App Maintenance: What Really Happens After Launch

The app is in the store, the project celebrated, the team disbanded. Twelve months later the email arrives: “Your app no longer meets current requirements and will be removed from the store.” Anyone who builds apps but doesn’t operate them sees this story play out regularly. Here is what really comes up after launch – year after year.

The annual maintenance cycle

New OS versions, every autumn

Apple and Google ship major releases of iOS and Android every year. Usually the app keeps running – but “usually” is not an operations strategy. Deprecated APIs, changed permission behaviour, new screen sizes: testing against the betas means fixing problems before users rate them.

And it is not just API changes. Each platform brings its own deep shifts:

• Android – 16 KB memory pages: Since Android 15, Google requires apps to support 16 KB memory pages. Native libraries compiled only for 4 KB pages crash on affected devices – and Google reserves the right to remove non-compliant apps from the store.
• iOS – the end of CocoaPods: Apple has steered the ecosystem towards Swift Package Manager; CocoaPods is no longer actively maintained. For React Native projects that historically rely heavily on CocoaPods, this means dependencies must be migrated before they become incompatible – and that may also require jumping to a newer React Native version.
• iOS – Liquid Glass: Apple’s new design paradigm will become the standard over time. Apps that ignore it will look increasingly out of place on newer OS versions – and the redesign is not an afternoon project.

Rising minimum requirements from the stores

Both stores regularly raise the mandatory target SDK or minimum toolchain. Apps that don’t keep up first become invisible, then get removed – regardless of how well they work. Google and Apple expect developers to keep their apps current – not eventually, but within concrete deadlines.

Constantly new devices

Foldable screens, new aspect ratios, Dynamic Island, always-on displays: every year brings devices that put your layout to the test. An app that looks perfect on yesterday’s test device can show clipped content or unreachable areas on tomorrow’s flagship.

Certificates, profiles, keys

iOS distribution certificates and provisioning profiles expire, push certificates even more so, and store accounts need to stay verified. None of this is hard – all of it has deadlines, and missing them takes your app offline.

Dependencies and security vulnerabilities

Every app sits on libraries. Those libraries receive security patches, breaking changes, and deprecation notices – and the longer you defer updates, the more expensive the jump becomes. The difference between continuous maintenance and “a rescue project every two years” is substantial over the app’s lifetime.

Privacy and compliance requirements

Privacy labels, consent requirements, new regulations: the stores set deadlines, and app operators have to deliver.

What this does to your app’s rating

Users punish neglected apps quickly: crashes on new devices, a layout that ignores the latest screen size, a login that breaks after an OS update. The store rating drops – and with it visibility and conversion. App marketing starts with an app that works reliably.

Predictable, not surprising

None of this is a scare tactic – it is a calendar. The dates are mostly known, the work is familiar, and the effort is calculable – as long as someone handles it continuously. That is exactly what our app maintenance packages Care and Care+Grow are for: OS updates, security, store compliance, and monitoring at a fixed monthly price. Including for apps originally built by someone else.

Frequently asked questions

Our app works fine – why touch it?

Because “works today” says nothing about next autumn. The stores remove hundreds of thousands of apps each year that no longer meet minimum requirements – working ones included.

What does app maintenance cost?

It depends on the size and condition of the codebase. After a short code audit we name a fixed monthly price. Let’s talk about it.

Can we handle maintenance ourselves?

Yes – especially well when builds and tests are automated. We set up the pipelines and train your team; after that you decide what to keep in-house and what to hand off.