App Store and Play Store Launch Service

Description

Service App Store and Play Store launch

Publishing an app means two developer accounts, a store listing, privacy declarations, a test release and a review on each store. As of October 2026 Apple charges US$99 per membership year and Google a one-time US$25. WavX prepares and submits the release under accounts your company owns, and answers review feedback. No one can promise approval, and this page says what the stores check.

Request a project estimate Last updated 2 October 2026

What a launch involves

A finished build is not a published app. Between the two sit a developer account on each store, a store listing, privacy and content declarations, a test release, a review, and usually one round of reviewer feedback. Most launch delays come from the account and declaration steps, not from the code.

WavX offers store launch as part of mobile app development , and as a separate piece of work for an app built elsewhere. Everything below about fees and rules was read on Apple's and Google's own developer pages on 2 October 2026. Store rules change often, so check the linked sources before relying on a figure.

Accounts and fees

Apple App Store

Google Play

Fee

US$99 per membership year. Apple lists the price in local currency during enrolment

US$25, one time

Organisation account

A legal entity with a D-U-N-S Number, a public website on the organisation's domain, a work email on that domain, and a person with authority to sign for the organisation

A D-U-N-S number, organisation name and address, website, and verified contact email and phone

Individual account

Legal name, which is shown as the seller name; two-factor authentication on the Apple Account

Legal name and address, verified before publishing

Extra step for new accounts

None stated

Personal accounts created after 13 November 2023 must run a closed test with at least 12 testers opted in continuously for at least 14 days before applying for production access

Three practical points follow from this table.

First, register the accounts in your company's name. The account holder owns the listing and every future update. An app published under a developer's personal account has to be transferred later, and if the relationship ends badly you have a takeover problem instead of an app.

Second, start the accounts before the build finishes. An organisation needs its D-U-N-S Number in hand to enrol with either store. Google notes that applying for one through Dun & Bradstreet is free.

Third, a new personal Google account adds at least 14 days of closed testing to the schedule, and Google says the review of the production-access application that follows usually takes seven days or less but can take longer.

What must be ready before submission

Item

Apple

Google

Build format

Built with Xcode 26 or later using the iOS 26 SDK, required for uploads since 28 April 2026

An Android App Bundle, required for new apps since August 2021

Platform target

Apps must target iOS 13 or later, since 9 September 2026

New apps and updates must target Android 16 (API level 36) or higher, since 31 August 2026

Screenshots

1 to 10 per display size, in JPEG or PNG. iPhone screenshots at the 6.9-inch or 6.5-inch size, and 13-inch iPad screenshots if the app runs on iPad

At least 2, JPEG or 24-bit PNG, each side between 320 and 3,840 pixels

Icon and graphics

Supplied in the build

Icon 512 by 512 pixels, 32-bit PNG; feature graphic 1,024 by 500 pixels

Listing text

Name, description, keywords, support link

Name, short description of up to 80 characters, full description

Privacy policy

A link in App Store Connect and inside the app

Required to complete the Data safety form

Privacy declaration

App privacy details, covering your data practices and those of third-party SDKs in the app

Data safety form, required for every published app including those on testing tracks, and covering third-party SDKs

Account deletion

If the app supports account creation, it must offer account deletion within the app

If the app enables account creation, an in-app path to delete the account and a web link to request deletion

Reviewer access

A demo account or demo mode, with back-end services live during review

Sign-in details for any part of the app behind a login

Ratings and audience

Age rating questions

Content rating questionnaire, target audience, and an ads declaration

The privacy declarations deserve care. Both stores hold you responsible for the accuracy of what you declare, including data collected by analytics, advertising and other SDKs inside the app. WavX fills these in from an inventory of the SDKs the build contains, not from memory. The full list of what to prepare is in the app launch checklist.

Testing tracks

Both stores let you put a build in front of testers before the public release.

TestFlight (Apple). Up to 100 internal testers from your team, and up to 10,000 external testers. Builds shared with external testers are sent for review first.

Google Play. Internal testing reaches up to 100 testers quickly. Closed testing goes to a wider invited group, and open testing is visible on Google Play. Google recommends starting with an internal test, then a small closed test.

A test release finds the problems reviewers find: crashes on a device nobody in the team owns, a sign-up flow that fails on a slow connection, a payment that works only in the test environment.

Review, and why apps are rejected

Apple states that on average 90% of submissions are reviewed in less than 24 hours. It also states that over 40% of unresolved issues relate to guideline 2.1, App Completeness, which covers crashes, placeholder content and incomplete information. The causes Apple lists are ordinary:

The app crashes or has obvious bugs.

Links are broken, or the support link and privacy policy link are missing.

Placeholder text or images remain.

The reviewer was not given a working demo account, or the back end was switched off.

Other guidelines catch apps that are complete but out of bounds. Guideline 4.2 says an app should offer more than a repackaged website. Guideline 3.1.1 requires in-app purchase for unlocking digital features or content inside the app. Guideline 4.8 requires an app that uses a third-party or social login for its primary account to also offer an equivalent privacy-focused login option.

