Service
Blocked release? Let us get you shipping
Since 2026, the App Store and Google Play reject updates from apps that have not caught up with their new rules. Your app stays live, but you can no longer ship a bug fix or a new feature, and on Android it can disappear for future users. I bring it back into compliance: a clean build, an update the stores accept, and a pipeline ready for the next ones.
No time for a call? Write to me: every email gets a reply within one business day.
Google Play deadline
Last API 36 extensions end on 1 November 2026
Apps that were granted an extension must target API 36 by then to publish an update. On iOS, no update has been accepted without Xcode 26 since 28 April.
1 dayuntil Google Play's last extensions end
The dates that matter
Apple's and Google's official rules, dated and sourced. If one of them applies to your app, deal with it before you have an urgent fix to ship.
28 April 2026
App Store
In force
Xcode 26 and the iOS 26 SDK required
Every app or update uploaded to App Store Connect must be built with Xcode 26 or later and the iOS 26 SDK (or iPadOS, tvOS, visionOS and watchOS 26). An older build can no longer be published.
31 August 2026
Google Play
In force
New apps and updates: target API 36
To be published, an app or update must target Android 16 (API level 36). Exceptions: API 35 for Wear OS and Android Automotive, API 34 for Android TV and Android XR.
31 August 2026
Google Play
In force
Live apps: hidden below API 35
An app already on the store that targets Android 14 (API 34) or lower is no longer offered to new users whose phone runs a newer Android version than its target. Your current users keep it, but you stop gaining new ones on those devices.
1 November 2026
Google Play
Next deadline · 1 day
Extensions end
Google lets developers request more time to target API 36, until 1 November 2026 at the latest. After that date, an update that does not target API 36 is rejected.
Not announced yet
App Store
To plan for
Liquid Glass becomes mandatory with the 27 SDKs
Rebuilt with the iOS 26 SDK, your app picks up the new Liquid Glass design. The UIDesignRequiresCompatibility setting keeps the old look for now, but Apple describes it as temporary and ignores it when you build with the 27 SDKs. Once Apple requires Xcode 27, the new design stops being optional, so it is worth preparing during the compliance work.
Official sources:Apple, upcoming requirementsApple, UIDesignRequiresCompatibilityAndroid Developers, target API levelPlay Console Help
Does this affect your app?
Tick what applies to your app.
Does even one of these sound familiar? Let us sort it out before your next urgent fix gets blocked. Send me your app's link: in 20 minutes I will tell you what is blocking and what it takes.
What this covers
Apple's current upload rules
Since 28 April 2026, App Store Connect only accepts uploads built with Xcode 26 and the iOS 26 SDK. Rebuilding on that SDK also applies the new Liquid Glass look to native controls unless you opt out, so the interface needs a pass.
Google Play target API 36
Since 31 August 2026, new apps and updates must target Android 16 (API level 36) to be published. Raising the target usually means fixing permissions, background work and storage access along the way.
Dependencies and build
Old Gradle, Cocoapods or Swift Package versions, dead libraries and a build that only worked on one laptop.
Release pipeline
Signing, provisioning, fastlane or Xcode Cloud, and a release that anyone on the team can run.
How we work
Get it building
First goal is a build on a clean machine, which is where most stalled projects fail.
Meet the store requirements
Target level, SDK, permissions and the review points the store flags, until the upload is accepted.
Leave it releasable
A documented pipeline and a short handover, so your team ships the next update without me.
Where I have done it
15+ apps published
10 years of shipping iOS and Android apps to the App Store and Google Play, including apps handed over to in-house teams.
Release pipelines in production
Bitbucket, Xcode Cloud and fastlane on the LEAKAPP field app at VonRoll Hydro.
Questions I get asked
- Will my app disappear from the stores?
- Not overnight. On the App Store your app stays live: uploading a new version is what gets rejected until it is built with Xcode 26. On Google Play, an app that targets API 34 or lower is no longer offered to new users whose phone is newer than its target. Your current users keep it, but you can no longer ship fixes.
- Can we get more time on Google Play?
- Yes: Google lets you request an extension, until 1 November 2026 at the latest. It buys time, it does not fix anything: the compliance work still has to happen, and it is better started before the date.
- What does Liquid Glass change for my app?
- Built with the iOS 26 SDK, native components take Apple's new design: bars, buttons, tabs. The UIDesignRequiresCompatibility setting keeps the old look, but Apple describes it as temporary and ignores it with the 27 SDKs. I review the affected screens during the compliance work, so the change does not catch you out later.
- Our app cannot be updated at all. Where do you start?
- With a build on a clean machine and a list of what blocks the upload. That list is usually short, and it tells us whether this is a week of work or a bigger renovation.
- Do you need our source code?
- Yes, and read access to the store accounts. If a handover is missing pieces, finding what is missing is part of the job.
- What if the original developers are gone?
- That is the common case. I take the repository as it is, document what it does, and get it back to a releasable state.
Case studies
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Want to keep shipping updates?
Book a free 20-minute call and send me your app's link. I will tell you what blocks the update, and whether it is a week of work or a bigger renovation. If you do not need me, I will say so.
No time for a call? Write to me: every email gets a reply within one business day.