App Store review time in 2026: Waiting for Review, expedited review, and what to do when you're stuck

Apple's only published number is this one: "On average, 90% of submissions are reviewed in less than 24 hours." It publishes no median and no split between new apps and updates.

For something more current, Runway publishes an average of real review times seen by teams using its release tool. Its page, updated September 26, 2026, showed:

Two caveats. Runway describes its figure as a truncated mean, not a median, and its sample is its own customers — mostly established teams, not first-time submitters. And look at the "longest" column: the average hides a long tail. One submission in July waited 42 days.

These are Apple's own definitions from App Store Connect Help, shortened in places.

"Metadata Rejected" is the cheap one: you can usually fix it without a new build. The details are in our page on Guideline 2.3.

App Review will examine your app as soon as we can. However, if your app is complex or presents new issues, it may require greater scrutiny and consideration. And remember that if your app is repeatedly rejected for the same guideline violation or you've attempted to manipulate the review process, review of your app will take longer to complete.

That's from the guidelines' "After You Submit" section. Beyond it, Apple documents a few more things that slow a review:

• An incomplete submission. Apple: "If your submission is incomplete, review times may be delayed or your submission may not pass." The usual gap is a missing or broken demo account — see Guideline 2.1.
• It isn't first-come, first-served. Apple's help says "Submissions may not be reviewed in the order you submit them."
• Export compliance. A build can sit in "Waiting for Export Compliance" while encryption documentation is reviewed.
• Late December. Apple no longer closes App Review for the holidays, but its last holiday notice (December 2024) warned that "reviews may take longer to complete from December 20-26". No 2026 dates had been announced when this was written.
• A new kind of app. Anything the reviewer hasn't seen before — a new category, unusual permissions, a regulated field — gets more scrutiny.

Then there are the outliers. Developers on Apple's forums reported submissions stuck for 17 and 45 days in early 2026, with only a template reply from Apple. Those threads are real, but they're self-selected: over the same months Runway's averages stayed under 15 hours. If you're past three or four days with no movement, treat it as an exception and act on it.

Apple accepts expedite requests in two situations, in its own words: "fixing a critical bug in your app or releasing your app to coincide with an event you're directly associated with." The expedite request form needs you to be signed in.

1. Submit the build first. The request refers to a submission that already exists.
2. For a bug fix, include the steps to reproduce. Apple asks for "the steps to reproduce the bug on the current version of your app." Say who is affected and how badly — crashes on launch, data loss, payments failing.
3. For an event, say what it is and how you're connected to it. A launch you chose yourself isn't an event; a conference you're presenting at is.
4. Keep it short and factual. One paragraph. No pleading.
5. Use it rarely. The guidelines warn: "If we find you're abusing this system, we may reject your requests going forward."

Apple publishes no turnaround time for expedited reviews, so don't plan a launch around one being granted. It's a request, not a queue-jump you're entitled to.

1. Wait at least 48 hours. Averages are under a day, but a two-day wait is still inside the normal range.
2. Check everything that isn't the review. Agreements in the Business section, export compliance, and whether App Review has sent a message you missed in App Store Connect.
3. Don't remove and resubmit. It's tempting. Apple's help is explicit: when you remove a submission, "the app status changes to Developer Rejected. If you resubmit, the review process will start over."
4. Contact App Review. Use Apple's contact form with your app's Apple ID and submission date.
5. Request an expedite if you genuinely qualify. A critical bug in the live version is a valid reason; impatience isn't.
6. Book a Meet with App Review session. Apple offers 30-minute video appointments where you can ask what to expect during review.

• Submit early, release manually. Choose manual release and the approved version sits in Pending Developer Release until you press the button. Apple reminds you by email after 30 days.
• Use phased release for updates. It rolls out to 1%, 2%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 50% and then 100% of users over seven days, and you can pause it.
• Lean on TestFlight. Only the first build you add to an external group needs beta review; Apple says later builds "may not require a full review". Internal testers need none.
• Bug fixes get some slack. The guidelines say bug fixes "will not be delayed over guideline violations except for those related to legal or safety issues" — you can address other issues in your next submission.
• Remember the last step. After approval, Apple says it "can take up to 24-hours for your app to appear on all selected storefronts."

And remove the most common causes of a second review before the first one. The rejections that hit indie apps most are 2.1 App Completeness, 5.1.1 privacy and account deletion, 3.1.1 in-app purchase and 4.3 spam — each page has the fix and a reply template.