Expo SDK 58: Ready for iPhone Duo and iOS 27

Expo SDK 58 was recently release, which includes changes to help suport the new foldable iPhone Duo and iOS 27, which changes how every iPhone app runs.

This post covers what those changes mean for your app, what Expo now handles for you, and a quick roundup of everything else in the release.

iPhone Duo: your app on a foldable

iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldable iPhone. It has a regular outer display and a larger inner display when unfolded. For apps, this brings three new realities:

1. Your app’s size can change at any moment. When someone opens or closes the phone, your app jumps between two very different screen sizes. On the inner display it may also sit next to another app in split view.

2. Navigation moves. On iPhone Duo, iOS moves most bars and controls into a vertical rail on the left or right edge, instead of across the top and bottom.

3. The hinge is a new input. The phone can be closed, partially open or fully open, and apps can respond to that.

Apps that assume a fixed phone-sized screen can end up with stretched layouts, clipped content or controls in odd places. SDK 58 is designed so apps are ready on day one:

• Navigation that adapts automatically. Apps that use Expo Router’s standard Stack and NativeTabs, or Expo UI’s native components, get Apple’s own navigation and tab bars. iOS places them correctly on both displays, with no extra work.

• Safe areas. Screens may need a little more attention to “safe areas”, the parts of the screen free from system UI, especially on the sides. Expo recommends updating react-native-safe-area-context and checking scroll views.

• ArrangementView. This new layout container, recommended by Apple for iPhone Duo, shows two pieces of content side by side or layered, and adapts to the fold and how the phone is held. A list and its detail view, or a map and its search results, are natural fits.

• expo-hinge. This new package tells your app the hinge angle and whether the device is closed, partially open or fully open. It works on iOS 27.1+ and on Android foldables. Apple recommends using it for interactions and effects, like a “tabletop” camera shutter, rather than for layout.

The takeaway: if your app already uses Expo’s standard navigation, you’re in a good position. Custom layouts and hand-built navigation are where most of the testing effort will go.

iOS 27: what changes for every iPhone app

Even if you never plan to target foldables, iOS 27 changes things for every app.

Resizable apps on iPhone

Apps built for iOS 27 are now resizable on iPhone, and the old “full screen only” setting no longer opts you out. Layouts need to cope with sizes other than the familiar phone portrait. Screen orientation locking may also not behave as expected while an app is resizable, so check it if your app relies on it.

A new app lifecycle

iOS 27 requires what Apple calls the scene-based lifecycle, a newer way for apps to start up and manage their windows. Expo now generates this setup for you. Most apps won’t notice, but apps with custom native iOS setup code will need some migration, and Expo has published a guide for it. This is the change most likely to need developer time during the upgrade.

Siri, Spotlight and Apple Intelligence

A new package, `expo-app-intents` (currently alpha), lets your app expose actions and content to Siri, Shortcuts, Spotlight and Apple Intelligence. Expo’s example is a checklist app where you can ask Siri what’s left to do and tick items off. On iOS 18.4+, Apple Intelligence can also understand what’s currently on screen in your app.

This used to need significant custom native work. It’s early, but it’s a meaningful new way for users to reach your app without opening it.

Liquid Glass and Device Hub

• Apps built for iOS 27 can use Apple’s Liquid Glass visual effects.

• Xcode 27 replaces the iOS Simulator app with Device Hub, and Expo’s tools support it out of the box. A new browser dashboard streams iOS and Android simulators side by side, with performance graphs and quick toggles for dark mode, text size and accessibility.

Everything else in SDK 58

There’s a lot more in this release. The highlights:

• React Native 0.88. Includes stricter TypeScript by default and the removal of some older APIs.

• Android home screen widgets. Expo’s widgets package now supports Android as well as iOS, and iOS Live Activities get new options.

• Expo UI. Adds fast virtualised lists, native iOS navigation components, and more SwiftUI and Jetpack Compose building blocks.

• Expo Router. Data loaders, server-side rendering, middleware and native tabs are now stable, which makes one codebase across iOS, Android and web more realistic.

• Faster builds. Prebuilt Android binaries speed up clean builds, native calls are faster on iOS, and an experimental Rust-based bundler is around 2× faster on cold starts.

• Swift Package Manager groundwork. Prepares for Apple’s preferred dependency tool. CocoaPods is still the default.

• AI tooling. New experimental commands and a dedicated CLI for AI coding agents.

• Monitoring. EAS Observe gets better error handling and replaces the older AppMetrics.

• Package updates. Audio adds lock screen controls, plus improvements to images, secure storage, notifications and more.

Planning the upgrade

SDK 58 is a bigger upgrade than most. Things to plan for:

• The iOS lifecycle change. This matters most if your app has custom native iOS code.

• Layout testing for resizable windows and the iPhone Duo.

• Android release builds now shrink code by default, so some libraries may need extra configuration.

• Expo Router navigation internals have changed, which affects apps with custom navigators.

• Expo Go will soon support only SDK 58. Teams relying on it should move to development builds.

Expo’s upgrade guide walks through each step. Budget time for testing on real devices, and on the iPhone Duo simulator in particular.

The bottom line

SDK 58 is Expo doing what it does best: absorbing a big platform shift so your team doesn’t have to. Foldables and resizable iPhone apps are a real change in how iOS works. Apps built on Expo’s standard building blocks are well placed to handle them from day one. If you’re on an older SDK, now is a good time to plan the move.

Planning an SDK 58 upgrade, or want a hand getting your app ready for iPhone Duo? Get in touch.