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FIG 4.0 — Blog

Notes on shipping mobile apps.

Policy changes, technique guides, and release-ops essays from the team building Stora.

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ios

How to Distribute Your iOS App in Japan in 2026: Alternative Marketplaces, Notarization, and the Indie Playbook

iOS 26.2 opens Japan to alternative app marketplaces and outside payments. Here's how distribution, notarization, and the new fees work for indies.

Carlton Aikins9 min read
All posts
google-play

google will write your play store listing in every language now. the screenshots are still on you.

At I/O, Google Play added Gemini-powered listing localization — upload a CSV, get every language. Here's the part it doesn't translate.

Carlton Aikins
android-studio

android studio can port your iphone app to android now. the code was never the wall.

Google's new Migration Assistant turns an iOS app into native Kotlin in hours. The hard part — getting it onto Google Play — didn't get any easier.

Carlton Aikins
google-play

Google Play Data Safety Form: The Complete 2026 Guide to Filling It Out Without Getting Rejected

A section-by-section guide to Google Play's Data Safety form in 2026 — the declarations that trigger rejections and how to avoid them.

Carlton Aikins
android-17

How to Expose Your Android App to Gemini Intelligence Agents in 2026: A Complete App Actions Guide

Gemini Spark turns your App Actions into agent-callable building blocks. Here's how to declare, test, and ship them before Android 17's stable launch.

Carlton Aikins
gemini-spark

gemini spark is official — the skill system is the part that matters for indie devs

Google announced Gemini Spark at I/O today. The agent gets the demos — but the skill system underneath is what indie devs need to plan around.

Carlton Aikins
android-xr

android xr glasses get their first public demos on tuesday — what indie devs should actually do about it

Google I/O on May 19 brings hands-on Android XR glasses demos and SDK Preview 3. The honest indie playbook is mostly to wait — except for one thing.

Carlton Aikins
app-store

How to Add External Purchase Links to Your iOS App in 2026: A Complete Implementation Guide

External purchase links are finally allowed in US App Store apps. Here's how to implement them, what Apple still charges, and whether it's worth it.

Carlton Aikins
app-store

apple is building ai agents into the app store — and the rulebook is the real story

A report says Apple is wiring AI agents into the App Store. The real story is what it does to App Review — and the new compliance surface it hands indies.

Carlton Aikins
android

Jetpack Compose Adaptive Layouts in 2026: A Practical Guide to Grid, Flexbox, and MediaQuery

Jetpack Compose 1.11 ships Grid, Flexbox, and MediaQuery for adaptive UI. Here's how indie devs build one app that works on phones, foldables, and TVs.

Carlton Aikins
android

android wants to be the app now — what the i/o show actually means for your installs

At The Android Show on May 12, Google called Android an 'intelligence system.' For indie devs, that quietly rewrites where installs come from.

Carlton Aikins
app-store-connect

The App Store Connect API in 2026: A Complete Automation Guide for Indie Developers

App Store Connect's API now covers build uploads, webhooks, TestFlight feedback, and background assets — here's how indie devs automate the release pipeline.

Carlton Aikins
aso

your app store rank just jumped 30 spots overnight — don't ship anything yet

Apple's post-iOS 27 algorithm is volatile this month. Paramount+ jumped +45 spots with no marketing push. Here's how indies should read the swings — and what not to do.

Carlton Aikins
aso

Custom Product Pages in 2026: The 70-Page, Keyword-Linked ASO Playbook for Indie Devs

Apple doubled the CPP limit to 70 and made them appear in organic search. Here's the complete indie playbook for using Custom Product Pages as a real acquisition channel.

Carlton Aikins
android-17

google's 'create my widget' kills 'install our app for the widget' — here's the indie play

Gemini Intelligence's 'Create My Widget' lets users generate widgets from text. The widget-as-acquisition channel just shifted. Here's the play.

Carlton Aikins
android

Google's 2026 Developer Verification: The Complete Indie Android Developer's Guide

Every Android developer must verify identity with Google by September 2026 — even for sideloaded apps. Here's the complete playbook for indie devs.

Carlton Aikins
android-17

Android 17 'Adaptive Everywhere': The Indie Developer's Prep Guide Before Google I/O 2026

Android 17 unifies phones, tablets, Chromebooks, and XR into one adaptive target. Here's the practical migration playbook for indie devs before I/O and the stable cut.

Carlton Aikins
ios-26-5

ios 26.5 shipped today. here's the 90 minutes of work that actually matters this week.

iOS 26.5 went public today with RCS encryption, the 12-month subscription type live, and Apple Maps ads groundwork. 28 days until WWDC — here's the punch list.

