How long does App Store review take in 2026?

By Sigsten Gustavii· 27 October 2026· 9 min read

App Store review takes less than 48 hours for nine in ten apps, by Apple's own figures, and the time you lose is almost always to a rejection, not to the queue.

If you are about to submit your app, the review is the last gate between you and the App Store. This guide sets out what Apple says about timing, what each status in App Store Connect means, what makes a review slow, and how to give your app the shortest path through it.

What Apple says about review times

Apple publishes one clear figure. On its App Review page, it says 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. The same page warns that incomplete submissions may take longer or fail review.

That figure covers the review itself. It does not include the time your build spends processing after upload, which is usually short, or the time after approval before the app appears in the store. It also does not promise anything for a particular app: a new app with sign-in, payments or sensitive data simply has more for a reviewer to check than a small update.

Every status, in plain words

App Store Connect shows a status for each version you submit. Apple's status reference lists them all; these are the ones you will meet on a normal submission:

• Prepare for Submission: the version exists, and you are still filling in its details.
• Waiting for Review: Apple has received it. Nothing to do but wait.
• In Review: a reviewer is using your app. You can still pull the build from review if you spot a problem.
• Rejected: App Review did not accept it. Apple's message names the guideline and the issue.
• Metadata Rejected: the app is fine, but something in the listing, like a screenshot or the description, is not. You fix it in App Store Connect without a new build.
• Pending Developer Release: approved, waiting for you, if you chose to release it yourself.
• Processing for Distribution: approved and being prepared; Apple says it will be ready within 24 hours.
• Ready for Distribution: live in the App Store, provided your agreements are in effect.

What happens after approval

When you submit, you choose a release option: release the version yourself, release it automatically once approved, or release it automatically but no earlier than a date and time you set. According to Apple's release-option help, a version you release by hand may take up to 24 hours to appear on the App Store.

For updates, you can also use a phased release. Apple's phased release page explains that it rolls the update out over 7 days to people with automatic updates on:

You can pause a phased release for up to 30 days in total, and anyone can still download the update by hand from the App Store at any time.

What makes a review take longer

1. Incomplete submissions. Apple says over 40% of unresolved issues relate to guideline 2.1, App Completeness: crashes, placeholder text, broken links and missing information.
2. Sign-in without a demo account. If the reviewer cannot get past your login screen, they cannot review the app. Give them working credentials in the App Review Information section.
3. Features that are hard to reach. Hardware, location-specific features or anything that needs setting up should come with notes, and Apple suggests a demo video where needed.
4. Sensitive categories. Apps in regulated areas, such as banking, health or gambling, must be submitted by the legal entity that provides the service.
5. Rejections. Each rejection costs you a fix plus another trip through the queue. This is where most of the real delay comes from.

How to get through review faster

• Submit only a finished app. No "coming soon" screens, no lorem ipsum, no buttons that do nothing.
• Test it on a real iPhone running a current iOS, as Apple asks. An app that crashes as it opens is the quickest rejection there is.
• Check every link, including support and the privacy policy, which Apple requires for every app.
• Explain why you ask for each permission. Every camera, location or photos request needs a clear purpose string.
• Fill in App Review Information completely: contact details, a demo account if there is sign-in, and notes for anything unusual.
• Make screenshots honest. They should show the app as it is.

Our post on publishing to the App Store without a Mac covers the listing and upload in full, and the App Review glossary entry explains the guidelines behind each point.

Expedited review: when Apple will hurry

If you face extenuating circumstances, Apple lets you ask for an expedited review. Its App Review page names two examples: fixing a critical bug in your live app, for which you should include steps to reproduce the bug, and releasing your app to coincide with an event you are directly associated with, for which you give the event, its date and your link to it. It is a request, not a guarantee, and it is meant for real emergencies rather than a busy week.

Apple also offers some relief for bug-fix updates: if the reviewer finds other issues in an update that fixes bugs, you can choose to resolve those in your next submission, as long as there are no legal or safety concerns.

If your app is rejected

A rejection message in App Store Connect names the guideline your app did not meet. Read it closely; often the fix is small. You can reply to App Review in App Store Connect to clarify or ask a question before you resubmit. If you believe the reviewer misunderstood your app, Apple lets you file one appeal per submission to the App Review Board, with specific reasons why your app complies with the App Review Guidelines.

TestFlight has its own review

If you test with people outside your team before release, TestFlight needs a build approved by App Review for TestFlight before you can invite them, as Apple's TestFlight page explains. Up to 100 members of your own team can test without it. Plan that step into your timeline if you want outside feedback before the real review.

How to submit an app for review with Borel, step by step

Borel's Publish flow takes you from a finished app to Apple's queue without a Mac, and it checks the build for the most common reasons for rejection before you send it.

1. Check the app on a real iPhone. On Pro, Borel Companion installs it on yours with your Apple ID.
2. Ask Borel to fix the usual rejection causes, with a message like the one below.
3. Press Publish and fill in the store listing: name, icon, category, screenshots, description and a phone number for Apple's reviewer. A checklist shows what is still missing.
4. Run the review check. Borel builds this exact version on its Mac, opens it, and reads it for what Apple asks of every app and for the rules apps are most often turned down for. It lowers the chance of a rejection, and never promises approval: only Apple decides.
5. Sign in to Apple and send. Xcode builds, signs and uploads the app to App Store Connect from Borel's Mac.
6. Submit for review from the same window once the build appears in TestFlight.
7. Watch the status. Borel shows your app's live review status read from Apple, not a guess.

Get this app ready for App Review: remove any placeholder text, make sure every button does something, add a Delete account option in Settings, and explain each permission in plain words.

If your app has accounts in Borel's cloud, you do not need to make a demo account by hand: before each submission, Borel checks that the reviewer's demo account still works, and recreates it if a reviewer deleted it. The publishing page in Learn and the page on getting ready for Apple describe each screen.

The bottom line

App Store review is fast when the app is complete: half of submissions in under a day and 90% in under two, according to Apple. The real delays come from rejections, so the quickest route is a finished app, honest screenshots, working links and a demo account if there is sign-in. If you are building your app now, start free on Borel, and when it is ready, its Publish flow checks the build and sends it to Apple from your browser.

I think the queue is rarely the problem; rejections are. Check the app properly before you submit, and if you get stuck in review, write to me.

– Sigsten

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