Can you convert an IPA to an APK?

No, and no tool can. An .ipa is an iOS app and an .apk is an Android app. They are built for two operating systems that cannot run each other's programs, so there is no file that turns one into the other. Android cannot install an .ipa either, so an “IPA to APK converter” or an “IPA installer for Android” is selling something that does not exist.

What is real: if you have the source code, you build an Android version. If you only have the file, there is no path. And if you already have both builds and need them on your testers' phones, that is distribution, which is easy. Going the other way? See why an APK cannot become an IPA.

Why there is no converter

An IPA is a ZIP archive holding a Payload/ folder with an app bundle inside: an Info.plist, a Mach-O executable, a code signature, and usually a provisioning profile. The executable is linked against Apple frameworks such as UIKit, SwiftUI and Foundation. An APK is also a ZIP, but it holds a binary AndroidManifest.xml, DEX bytecode for the Android runtime and native libraries in Android's format.

Both platforms mostly run on 64-bit ARM chips, which is why the idea sounds plausible. The chip is not the obstacle. An iOS app calls thousands of Apple system APIs that do not exist on Android, from how a screen is drawn to how a notification arrives. A converter would have to rewrite every one of those calls into its Android equivalent and re-sign the result for Android. That is not a file conversion, it is rebuilding the app.

Apps downloaded from the App Store add a second wall: their executables are encrypted for the Apple ID that bought them. See the difference for yourself in the IPA inspector and the APK inspector, or read the IPA vs APK guide for what is inside each file.

Can you install an IPA on Android?

No. Android does not recognise an .ipa as an app, and no Android app can install one. Apps in app stores calling themselves an “IPA installer” or “iOS emulator for Android” do not run iOS apps. Most are launchers or themes that make Android look like an iPhone, and some are adware.

If you were sent an .ipa and you have an Android phone, the app you want almost certainly exists for Android too. Check Google Play, or ask whoever sent the file for the Android build. Developers who need to try an iOS build without an iPhone use Xcode's Simulator on a Mac, which runs simulator builds rather than the .ipa made for real devices.

What you actually want

Almost everyone searching for a converter is in one of these situations. Find yours.

What to do for each IPA to APK situation, and whether it is possible
What you have	Possible?	What to do
You have a native iOS app in Swift or Objective-C and want an Android version	Build it	The Android version is a separate app in Kotlin or Java. Your designs and backend carry over; the code does not.
Your project uses Flutter, React Native, Expo, Capacitor or Unity	Build it	One codebase already targets Android. Build the Android target to get an .apk.
You only have the .ipa file, not the source	No	There is nothing to rebuild from and nothing to convert. Ask whoever built it for an Android build.
You want to run an iPhone app on your Android phone	No	Android cannot install an .ipa. Look for the app's Android version in Google Play instead.
You have both an .ipa and an .apk and want to send them to testers	Share both	That is distribution, not conversion. Each build gets its own install link and QR code.

Getting an APK from a cross-platform project

If the iOS app was written once in a cross-platform framework, the Android build is a target you have not compiled yet, not a port. This is where the .apk comes from in each one:

Flutter: flutter build apk writes a release .apk to build/app/outputs/flutter-apk/.
React Native: ./gradlew assembleRelease in the android/ folder, after adding a release signing config.
Expo: eas build -p android. EAS produces an .aab unless the build profile sets android.buildType to apk.
Capacitor: npx cap add android, then build the APK from the generated project in Android Studio.
Unity: Switch the platform to Android in Build Settings and build an APK.

Google Play wants an .aab (App Bundle), but a phone installs an .apk. For sending a build to testers outside the Play Store, build the .apk.

With an .apk and an .ipa of the same app in hand, the remaining job is getting each one onto the right phones. BetaDrop turns each build into an install link and a QR code, so an Android tester taps one and an iPhone tester taps the other. You still build each platform yourself; this is only the delivery.

Share an Android build Share an iOS build

Frequently asked questions

Can I convert an IPA to an APK?

No. An IPA is an iOS app and an APK is an Android app, compiled for two operating systems that cannot run each other's programs, so there is no file that turns one into the other. A tool that offers to convert an IPA cannot do what it says. If you own the source code, build the Android version from it; if you only have the .ipa, there is no path.

Is there a real IPA to APK converter online?

No online or offline converter can turn an IPA into a working APK. The IPA holds a Mach-O executable linked against Apple frameworks such as UIKit and SwiftUI, none of which exist on Android. Sites advertising this conversion hand back a file that will not install, or are after your money or your data; there is nothing safe to recommend because the operation is not possible.

Can I install an IPA file on Android?

No. Android cannot open or install an .ipa file, and no Android app installs one. An IPA only installs on an iPhone or iPad, and only when its signature allows that device. If you want an app on Android, look for its Android version in Google Play or ask its developer for an .apk build.

Is there an IPA installer or iOS emulator for Android?

Not one that runs modern iOS apps. Apps sold as an IPA installer or iOS emulator for Android are, at best, launchers styled to look like iOS, and at worst adware. Real iOS apps need Apple's frameworks, which Android does not have. Developers test iOS builds on a real iPhone or in Xcode's Simulator on a Mac.

How do I get an Android version of my iOS app?

You build it for Android from your source code. If the app is native iOS in Swift or Objective-C, the Android version is a separate build in Kotlin or Java. If it was written in a cross-platform framework such as Flutter, React Native, Expo, Capacitor or Unity, one codebase already targets Android, so you compile that target and get an .apk. Either way the .apk comes from building, not from converting the .ipa.

Android and iPhone both use ARM chips, so why can't an IPA run on Android?

The processor is not the problem. Most phones on both sides run 64-bit ARM, but the app is packaged and linked for an operating system, not a chip. An iOS binary is a Mach-O file that calls Apple frameworks; Android expects DEX bytecode for its own runtime and ELF native libraries. The same instructions sit inside a different file format calling system APIs that are missing.

Can BetaDrop distribute both my iOS and Android builds?

Yes. Once you have built an IPA and an APK of the same app, BetaDrop turns each into an install link and QR code for your testers, from one place. That is distribution, not conversion: you still build each platform yourself, and BetaDrop takes an .apk for Android, not an .aab.