Carlton Aikins
aso

Your App Store Screenshot Captions Are Now ASO Keywords

Apple is now indexing the text inside your screenshots. Indie devs who treat screenshots as conversion-only just lost a discovery surface.

Carlton Aikins
core-ai

Core AI Is Replacing Core ML at WWDC 2026: The Migration Plan for Indie iOS Devs

Apple is replacing Core ML with Core AI at WWDC 2026. Here's the framework migration plan and a 29-day pre-WWDC checklist for indie iOS developers.

Carlton Aikins
app-store-optimization

App Store Discovery in 2026: A Survival Guide for the AI App Submission Boom

App submissions are up 60% YoY in 2026. Here's how indie iOS and Android devs can win discovery when the App Store and Play Store are flooded with AI-built apps.

Carlton Aikins
ios-27

iOS 27 Will Let Users Pick Claude or Gemini for Apple Intelligence. Here's What to Ship Before WWDC.

Apple is opening Apple Intelligence to Claude and Gemini in iOS 27. Indie devs have a 30-day window to ship the right update before the keynote.

Carlton Aikins
app-store-connect

App Store Connect 2.0: A Practical Guide to the New Marketing Asset Generator for Indie Developers

App Store Connect 2.0 ships a refreshed UI, a marketing asset generator, and 11 new promotional languages. Here's what indie developers actually need to know.

Carlton Aikins
app-store-connect

apple just made app review submissions independent — and indie devs should care

Apple now lets developers send additional items to App Review without bundling them into an existing submission. It's a small UI change with big workflow implications.

Carlton Aikins
app-store

Apple's Mini Apps Partner Program: The 2026 Indie Developer's Guide to the 15% Commission

Apple's Mini Apps Partner Program halves the App Store commission to 15% for qualifying mini apps. Here's how it works, who qualifies, and how to ship one in 2026.

Carlton Aikins
google-play

google play's news & magazine deadline is may 27 — and most indie devs don't know it applies to them

Google Play removes news and magazine apps without a Play Console self-declaration on May 27, 2026. The category is broader than the name implies — here's the indie dev read.

Carlton Aikins
app-store-review

How to Implement Apple's Third-Party AI Consent Rule (5.1.2(i)) Without Getting Rejected

Apple's App Review Guideline 5.1.2(i) requires explicit consent before sharing user data with third-party AI. Here's a practical 2026 implementation guide for indie devs.

Carlton Aikins
ios-26-5

apple maps is becoming an ad surface in ios 26.5 — and indie apps should be paying attention

iOS 26.5 quietly adds the groundwork for ads in Apple Maps. For indie developers banking on local discovery, this is a new channel and a new fight for attention.

Carlton Aikins
app-store-connect

How to Use 12-Month Commitment Monthly Subscriptions on the App Store in 2026

Apple expanded 12-month commitment monthly subscriptions globally in May 2026. Here's how the model works, when it pays off, and how to ship it cleanly.

Carlton Aikins
wwdc

the WWDC 2026 graphic just leaked the new siri — what indie devs should actually do

Apple's WWDC 2026 promo graphic teases a redesigned Siri in the Dynamic Island and a third-party AI extensions system. Here's what that means for your app, 35 days out.

Carlton Aikins
android

google i/o 2026 is 16 days out — a small indie's pre-show checklist

Google I/O lands May 19. Android 17 ships in June. Here's what an indie dev should actually do in the next two weeks instead of doomscrolling preview leaks.

Carlton Aikins
google-play

Google Play's 20% Fee and 5% Billing Rate in 2026: A Practical Guide for Indie Developers

Google Play decoupled platform and billing fees in 2026. Here's the real math on the 20% IAP rate, the 5% billing option, and when switching pays off.

Carlton Aikins
app-store

How to plan releases when App Review takes 7 to 30 days: a 2026 indie developer guide

App Review times have stretched from 24 hours to weeks. Here's how to design your release schedule, hotfix plan, and feature branches around the new reality.

Carlton Aikins
app-store

Apple's 2.5.2 crackdown isn't about AI. It's about apps that finish building themselves.

Apple is pulling vibe-coding apps under Guideline 2.5.2. The rule hasn't changed — what changed is that AI runtimes finally make it obvious which apps were always violating it.

Carlton Aikins
aso

How to A/B test App Store screenshots in 2026: a complete Product Page Optimization guide

A practical, end-to-end guide to A/B testing screenshots in App Store Connect — designing tests, reading results, and avoiding the traps that waste 90 days.

