Apple has started accepting App Store submissions built against its next round of operating systems, covering iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, tvOS 27, visionOS 27 and watchOS 27. The notice itself does not give a release date for the software. Developers who want to get their apps ready can download the Xcode 27 Release Candidate now.
The biggest break with the past lands on the Mac. macOS 26 was the final release to support Intel-based machines and Rosetta, and macOS 27 will run only on Apple silicon. Developers who want to limit an app to Apple silicon Macs are told to build for arm64 alone, then rebuild the project and resubmit it.
Read more: Apple Opens Advanced Manufacturing Center in Houston for Small Businesses
Parental controls get a new tool as well. Time Allowances let parents manage how long children spend in apps, sorted by category, with Entertainment, Games and Social Media among the groups named. Apps that carry social media features will have to declare those capabilities in App Store Connect.
Apple is also refreshing how apps look once shoppers find them, with new product page headers and updated search result assets. A preview tool for product pages inside App Store Connect is listed as coming soon.
A separate deadline sits further out. Starting in April 2027, uploads to App Store Connect must meet minimum SDK requirements. At that point iOS and iPadOS apps will need the iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 SDK or newer, while tvOS, visionOS and watchOS apps will each need their own version 27 SDK at minimum.
The submission window opens as Apple pushes out other products on a similar schedule. AirPods 5, announced with open-ear active noise cancellation starting at $129, went up for pre-order on September 9 and reach stores on September 18, with a $149 model that adds a wireless charging case. More Siri AI languages are due in October.
Apple has been testing other App Store changes in recent weeks. An AI shopping assistant has been running inside the Apple Store app for a limited set of users under an Early Preview, without a formal announcement. The store itself was also in the news in August, when Telegram was pulled for hours over child sexual abuse material concerns before returning once the content was removed and the offending user banned.
Beyond the April 2027 SDK deadline, the notice attaches no other dates to the requirements it sets for developers.
