To publish an app you need an Apple Developer account at $99 a year (price as of October 13, 2026), an app record in App Store Connect, a build from Xcode, a product page with screenshots and texts, the App Privacy questionnaire and, if you have them, in-app purchases. Then the version is submitted for review, and once Apple approves it the app goes live.
What you need before you start
You need a Mac, Xcode and a paid developer account. Everything else comes along the way.
- A Mac on macOS Sequoia 15.6 or later. That is what Xcode 26 runs on, up to version 26.3 on Sequoia, and Xcode 26 builds apps for the App Store. Xcode 26.4 to 26.6 need macOS Tahoe 26.2, and Xcode 27 needs macOS Tahoe 26.6 and a Mac with Apple silicon (Apple, October 17, 2026).
- An Apple Developer account. $99 a year (price as of October 13, 2026). You can't publish without it.
- Two web pages. A privacy policy and a support page. App Store Connect asks for links to both, and both have to load.
- A finished app. An AI agent can write the code, and the road from niche to build is covered in how to build an iOS app with AI.
You only pay Apple right before publishing. The niche, the code, the self-check and the page texts and screenshots can all be done first.
The app record and the bundle ID
An app on the App Store starts as a record in App Store Connect. Creating it takes four things.
- Name. Up to 30 characters, and it has to be free across the whole App Store. If the name is taken you can't create the record with it, so check it before you write code.
- Bundle ID. You register it in the developer portal as the reverse domain of your brand, for example com.mybrand.app. The Xcode project has to use the same one as the record.
- SKU. An internal code for the app in your account.
- Primary language. Appto uses English (U.S.).
Appto creates a new record and a new bundle ID for every new app. It never repurposes old records or someone else's.
Build and upload
Xcode makes the App Store build. It creates an archive, signs it and uploads it to App Store Connect.
- Every upload needs a new build number.
- After the upload Apple processes the build. For Appto's apps it took anywhere from a couple of minutes to twenty, and Apple doesn't promise a time.
- Once processed, the build is attached to the version in App Store Connect.
- There is an encryption question. If the app only uses the system's standard encryption, you write the answer into the project once and App Store Connect stops asking for every build.
Before uploading, Appto checks the build for things that don't belong there. Internal files, working notes and paths from the developer's Mac should never ship to users.
The App Store product page
The page sells the app before anyone opens it. You fill it in for every language the app ships in.
| Field | What it takes |
|---|---|
| Name | up to 30 characters |
| Subtitle | up to 30 characters |
| Keywords | up to 100 characters per language |
| Description and promotional text | per language |
| iPhone 6.9-inch screenshots | 1290×2796 or 1320×2868 pixels, 1 to 10 per language |
| iPad 13-inch screenshots | 2048×2732 or 2064×2752 pixels, if the app runs on iPad |
The requirements Appto prepares pages for, as of October 13, 2026. Screenshots in PNG or JPG without transparency.
Apple scales the other screen sizes itself. Appto puts at least three screenshots in every language.
This is also where you pick the primary and secondary category, the price and the countries. The age rating comes from a questionnaire. Answer by what the app actually contains, for example open web access inside the app raises the rating. The What's New text isn't available for the first version, it appears from version 2.
App Privacy
You can't submit a version without the App Privacy questionnaire. It lives in the App Privacy section of App Store Connect.
It asks what data the app collects and why. If the app works without a server and collects nothing, the answer is Data Not Collected. Analytics, ads and sending the user's text to someone else's server, an AI service for example, all count as collecting data and have to be declared. Once answered, the questionnaire is published.
The privacy policy link goes into the app information, the support link into the version. Both pages have to load.
In-app purchases
Create purchases in App Store Connect before you submit the version. Each one needs a name of up to 30 characters and a description of up to 45 in every language, a price and a screenshot of the purchase for the review team. The purchase has to reach Ready to Submit.
Subscriptions and the first one-time purchase don't go along with the version on their own. You select them in the review submission together with the version. Apple only accepts the first one-time purchase this way, otherwise the version goes to review without it. Appto confirmed this on its own apps in the summer of 2026.
The purchase screen inside the app needs the price and period, the subscription terms, restore purchases and links to the terms.
Submit for Review
When everything is filled in, open the version in App Store Connect and press Add for Review. Select the purchases and subscriptions in the submission, then press Submit for Review.
Before that, fill in the review information. A contact, demo account details if the app needs a login, and a short note on how to check the main feature. For a first submission Appto attaches a 30 to 60 second video of the main flow, as a file and as a link in the note.
This is also where you choose how the app is released after approval, automatically or manually. Appto releases right after approval.
The agent in Appto prepares the version, runs the checklist and then submits the app to Apple from your account or shows you what to press in App Store Connect. Apple doesn't promise review times, and only Apple decides on approval.
After launch
Launch is not the end of the work. Every update goes the same way, a new build, the version page and Apple's review. From version 2 you also write What's New.
Appto shows purchases as they happen, without waiting for tomorrow's report, gathers reviews and drafts replies, watches the ratings and proposes a plan for the next version. More on the features page.
9 apps made with Appto went this way and are on the App Store as of October 13, 2026 (Appto registry). To take your own app down the same road, get Appto for Mac. Common questions are answered in the FAQ.
Questions
How much does it cost to publish on the App Store?
An Apple Developer account costs $99 a year (price as of October 13, 2026). You pay right before publishing, and the niche, code and page can be done first.
Who submits the app for review?
Appto prepares the version and submits it to Apple from your account or shows you what to press in App Store Connect.
Do I need a privacy policy?
Yes. App Store Connect asks for a link to a privacy policy and to a support page, and both have to load.
How do I add a purchase to the first version?
Create the purchase before you submit and select it in the review submission together with the version. Apple only accepts the first one-time purchase this way.
How long does Apple's review take?
Apple doesn't promise a time, and neither do we. Only Apple decides on approval.
Build your own app in Appto
Appto checks the niche on fresh App Store data, designs the screens, writes the code, builds the App Store page and submits to Apple from your account or shows you what to press in App Store Connect. Runs on your own Claude Code or Codex.
Download for Mac