Carlton Aikins
swift

Swift on Android is real now. Here's what actually changes for indie cross-platform devs.

Swift 6.3 shipped an official Android SDK. Here's the realistic version — what it does, what it doesn't, and where the new bottleneck lands.

Carlton Aikins
android

The Android 17 readiness checklist for indie developers: what actually changes for your app before the summer stable release

Android 17 hit Beta 4 — APIs are locked. Here's a practical readiness guide covering orientation, large screens, post-quantum, and what to test before stable.

Carlton Aikins
ios

Day one of the iOS 26 SDK gate. Here's what App Store Connect is actually doing to your build.

April 28 is here. Apple's iOS 26 SDK requirement is now live in App Store Connect, and the first-day rejection pattern is exactly what you'd expect.

Carlton Aikins
ios

48 hours to the iOS 26 SDK deadline. Stop reading. Start uploading.

Apple's April 28 SDK cutoff is two days away. If you haven't uploaded a build to App Store Connect yet, here's the triage list.

Carlton Aikins
watchos

The 64-bit deadline on the wrist: a 2026 guide for watchOS and Wear OS developers

Apple requires 64-bit watchOS apps from April 28, 2026. Google requires the same for Wear OS from September 15. Here's how to ship before both deadlines.

Carlton Aikins
indie-dev

104% more apps on the store. The submission queue didn't get any kinder.

App releases are up 104% year over year. AI is building apps faster than ever — but reviewers, listings, and rejections still scale at human speed.

Carlton Aikins
android

Android 17 app memory limits, explained: what they are, why Google added them, and how to test your app before the stable release

Android 17 introduces per-app memory caps based on device RAM. Here's how the limits work, how to detect when you hit one, and how to fix the patterns that trip them.

Carlton Aikins
app-store-connect

The new App Store Connect Analytics, explained: 100+ metrics, cohorts, and what indie devs should actually track

Apple's biggest App Store Connect Analytics update since launch adds 100+ metrics, cohorts, and peer benchmarks. Here's what to use and what to ignore.

Carlton Aikins
android

Google Play just quietly rewired contacts access. You have about three weeks.

Google's April 15 Play policy update changes how Android apps request contacts, location, and account transfers. Here's what indie devs need to do now.

Carlton Aikins
App Store Connect

The New App Store Connect Analytics: A Practical Guide to the 100+ New Metrics for Indie Developers

Apple overhauled App Store Connect Analytics with 100+ new metrics, cohorts, peer benchmarks, and 7-filter drilldowns. Here's how indie devs should actually use it.

Carlton Aikins
Google Play

Google Play Now Lets Users Rate the AI Summary of Your Reviews. That Should Worry You.

Play Store v51.0 added a feedback mechanism on AI review summaries. For indie devs, this is a new conversion signal you don't control — and need to start watching.

Carlton Aikins
iOS 26

The April 28 Submission Crunch Is 6 Days Out. Submit This Week or Eat the Queue.

The iOS 26 SDK deadline lands April 28. Review queues are already slow. Here's why your real deadline is this Friday, not next Tuesday.

Carlton Aikins
iOS 27

How to Prepare Your iOS App for the Foldable iPhone: A Pre-WWDC 2026 Playbook

Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected in September. iOS 27 lands at WWDC in 47 days. Here's how indie devs should prepare — adaptive layouts, screenshots, testing.

Carlton Aikins
iOS 26

How to Integrate Apple's Foundation Models Framework Into Your iOS App: A 2026 Guide

A practical guide to adding on-device Apple Intelligence to your iOS 26 app using the Foundation Models framework — architecture, code, privacy, submission.

Carlton Aikins
Google Play

Google Play's Contacts Picker Deadline Is 24 Days Out — Here's the Fix

Google Play's new contacts permissions policy kicks in May 15, 2026. If you still request READ_CONTACTS, you're about to get flagged. Here's what to do.

Carlton Aikins
App Store

App Store Submissions Are Up 104% — and So Are Rejections for AI-Generated Apps

App Store releases are up 104% year-over-year this month. Reviewers are pushing back. Here's what's actually getting rejected — and how indie devs should adapt.

Carlton Aikins
Android 17

Android 17 Beta 4 Is Out: The Large-Screen Rules That Will Break Your App

Android 17 Beta 4 is the last beta before stable. The new large-screen requirements are a hard cutover. Here's exactly what changes and how to prepare.