Google states that for certain developer accounts it takes more time to review, which may mean up to seven days, or longer in exceptional cases. Its policy action usually follows a mismatch between what the app does and what was declared.

If a submission has already been refused, the page on app rejected by the App Store or Play Store covers how to read the rejection and respond. Apple allows an appeal to its App Review Board where you believe the app was misunderstood.

How WavX runs a launch

Accounts. Confirm both developer accounts exist in your company's name and that WavX has invited-user access.

Build check. Confirm the build meets the current SDK and target API requirements, and includes account deletion if it has accounts.

Listing. Prepare name, descriptions, screenshots at the required sizes, icon and feature graphic.

Declarations. Complete App privacy details, the Data safety form, ratings, audience and ads declarations from the SDK inventory.

Test release. Publish to TestFlight and to a Play testing track, and fix what testers find.

Submission. Submit with review notes: demo credentials, an explanation of anything not obvious, and contact details.

Review response. Answer reviewer questions, make required changes and resubmit.

Release. Publish once approved. Google's managed publishing lets you choose the moment an approved change goes live.

After release the app needs upkeep, because both stores raise their requirements every year. That is mobile app maintenance.

Cost and timeline

Store fees are paid by you to Apple and Google. WavX's work is priced in one of two ways.

As part of an app build. Launch is included in the scope of an app WavX builds. The app cost calculator gives a planning range for the whole build, not a quote. A simple cross-platform app with standard design has a base of ₹1,50,000, a planning range of ₹1,27,500 to ₹1,87,500. A medium app with user accounts, payments and push notifications comes to a subtotal of ₹5,45,000, a planning range of ₹4,63,250 to ₹6,81,250. WavX states a typical mobile app timeline of 2 to 4 months.

For an app built elsewhere. Quoted after scoping, with no published figure, because the cost depends on whether the build already meets store requirements.

For the launch itself, plan in weeks, not days. Account verification, the 14-day closed test for new personal Google accounts, and one round of review feedback all take calendar time that no amount of development effort shortens.

When you do not need this service

Your developer has already produced a compliant build. Submission is form-filling that a careful non-developer can do. The step-by-step launch guide and the checklist template are enough.

The app is your website in a wrapper. Apple's guideline 4.2 is written against this. An installable web app may serve you better. See PWA vs native app .

You have not tested with real users. A store launch makes an untested app public. Run a test track first, which needs only the developer account.

Frequently asked questions

What does it cost to publish an app on the App Store and Google Play?

As of October 2026, the Apple Developer Program is US$99 per membership year, shown in local currency when you enrol, and Google Play charges a one-time US$25 registration fee. Both are paid by you directly to Apple and Google. Our work to prepare and submit the release is part of an app build, or quoted after scoping for an app someone else built.

How long does app review take?

Apple states that on average 90% of submissions are reviewed in less than 24 hours. Google states that for certain developer accounts review may take up to seven days, or longer in exceptional cases. Neither is a commitment, and the account set-up and testing steps before review usually take longer than the review itself.

Whose developer account should the app be published under?

Yours. The seller name on the store is the account holder's name, and whoever holds the account controls every future update. We work as invited users on accounts registered to your company.

Can you promise the app will be approved?

No. Approval is Apple's and Google's decision. We can make sure the submission is complete, the declarations match what the app does, and the reviewer can sign in, which removes the most common causes of rejection.

Can you launch an app that another team built?

Yes, if we can get the source code and access to the developer accounts. We review the build first, because an app that targets an old SDK or lacks required features such as account deletion needs code changes before it can be submitted.

Do we need to launch on both stores at once?

No. Many businesses launch on one store first. Which one depends on what phones your customers use and how soon you need to be live, since each store has its own account and testing steps.

Sources

Apple Developer Program: enrollment and fee · read 2 October 2026

Apple: App Review (review times and common issues) · read 2 October 2026

Apple: App Review Guidelines · read 2 October 2026

Apple: App privacy details on the App Store · read 2 October 2026

Apple: TestFlight · read 2 October 2026

Apple: Upcoming requirements (SDK minimums) · read 2 October 2026

Apple: Screenshot specifications · read 2 October 2026

Google Play Console Help: Get started with Play Console (registration fee) · read 2 October 2026

Google Play Console Help: App testing requirements for new personal developer accounts · read 2 October 2026

Google Play Console Help: Required information to create a developer account · read 2 October 2026

Google Play Console Help: Target API level requirements · read 2 October 2026

Google Play Console Help: Data safety section · read 2 October 2026

Google Play Console Help: Account deletion requirements · read 2 October 2026

Google Play Console Help: Preview assets · read 2 October 2026

Google Play Console Help: Set up an open, closed, or internal test · read 2 October 2026

Google Play Console Help: Publish your app (review times) · read 2 October 2026

Google Play Console Help: Prepare your app for review · read 2 October 2026

Android Developers: About Android App Bundles · read 2 October 2026

Related

App rejected by the App Store or Play Store

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App cost calculator

Mobile app development

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