compile to real iOS and Android native code, delivering the performance and feel users expect from true mobile apps.
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Smashing Magazine
smashingmagazine.com › 2020 › 05 › mobile-app-expo-react-native-firebase-ios-android
How To Create A Mobile App In Expo And Firebase (For iOS And Android) — Smashing Magazine
The social media company released React Native, and it quickly became the most popular framework for building mobile apps with JavaScript. In this article, based on his experience with creating a GPS and navigation application, Chafik Gharbi will show you how to create a mobile app using Expo and Firebase services such as Firestore, Firebase functions and Expo push notifications.
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React Native Firebase
rnfirebase.io
React Native Firebase | React Native Firebase
React Native Firebase is the officially recommended collection of packages that brings React Native support for all Firebase services on both Android and iOS apps. React Native Firebase fully supports React Native apps built using React Native CLI or using Expo.
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Medium
medium.com › @farrukh.ssarwar › react-native-with-expo-a-developers-tale-7afcaa499bdb
How to build React Native apps with Expo — A Developer’s Tale | by Farrukh Sarwar | Medium
April 8, 2025 - Develop Cross-Platform: Write code once, and deploy it to both iOS and Android. Use Expo Go: A mobile app that lets you preview your development changes instantly on your device without needing to build native binaries every time.
🌐
C# Corner
c-sharpcorner.com › article › how-to-run-an-expo-app-on-iphone
✅ How to Run an React Expo App on iPhone
2 weeks ago - Open Expo Go → tap Scan QR Code → point the camera at the QR code. Your app loads instantly and updates automatically when you save changes. ✔ No Mac needed ✔ No Xcode needed ✔ Hot reload supported · If you have a Mac and Xcode installed, you can run your app in the iOS Simulator.
🌐
Medium
medium.com › nerd-for-tech › your-guide-to-testing-your-expo-react-native-application-on-ios-abbde4086d08
How to install your Expo React Native application on iOS without using Xcode or macOS | by Amr Essam | Nerd For Tech | Medium
August 16, 2021 - In this article, We’ll go through step by step until you open your Expo Managed Workflow application on your iOS device by generating and downloading a “.ipa” file on an iOS device.
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/reactnative › how to install expo ios app on iphone directly?
r/reactnative on Reddit: How to install Expo iOS app on iPhone directly?
January 22, 2024 -

I've been working with Expo React Native for Android for quite a while but I'm very new to Expo React Native iOS. Like in Android when we generate .apk file it can be directly run on a physical device without submitting to Playstore. Can the same be done for iPhone?

In short: Can I install iOS app directly into iPhone without submitting to AppStore?