diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml b/.circleci/config.yml
index 93ec94d0462fc9..b075f2ebd9d4a6 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ executors:
   reactnativeios:
     <<: *defaults
     macos:
-      xcode: &_XCODE_VERSION "11.6.0"
+      xcode: &_XCODE_VERSION "12.1.0"
 
 # -------------------------
 #        COMMANDS
@@ -407,10 +407,6 @@ jobs:
                 name: Set USE_FRAMEWORKS=1
                 command: echo "export USE_FRAMEWORKS=1" >> $BASH_ENV
 
-      - run:
-          name: Fetch CocoaPods Specs
-          command: |
-            curl https://cocoapods-specs.circleci.com/fetch-cocoapods-repo-from-s3.sh | bash -s cf
       - run:
           name: Setup the CocoaPods environment
           command: pod setup
@@ -419,11 +415,7 @@ jobs:
           steps:
             - run:
                 name: Generate RNTesterPods Workspace
-                command: cd packages/rn-tester && pod install --verbose
-
-      - run:
-          name: Generate RNTesterPods Xcode Workspace
-          command: pushd packages/rn-tester && pod install --verbose && popd
+                command: cd packages/rn-tester && bundle exec pod install --verbose
 
       # -------------------------
       # Runs iOS unit tests
diff --git a/packages/rn-tester/Gemfile b/packages/rn-tester/Gemfile
index b3234140e54d42..03d842220cfb0e 100644
--- a/packages/rn-tester/Gemfile
+++ b/packages/rn-tester/Gemfile
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 # Gemfile
 source 'https://rubygems.org'
 
-gem 'cocoapods', '= 1.9.3'
+gem 'cocoapods', '= 1.10.0'
diff --git a/packages/rn-tester/Podfile.lock b/packages/rn-tester/Podfile.lock
index 1bb3c77855f299..d0155f39527146 100644
--- a/packages/rn-tester/Podfile.lock
+++ b/packages/rn-tester/Podfile.lock
@@ -530,4 +530,4 @@ SPEC CHECKSUMS:
 
 PODFILE CHECKSUM: 7e23479b52619cbbd3aa612f09f0e4bd0c2ed208
 
-COCOAPODS: 1.9.3
+COCOAPODS: 1.10.0
diff --git a/packages/rn-tester/RNTesterPods.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj b/packages/rn-tester/RNTesterPods.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj
index 62c78de7045a8e..f06953f48ffb82 100644
--- a/packages/rn-tester/RNTesterPods.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj
+++ b/packages/rn-tester/RNTesterPods.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 	archiveVersion = 1;
 	classes = {
 	};
-	objectVersion = 51;
+	objectVersion = 54;
 	objects = {
 
