Developers must build apps using the iOS 13 SDK or later from April 30, 2020

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Gold iPad Pro with an iPhone SE
Gold iPad Pro with an iPhone SE (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • Apple has told developers to use the iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 SDK.
  • As of April 30, all apps submitted to the App Store must be using those SDKs or newer.
  • Apple says that iOS 13 is at 77% adoption. iPadOS is at 79%.

Apple has told developers that any app submitted for App Store review as of April 30, 2020, must have been built with the IOS 13 or iPadOS 13 SDK or later. If it wasn't, it won't be accepted.

The announcement was made via the Apple developer site with Apple also confirming that 77% of all iOS devices are now running iOS 13 or later. In terms of iPads, the iPadOS number increases to 79%.

iOS 13 is now running on 77% of all iOS devices introduced in the last four years, worldwide. Deliver great user experiences by seamlessly integrating with Dark Mode, Sign in with Apple, and the latest advances in ARKit 3, Core ML 3, and Siri. Starting April 30, 2020, all iPhone apps submitted to the App Store must be built with the iOS 13 SDK or later.

As of the same April 30 date, all apps must be built with all device sizes in mind, with storyboard requirements also changing.

Take advantage of Xcode features such as storyboards (including launch storyboards), Auto Layout, and SwiftUI, to ensure your app's interface elements and layouts automatically fit the display of all iPhone models, regardless of size or aspect ratio. Starting April 30, 2020, all apps submitted to the App Store must use an Xcode storyboard to provide the app's launch screen and all iPhone apps must support all iPhone screens.

Developers can learn more about app submission requirements on Apple's developer site, too.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.