This guide covers the to achieve the functional goal of running an app on the other platform. Complete Guide: APK ↔ IPA "Conversion" (Cross-Platform App Migration) 1. Understanding the Formats | Feature | APK (Android) | IPA (iOS) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Executable | Dalvik/ART bytecode (DEX) | ARM machine code (Mach-O) | | Languages | Java, Kotlin, C++ (NDK) | Swift, Objective-C, C++ | | App Store | Google Play | Apple App Store | | Signature | Keystore (JAR signing) | Apple provisioning profile | | Core frameworks | Android SDK | Cocoa Touch / UIKit |

These often inject ads, steal credentials, or install ransomware. | Goal | Best approach | |------|---------------| | Run Android app on iPhone | Rebuild using Kotlin Multiplatform + Compose Multiplatform (targets both) | | Run iOS app on Android | Rebuild using Skip (Swift → Kotlin) or Flutter rewrite | | Quick test of logic | Write shared module in C++ or Rust, bind to each platform | | Convert a game | Use Godot / Unity – export to both from one codebase | 9. Summary Table – Realistic Options | Input | Desired Output | Feasible? | Actual solution | |-------|----------------|------------|------------------| | APK | IPA | ❌ No direct conversion | Rewrite UI in Swift, reuse backend via KMM | | IPA | APK | ❌ No direct conversion | Rewrite UI in Kotlin, reuse backend via shared C++ | | APK | Run on iOS | ⚠️ Limited | Emulator (iAndroid) / Virtual machine | | IPA | Run on Android | ❌ Almost none | touchHLE (old apps only) | | Web app (HTML/JS) | APK + IPA | ✅ Yes | Wrap in WebView manually for each | Final Takeaway Do not trust any tool that claims to convert APK to IPA or IPA to APK directly. The only legitimate way is to rebuild the app using cross-platform frameworks or separate native implementations.

You cannot directly convert an APK (Android) to an IPA (iOS) or vice versa. They are completely different executable formats (Dalvik/ART bytecode vs. ARM machine code) with different frameworks (Java/Kotlin vs. Swift/Objective-C) and security signatures. What people call "converters" are actually re-packagers, emulators, or source-code translators .

| From | To | Tool / Approach | |------|-----|----------------| | Android (Java/Kotlin) | iOS | – share logic, rewrite UI in SwiftUI | | iOS (Swift) | Android | Skip (skip.tools) – Swift → Kotlin transpiler | | React Native / Flutter | Both | Already cross-platform – rebuild for target |

If you don't have source code, you cannot convert – you can only emulate or reimplement.