diff --git a/docs/RunningOnDevice.md b/docs/RunningOnDevice.md
index ec68c62b2..c3fda2446 100644
--- a/docs/RunningOnDevice.md
+++ b/docs/RunningOnDevice.md
@@ -206,6 +206,10 @@ Building an app for distribution in the App Store requires using the `Release` s
 
 Apps built for `Release` will automatically disable the in-app Developer menu, which will prevent your users from inadvertently accessing the menu in production. It will also load the JavaScript locally, so you can put the app on a device and test whilst not connected to the computer.
 
+> Hint
+>
+> You can also use the `React Native CLI` to perform this operation using the option `--configuration` with the value `Release` (e.g. `react-native run-ios --configuration Release`).
+
 Once built for release, you'll be able to distribute the app to beta testers and submit the app to the App Store.
 
 ### App Transport Security
diff --git a/local-cli/runIOS/runIOS.js b/local-cli/runIOS/runIOS.js
index a1fac7952..6ad64b05c 100644
--- a/local-cli/runIOS/runIOS.js
+++ b/local-cli/runIOS/runIOS.js
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ const path = require('path');
 const findXcodeProject = require('./findXcodeProject');
 const parseIOSDevicesList = require('./parseIOSDevicesList');
 const findMatchingSimulator = require('./findMatchingSimulator');
+const getBuildPath = function(configuration = 'Debug', appName, isDevice) {
+  return `build/Build/Products/${configuration}-${isDevice ? 'iphoneos' : 'iphonesimulator'}/${appName}.app`;
+};
 
 function runIOS(argv, config, args) {
   process.chdir(args.projectPath);
@@ -31,7 +34,7 @@ function runIOS(argv, config, args) {
   if (args.device) {
     const selectedDevice = matchingDevice(devices, args.device);
     if (selectedDevice){
-      return runOnDevice(selectedDevice, scheme, xcodeProject);
+      return runOnDevice(selectedDevice, scheme, xcodeProject, args.configuration);
     } else {
       if (devices){
         console.log('Could not find device with the name: "' + args.device + '".');
@@ -42,19 +45,19 @@ function runIOS(argv, config, args) {
       }
     }
   } else if (args.udid) {
-    return runOnDeviceByUdid(args.udid, scheme, xcodeProject, devices);
+    return runOnDeviceByUdid(args, scheme, xcodeProject, devices);
   } else {
     return runOnSimulator(xcodeProject, args, inferredSchemeName, scheme);
   }
 }
 
-function runOnDeviceByUdid(udid, scheme, xcodeProject, devices) {
-  const selectedDevice = matchingDeviceByUdid(devices, udid);
+function runOnDeviceByUdid(args, scheme, xcodeProject, devices) {
+  const selectedDevice = matchingDeviceByUdid(devices, args.udid);
   if (selectedDevice){
-    return runOnDevice(selectedDevice, scheme, xcodeProject);
+    return runOnDevice(selectedDevice, scheme, xcodeProject, args.configuration);
   } else {
     if (devices){
-      console.log('Could not find device with the udid: "' + udid + '".');
+      console.log('Could not find device with the udid: "' + args.udid + '".');
       console.log('Choose one of the following:');
       printFoundDevices(devices);
     } else {
@@ -88,12 +91,12 @@ function runOnSimulator(xcodeProject, args, inferredSchemeName, scheme){
     }
     resolve(selectedSimulator.udid)
   })
-  .then((udid) => buildProject(xcodeProject, udid, scheme))
+  .then((udid) => buildProject(xcodeProject, udid, scheme, args.configuration))
   .then((appName) => {
     if (!appName) {
       appName = inferredSchemeName;
     }
-    const appPath = `build/Build/Products/Debug-iphonesimulator/${appName}.app`;
+    let appPath = getBuildPath(args.configuration, appName);
     console.log(`Installing ${appPath}`);
     child_process.spawnSync('xcrun', ['simctl', 'install', 'booted', appPath], {stdio: 'inherit'});
 
@@ -108,14 +111,14 @@ function runOnSimulator(xcodeProject, args, inferredSchemeName, scheme){
   })
 }
 
-function runOnDevice(selectedDevice, scheme, xcodeProject){
-  return buildProject(xcodeProject, selectedDevice.udid, scheme)
+function runOnDevice(selectedDevice, scheme, xcodeProject, configuration){
+  return buildProject(xcodeProject, selectedDevice.udid, scheme, configuration)
   .then((appName) => {
     if (!appName) {
       appName = scheme;
     }
     const iosDeployInstallArgs = [
-      '--bundle', 'build/Build/Products/Debug-iphoneos/' + appName + '.app',
+      '--bundle', getBuildPath(configuration, appName, true),
       '--id' , selectedDevice.udid,
       '--justlaunch'
     ];
@@ -132,11 +135,12 @@ function runOnDevice(selectedDevice, scheme, xcodeProject){
   });
 }
 
-function buildProject(xcodeProject, udid, scheme) {
+function buildProject(xcodeProject, udid, scheme, configuration = 'Debug') {
   return new Promise((resolve,reject) =>
   {
-     const xcodebuildArgs = [
+     var xcodebuildArgs = [
       xcodeProject.isWorkspace ? '-workspace' : '-project', xcodeProject.name,
+      '-configuration', configuration,
       '-scheme', scheme,
       '-destination', `id=${udid}`,
       '-derivedDataPath', 'build',
@@ -162,13 +166,12 @@ function buildProject(xcodeProject, udid, scheme) {
   });
 }
 
-
 function matchingDevice(devices, deviceName) {
   if (deviceName === true && devices.length === 1)
   {
     console.log(`Using first available device ${devices[0].name} due to lack of name supplied.`)
     return devices[0];
-  }  
+  }
   for (let i = devices.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
     if (devices[i].name === deviceName || formattedDeviceName(devices[i]) === deviceName) {
       return devices[i];
@@ -176,7 +179,6 @@ function matchingDevice(devices, deviceName) {
   }
 }
 
-
 function matchingDeviceByUdid(devices, udid) {
   for (let i = devices.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
     if (devices[i].udid === udid) {
@@ -217,7 +219,10 @@ module.exports = {
     command: '--simulator [string]',
     description: 'Explicitly set simulator to use',
     default: 'iPhone 6',
-  }, {
+  } , {
+    command: '--configuration [string]',
+    description: 'Explicitly set the scheme configuration to use',
+  } , {
     command: '--scheme [string]',
     description: 'Explicitly set Xcode scheme to use',
   }, {