App Store review times in 2026, with our real timestamps

"How long does App Store review take?" is the question every launch plan depends on, and most answers online are either Apple's headline figure or a guess. We publish our own apps, so we have real timestamps. This guide gives you Apple's statement, then every submission we made in October 2026 with the times, including the ones that were still waiting when we wrote this, and what we have learned about when review is fast and when it is not.

The short version: a resubmission after a reply to App Review took us three hours. A brand-new app from a new account took eight days and two rounds. Two other new apps had been waiting seven and five days when we published this. All of those are normal.

What Apple says

Apple's published position is that "App Review works around the clock, typically reviewing at least 50% of submissions in less than 24 hours and 90% in less than 48 hours" ^[1]. That is the figure to plan around for an update to an app that is already on the store and has no open issues.

Two things the statement does not say are as important as what it does. It does not say that 100% of submissions are reviewed in 48 hours, so one in ten takes longer. And it describes the time to a review decision, not the time to approval. If the decision is a rejection or an information request, the clock starts again when you resubmit.

Apple also says that "over 40% of unresolved issues are related to guideline 2.1: App Completeness" ^[1], which includes the "Information Needed" messages that stretch a first submission from a day into a week.

Our real timestamps

All times are UTC and come from the review submission records in App Store Connect, except approval times, which come from our own notes of when the status changed. We have rounded approval times to the nearest half hour.

Cuefold, a teleprompter camera app, version 1.0

This was our first app on a new Apple developer account, which matters.

From first submission to approval: 8 days. From the final resubmission to approval: about 3 hours. The two are the same app and the same reviewers; the difference is that the first round was a new account, a hardware-dependent app and a reviewer with questions, and the last round was a reply with a one-word fix. We describe the rejection itself in our guide to 5.1.1(iv).

Cuefold 1.0.1

We did not note the minute of approval for this one, so we will not pretend to a precision we do not have. It was approved the following day and released the same day.

Cuefold 1.0.2

A Sunday evening submission, approved in the early hours of Monday. We did not request an expedited review.

Cuefold 1.0.3

Submitted on 27 October 2026 at 01:54 UTC, alongside a separate submission of three custom product pages made at 23:00 the previous evening. Both were waiting for review when this guide was published. We will update the table when they clear.

Stillpass, a passport-photo app, version 1.0

This is what a difficult first submission looks like. Each round was quick to come back, which fits Apple's 48-hour figure, but there were four rounds, and the final one has waited longer than any of the earlier ones. Apple's second rejection message said the app might be given extended review, and that appears to be what is happening.

Parlour, a games app, version 1.0

Submitted on 22 October 2026 at 08:11 UTC, with the first version, 21 in-app purchases, two subscriptions and Game Center content in one submission. Still waiting for review on 27 October: 5 days and counting. Nothing has come back yet, so we do not know whether the size of the submission is a factor, but it is a larger review than a one-line bug fix.

What the numbers tell us

We have four approvals and two open waits, so this is experience, not statistics. With that caveat:

• Updates to a live app with no open issues were fast. Our three Cuefold updates were approved in roughly 3 hours, under a day, and 7 hours. That matches Apple's statement comfortably.
• A resubmission after replying to the reviewer was the fastest of all. Three hours, in the middle of the night UK time. Our reading is that a reply goes back to the same team, with the context already loaded.
• A first submission from a new account took a week and two rounds. Apple asked for more information before reviewing, which is common with new accounts and apps that need hardware or a camera. The wait for the second round, 4 days, was the longest single wait Cuefold had.
• An app that has been rejected twice can wait longer the third time. Stillpass's final round has waited 7 days against earlier rounds of hours. Expect an app with a rejection history to be looked at more carefully, and plan for it.
• Weekends and nights did not slow us down. Two of our approvals came between 03:00 and 04:00 UTC, and the 1.0.2 submission went in on a Sunday evening and was approved before Monday began in the US. Apple does say review runs around the clock ^[1].

What the statuses mean while you wait

App Store Connect shows a status for the version, and knowing what each one means saves a lot of refreshing ^[3]:

• Waiting for Review: Apple has your submission but has not started. You can still edit some information and remove the build from review, but you cannot change screenshots or app previews.
• In Review: a reviewer has your app. Historically this lasts minutes to a few hours for an update.
• Rejected / Metadata Rejected: read the message in App Store Connect. Metadata Rejected means the build is fine and only the listing needs to change; you can reply and fix it without uploading a new build.
• Developer Rejected: you removed it from review yourself.
• Pending Developer Release: approved, waiting for you to press release.
• Ready for Distribution: approved and released. Your agreements must be in effect, and only the Account Holder can accept new ones.

How to plan a launch around review

1. Submit your first version at least two weeks before any date you have told anyone. Our first app took 8 days and that was with same-day replies on our side. A new account, a camera or health feature, or sign-in that needs a demo account all make an information request likely.
2. Treat the first two days as the likely window for an update, not a promise. Nine in ten updates clear within 48 hours by Apple's figure ^[1]. Do not schedule a marketing email for the morning after you submit.
3. Answer information requests the same day. Our Cuefold 2.1 request came back the day we submitted; the three days before we resubmitted were ours, not Apple's. Have a device recording and complete review notes ready before you submit, so you can reply within hours.
4. Reply in the thread rather than submitting a new version silently. The fastest approval we have had followed a reply explaining the change. Tell the reviewer what you did.
5. Use scheduled release for launches. Set the version to release manually or on a date, so an early approval does not put the app live before your material is ready. Cuefold 1.0 was scheduled for 20 October and approved on 16 October; we chose to release early, but the choice was ours.
6. Request an expedited review only for the reasons Apple lists. Apple considers expediting for "extenuating circumstances, such as fixing a critical bug in your app or releasing your app to coincide with an event you're directly associated with" ^[1]. A marketing deadline you set yourself is not one. We have not needed one so far.
7. If you are rejected, fix the cause everywhere before resubmitting. A second rejection for the same thing is the most expensive outcome, as our Stillpass table shows. Our guide to App Store rejections covers the common reasons.
8. If a bug-fix update is held up by a new issue, consider Apple's offer. For bug-fix submissions where review finds additional issues, Apple may offer to approve the current submission if you fix the new issue in the next one, as long as there are no legal or safety concerns; you accept by replying to the offer message ^[1].

What to do while you wait

Waiting for Review is not dead time. Prepare the release notes and screenshots for the next version. Check the privacy label and support URL once more. Write the reply you would send to the most likely information request, so that it goes out within an hour if it is needed. And keep the account's contact details current; Apple notifies the Admin, App Manager and Developer roles when something changes ^[3].

If you have an app that has been sitting in review or bouncing between rejections and nobody on your side can tell you why, we can take it over, read the thread and get it moving, then keep each update passing on our App care plan.