 /* Begin PBXBuildFile section */
@@ -454,7 +454,7 @@
 		83CBB9F71A601CBA00E9B192 /* Project object */ = {
 			isa = PBXProject;
 			attributes = {
-				LastUpgradeCheck = 1160;
+				LastUpgradeCheck = 1210;
 				ORGANIZATIONNAME = Facebook;
 				TargetAttributes = {
 					E7DB209E22B2BA84005AC45F = {
@@ -467,7 +467,7 @@
 				};
 			};
 			buildConfigurationList = 83CBB9FA1A601CBA00E9B192 /* Build configuration list for PBXProject "RNTesterPods" */;
-			compatibilityVersion = "Xcode 9.3";
+			compatibilityVersion = "Xcode 12.0";
 			developmentRegion = en;
 			hasScannedForEncodings = 0;
 			knownRegions = (
@@ -836,6 +836,7 @@
 				CLANG_WARN_OBJC_IMPLICIT_RETAIN_SELF = YES;
 				CLANG_WARN_OBJC_LITERAL_CONVERSION = YES;
 				CLANG_WARN_OBJC_ROOT_CLASS = YES_ERROR;
+				CLANG_WARN_QUOTED_INCLUDE_IN_FRAMEWORK_HEADER = YES;
 				CLANG_WARN_RANGE_LOOP_ANALYSIS = YES;
 				CLANG_WARN_STRICT_PROTOTYPES = YES;
 				CLANG_WARN_SUSPICIOUS_MOVE = YES;
@@ -918,6 +919,7 @@
 				CLANG_WARN_OBJC_IMPLICIT_RETAIN_SELF = YES;
 				CLANG_WARN_OBJC_LITERAL_CONVERSION = YES;
 				CLANG_WARN_OBJC_ROOT_CLASS = YES_ERROR;
+				CLANG_WARN_QUOTED_INCLUDE_IN_FRAMEWORK_HEADER = YES;
 				CLANG_WARN_RANGE_LOOP_ANALYSIS = YES;
 				CLANG_WARN_STRICT_PROTOTYPES = YES;
 				CLANG_WARN_SUSPICIOUS_MOVE = YES;
diff --git a/packages/rn-tester/RNTesterPods.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/RNTester.xcscheme b/packages/rn-tester/RNTesterPods.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/RNTester.xcscheme
index 7342976848dd0d..2731ada4d7698e 100644
--- a/packages/rn-tester/RNTesterPods.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/RNTester.xcscheme
+++ b/packages/rn-tester/RNTesterPods.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/RNTester.xcscheme
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 <Scheme
-   LastUpgradeVersion = "1160"
+   LastUpgradeVersion = "1210"
    version = "1.3">
    <BuildAction
       parallelizeBuildables = "NO"
diff --git a/packages/rn-tester/RNTesterPods.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/RNTesterIntegrationTests.xcscheme b/packages/rn-tester/RNTesterPods.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/RNTesterIntegrationTests.xcscheme
index 013137ced9ab18..53412600d9bbf7 100644
--- a/packages/rn-tester/RNTesterPods.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/RNTesterIntegrationTests.xcscheme
+++ b/packages/rn-tester/RNTesterPods.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/RNTesterIntegrationTests.xcscheme
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 <Scheme
-   LastUpgradeVersion = "1160"
+   LastUpgradeVersion = "1210"
    version = "1.3">
    <BuildAction
       parallelizeBuildables = "NO"
diff --git a/packages/rn-tester/RNTesterPods.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/RNTesterUnitTests.xcscheme b/packages/rn-tester/RNTesterPods.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/RNTesterUnitTests.xcscheme
index 6c7d9489a0e4e4..161102b93106ef 100644
--- a/packages/rn-tester/RNTesterPods.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/RNTesterUnitTests.xcscheme
+++ b/packages/rn-tester/RNTesterPods.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/RNTesterUnitTests.xcscheme
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 <Scheme
-   LastUpgradeVersion = "1160"
+   LastUpgradeVersion = "1210"
    version = "1.3">
    <BuildAction
       parallelizeBuildables = "NO"
diff --git a/scripts/.tests.env b/scripts/.tests.env
index 831e4ff0b8426d..0cf6077a721d6b 100644
--- a/scripts/.tests.env
+++ b/scripts/.tests.env
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ export AVD_NAME="testAVD"
 export AVD_ABI=x86
 
 ## IOS ##
-export IOS_TARGET_OS="13.6"
+export IOS_TARGET_OS="14.1"
 export IOS_DEVICE="iPhone 8"
 export SDK_IOS="iphonesimulator"
 
diff --git a/template/ios/HelloWorld.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj b/template/ios/HelloWorld.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj
index 28166f3694353f..99eb88550df204 100644
--- a/template/ios/HelloWorld.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj
+++ b/template/ios/HelloWorld.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 	archiveVersion = 1;
 	classes = {
 	};
-	objectVersion = 46;
+	objectVersion = 54;
 	objects = {
 
