Expo SDK 58: when it ships and what changes

iOS 27 requires the UIKit scene-based life cycle and makes iPhone apps resizable, and apps built with the iOS 27 SDK get both automatically. npx expo prebuild now generates SceneDelegate.swift and a scene manifest in Info.plist, and Expo forwards URL, user activity, Handoff, life cycle and quick action events so config plugins keep working; if you customize AppDelegate.swift or manage the ios directory by hand, follow Expo’s migration guide. On iOS 27, requireFullScreen no longer opts out of resizing and ScreenOrientation.lockAsync may have no effect while the app is resizable. Expo also plans iPhone Duo work during the beta, once Apple’s SDK is available; see building for iPhone Duo.

React Native 0.87 made the Strict TypeScript API the default: deep imports from react-native/Libraries/* become type errors and ref types change shape. You can defer it with a tsconfig opt-out, but that opt-out is removed after React Native 0.88, so Expo advises migrating during the SDK 58 cycle. Removed APIs include InteractionManager (use requestIdleCallback), the Touchable root export, the Modal animated prop and the deprecated StatusBar backgroundColor, translucent and networkActivityIndicatorVisible props. Every Expo CLI command now sets NODE_ENV itself before loading .env files, ignoring an inherited value.

During the beta, Expo Go for SDK 58 is available only through Expo CLI for Android devices, emulators and iOS simulators, and through eas go for iOS devices. The App Store and Google Play versions of Expo Go move to SDK 58 shortly after the stable release, and the store app then drops SDK 57. Separately, the latest Expo Go for iOS requires you to be logged in to the same Expo account in both Expo CLI (npx expo login) and the app. This doesn’t apply to simulators or to development builds, and Expo says it will extend to Android later.

Upgrade with npx expo install expo@next --fix, then check the native project upgrade helper. EAS Build images with Xcode 27 and the SDK 58 toolchain were announced as coming soon, and until they arrive the latest image ships Xcode 26.6, so you can also prebuild and run locally with npx expo prebuild --clean. Xcode 27 replaces Simulator.app with Device Hub, which Expo CLI detects. For the App Store side of the iOS 27 move, see the Xcode and SDK upload requirement.

Shipping on the new OS keeps your app current; being found brings people to it. Censuus ranks apps by the visits they draw, and adding your app is free on the List my app form. Placement comes from traffic and sponsorship: apps climb on the visits they draw, and a sponsor can pay to rise higher.