Average Wait Time for Mac App Store App Reviews Rising Significantly

iOS developer training firm Shiny Development has been tracking review times for iOS and Mac App Store submissions for some time, crowdsourcing data from developers disclosing their waits in Tweets. The tools provide an interesting look at how review times have varied over time, and they reveal that there has been a substantial increase in those times for Mac App Store submissions over the past six months.

Shiny Development's annual trend graph for Mac apps shows average review times of a few days to a week through approximately April 1 of this year, after which time the trend began a fairly steady rise. That rise has accelerated in recent weeks, with developer reports now indicating that their apps are spending an average of nearly a month in review.

mac app store review times oct12
The sample size is admittedly small for Shiny Development's Mac App Store calculations, with 62 reports having been collected over the past 30 days, but the firm reports that the data is generally fairly indicative of broader trends in their experience.

The averages on this site are based only on the data gathered from Twitter which are a very small subset of the total number of apps which go through review each day. However in our experience it does give a reasonable indication of how review times are changing over time.

The trend for iOS apps is less severe and is based on more substantial data as would be expected for the larger iOS App Store, with 471 data points being included from the past 30 days. Average iOS App Store review times have been within a range of 3-11 days over the past year and currently sit at one week after declining from their peak roughly two months ago.

Developers interested in contributing to the project can find tweet their waiting times using the respective #iosreviewtime and #macreviewtime hashtags, and Shiny Development offers a few guidelines on how times should be calculated.

Popular Stories

Apple Announces Special Event in New York Feature

Apple Announces Special Event in New York, London, and Shanghai on March 4

Monday February 16, 2026 6:05 am PST by
Apple today announced a "special Apple Experience" in New York, London, and Shanghai, taking place on March 4, 2026 at 9:00am ET. Apple invited select members of the media to the event in three major cities around the world. It is simply described as a "special Apple Experience," and there is no further information about what it may entail. The invitation features a 3D Apple logo design...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Aiming to Release 'Breakthrough' New iPhone Accessory

Wednesday February 18, 2026 12:43 pm PST by
Apple is looking for a "breakthrough" with its push into wearable AI devices, including an "AirTag-sized pendant," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a report this week, he said the pendant is reminiscent of the failed Humane AI Pin, but it would be an iPhone accessory rather than a standalone product. The pendant would feature an "always-on" camera and a microphone for Siri voice...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

iOS 26.4's New CarPlay Video Feature Shown in Action

Wednesday February 18, 2026 9:29 am PST by
Back at WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that it was planning to allow CarPlay users to watch video via AirPlay in their vehicles while they are not driving, and the first beta of iOS 26.4 suggests the feature may be nearing availability. There are several new references to CarPlay video streaming functionality within the iOS 26.4 beta's source code. The feature is not yet visible to users, but...
iphone 17 pro green

iPhone 17 Pro Max Curiously Becomes Most Traded-In Smartphone

Wednesday February 18, 2026 9:13 am PST by
New trade-in data indicates that Apple's iPhone 17 Pro Max has rapidly become the single most traded-in smartphone. According to a new report from SellCell, Apple's latest flagship iPhone has quickly risen to the top of the independent trade-in market, accounting for 11.5% of all devices appearing in the top-20 trade-in rankings just months after release. The analysis is based on SellCell...
Multicolored Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature

Low-Cost MacBook Expected on March 4 in These Colors

Wednesday February 18, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple will announce its rumored low-cost MacBook at its event on March 4, with the device coming in a selection of bold color options, according to a known leaker. Earlier this week, Apple announced a "special Apple Experience" for the media in New York, London, and Shanghai, taking place on March 4, 2026 at 9:00am ET. Posting on Weibo, the leaker known as "Instant Digital" said that the...

Top Rated Comments

George Zip Avatar
175 months ago
Updates to Purchased Apps

Several Apps I've bought via the App Store have gone through three and four updates in the real world, but still no updates showing up in the App Store. Very frustrating; I thought updates would at least get a bit of a fast track. No wonder users and developers are getting fed up.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
markcres Avatar
175 months ago
There is nothing worse than a graph Y axis that has no units stated on it !
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
175 months ago
EXACTLY right!

Speaking as a developer with a number of apps in the Mac App Store, the graph EXACTLY matches our recent experience. The last few updates we've submitted have taken more than 3 weeks to even enter the review process.

It's actually pretty frustrating when you're trying to push an update (or bug fix) out to users and you have to wait WEEKS for Apple to get around to reviewing your app.

I don't know if Apple is understaffed or getting inundated with new apps, but they've got to do something to improve the situation. Spend a few of those billions of $ and hire some more reviewers. After all, they're taking 30% of all app sales, so one would expect a little faster service.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
175 months ago
But I want Tweetbot *now*.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
175 months ago
All hands are probably on deck buttressing Apple's Maps app.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
175 months ago
Tough to draw any conclusions from such a small sample size, but maybe Apple should hire more reviewers for the 6 months surrounding a new iOS release.

Nice job reading! This is about the Mac App Store....

----------

But I want Tweetbot *now*.

That was my first thought as well :)
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)