 /* Begin PBXBuildFile section */
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@
 		83CBB9F71A601CBA00E9B192 /* Project object */ = {
 			isa = PBXProject;
 			attributes = {
-				LastUpgradeCheck = 1200;
+				LastUpgradeCheck = 1210;
 				TargetAttributes = {
 					00E356ED1AD99517003FC87E = {
 						CreatedOnToolsVersion = 6.2;
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@
 				};
 			};
 			buildConfigurationList = 83CBB9FA1A601CBA00E9B192 /* Build configuration list for PBXProject "HelloWorld" */;
-			compatibilityVersion = "Xcode 3.2";
+			compatibilityVersion = "Xcode 12.0";
 			developmentRegion = en;
 			hasScannedForEncodings = 0;
 			knownRegions = (
@@ -294,7 +294,11 @@
 				);
 				INFOPLIST_FILE = HelloWorldTests/Info.plist;
 				IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET = 10.0;
-				LD_RUNPATH_SEARCH_PATHS = "$(inherited) @executable_path/Frameworks @loader_path/Frameworks";
+				LD_RUNPATH_SEARCH_PATHS = (
+					"$(inherited)",
+					"@executable_path/Frameworks",
+					"@loader_path/Frameworks",
+				);
 				OTHER_LDFLAGS = (
 					"-ObjC",
 					"-lc++",
@@ -313,7 +317,11 @@
 				COPY_PHASE_STRIP = NO;
 				INFOPLIST_FILE = HelloWorldTests/Info.plist;
 				IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET = 10.0;
-				LD_RUNPATH_SEARCH_PATHS = "$(inherited) @executable_path/Frameworks @loader_path/Frameworks";
+				LD_RUNPATH_SEARCH_PATHS = (
+					"$(inherited)",
+					"@executable_path/Frameworks",
+					"@loader_path/Frameworks",
+				);
 				OTHER_LDFLAGS = (
 					"-ObjC",
 					"-lc++",
@@ -333,7 +341,10 @@
 				CURRENT_PROJECT_VERSION = 1;
 				ENABLE_BITCODE = NO;
 				INFOPLIST_FILE = HelloWorld/Info.plist;
-				LD_RUNPATH_SEARCH_PATHS = "$(inherited) @executable_path/Frameworks";
+				LD_RUNPATH_SEARCH_PATHS = (
+					"$(inherited)",
+					"@executable_path/Frameworks",
+				);
 				OTHER_LDFLAGS = (
 					"$(inherited)",
 					"-ObjC",
@@ -354,7 +365,10 @@
 				CLANG_ENABLE_MODULES = YES;
 				CURRENT_PROJECT_VERSION = 1;
 				INFOPLIST_FILE = HelloWorld/Info.plist;
-				LD_RUNPATH_SEARCH_PATHS = "$(inherited) @executable_path/Frameworks";
+				LD_RUNPATH_SEARCH_PATHS = (
+					"$(inherited)",
+					"@executable_path/Frameworks",
+				);
 				OTHER_LDFLAGS = (
 					"$(inherited)",
 					"-ObjC",
@@ -416,7 +430,10 @@
 				GCC_WARN_UNUSED_FUNCTION = YES;
 				GCC_WARN_UNUSED_VARIABLE = YES;
 				IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET = 10.0;
-				LD_RUNPATH_SEARCH_PATHS = "/usr/lib/swift $(inherited)";
+				LD_RUNPATH_SEARCH_PATHS = (
+					/usr/lib/swift,
+					"$(inherited)",
+				);
 				LIBRARY_SEARCH_PATHS = (
 					"\"$(TOOLCHAIN_DIR)/usr/lib/swift/$(PLATFORM_NAME)\"",
 					"\"$(TOOLCHAIN_DIR)/usr/lib/swift-5.0/$(PLATFORM_NAME)\"",
@@ -470,7 +487,10 @@
 				GCC_WARN_UNUSED_FUNCTION = YES;
 				GCC_WARN_UNUSED_VARIABLE = YES;
 				IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET = 10.0;
-				LD_RUNPATH_SEARCH_PATHS = "/usr/lib/swift $(inherited)";
+				LD_RUNPATH_SEARCH_PATHS = (
+					/usr/lib/swift,
+					"$(inherited)",
+				);
 				LIBRARY_SEARCH_PATHS = (
 					"\"$(TOOLCHAIN_DIR)/usr/lib/swift/$(PLATFORM_NAME)\"",
 					"\"$(TOOLCHAIN_DIR)/usr/lib/swift-5.0/$(PLATFORM_NAME)\"",
diff --git a/template/ios/HelloWorld.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/HelloWorld.xcscheme b/template/ios/HelloWorld.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/HelloWorld.xcscheme
index eb6ca51ab0fb0f..b57be22ab2d66f 100644
--- a/template/ios/HelloWorld.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/HelloWorld.xcscheme
+++ b/template/ios/HelloWorld.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/HelloWorld.xcscheme
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 <Scheme
-   LastUpgradeVersion = "1200"
+   LastUpgradeVersion = "1210"
    version = "1.3">
    <BuildAction
       parallelizeBuildables = "YES"