diff --git a/rust/lance-linalg/build.rs b/rust/lance-linalg/build.rs
index fee023cf742..10385e35431 100644
--- a/rust/lance-linalg/build.rs
+++ b/rust/lance-linalg/build.rs
@@ -76,7 +76,14 @@ fn main() -> Result<(), String> {
         build_f16_with_flags("lsx", &["-mlsx"]).unwrap();
         build_f16_with_flags("lasx", &["-mlasx"]).unwrap();
     } else {
-        return Err("Unable to build f16 kernels on given target_arch.  Please use x86_64 or aarch64 or remove the fp16kernels feature".to_string());
+        // Only error if fp16kernels was explicitly requested on unsupported platform.
+        // This allows builds on iOS, Android, etc. when the feature is disabled.
+        //
+        // Note: We use CARGO_FEATURE_* env var instead of cfg!() because cfg!()
+        // checks the build script's features, not the library's features.
+        if env::var("CARGO_FEATURE_FP16KERNELS").is_ok() {
+            return Err("Unable to build f16 kernels on given target_arch.  Please use x86_64 or aarch64 or remove the fp16kernels feature".to_string());
+        }
     }
     Ok(())
 }