Carlton Aikins
ASO

How to Use Regional Pricing and Localized Store Listings to Double Your Downloads

India, Brazil, and Indonesia now drive 45% of Google Play downloads. Here's the practical playbook for setting up regional pricing and localized listings that actually convert.

Carlton Aikins
App Store

Apple Just Shipped iOS 26 Design Kits. Your Screenshots Are Already Outdated.

Apple released official iOS and iPadOS 26 UI design kits for Figma and Sketch. Here's why that matters more for your store listing than your actual app.

Carlton Aikins
Android

Your Android App Has Until August 31 to Target API 36. Start Now.

Google Play's rolling API level policy means apps that miss the Android 16 (API 36) deadline become invisible to new users on newer devices. Here's what that actually means.

Carlton Aikins
Swift

Swift 6.2 Approachable Concurrency: A Practical iOS Migration Guide for 2026

Swift 6.2's approachable concurrency makes migrating to the iOS 26 SDK far less painful. Here's a step-by-step guide for indie developers facing the April 28 deadline.

Carlton Aikins
Android

Google Just Put a State-of-the-Art AI Model on Your Users' Phones

Gemma 4 is live in the AICore Developer Preview. On-device AI on Android just crossed a line that should change how indie devs think about what's possible.

Carlton Aikins
Android

How to Add On-Device AI to Your Android App in 2026 (Gemini Nano + AICore Guide)

A practical guide to integrating on-device AI into Android apps using Gemini Nano, AICore, and Gemma 4 — without a backend, API key, or cloud dependency.

Carlton Aikins
iOS 27

How to Prepare Your App for a New iOS Release Cycle (The Complete Indie Dev Guide)

A practical, end-to-end guide for indie developers on surviving WWDC, navigating OS betas, and shipping an update that's ready for day-one iOS adopters.

Carlton Aikins
WWDC26

WWDC26 Is 59 Days Out. What Are You Waiting For?

Apple just confirmed WWDC26 for June 8–12. Here's what indie developers should actually be doing right now — not two weeks before the keynote.

Carlton Aikins
google play

How to Reprice Your Android App Before Google's New Play Store Fees Go Live

Google's Epic settlement drops Play Store commissions to 20% and unlocks alternative billing. Here's what Android developers need to do before June 30, 2026.

Carlton Aikins
app store connect

App Store Connect Has Webhooks Now. Your Release Pipeline Should Care.

Apple's new webhook API means App Store Connect can push build status events to your server in real time. Here's what that actually changes for indie devs.

Carlton Aikins
compliance

Age Verification Laws for App Developers: The 2026 Compliance Guide

Utah's deadline hits May 7. Louisiana's is July 1. California's in January 2027. Here's what mobile developers need to implement before each cutoff.

Carlton Aikins
security

SparkCat Is Back. It Got Through App Review Again. Here's Why That Should Worry You.

A new SparkCat malware variant slipped through both the App Store and Google Play by hiding inside SDK dependencies. What indie devs should know.

Carlton Aikins
app store

How to Cut Your App Store Rejection Rate in Half: A 2026 Developer Guide

Nearly 40% of iOS submissions get delayed or rejected. This practical guide covers the most common pitfalls and how to fix them before you hit submit.

Carlton Aikins
monetization

Subscription Fatigue Is Real — And One-Time Purchases Are Making a Comeback

41% of consumers report subscription fatigue. Here's why indie mobile devs should rethink their monetization model before users rethink their spending.

Carlton Aikins
flutter

How to Build AI-Driven Dynamic Interfaces with Flutter's GenUI SDK

A practical guide to Flutter's GenUI SDK — how it works, when to use it, and how to ship adaptive AI-powered UI from a single codebase.

Carlton Aikins
xcode

Apple Put AI Agents Inside Your IDE — Here's Why That Changes Everything

Xcode 26.3 ships agentic coding with the Claude Agent SDK baked in. What this means for indie iOS developers and their daily workflow.

Carlton Aikins
aso

App Store Screenshots That Convert: The 2026 Playbook for Indie Developers

A practical guide to designing App Store and Play Store screenshots in 2026 — sizing, messaging, layout, and the mistakes that tank conversion.

Carlton Aikins
ios

1 in 8 iOS submissions get rejected for privacy manifests. Here's why.

Apple rejected 12% of App Store submissions last quarter for privacy manifest issues. Most of them were avoidable — if you know where SDKs hide.

Carlton Aikins
app distribution

The App Store Duopoly Is Cracking Open

Japan's MSCA and Google's Registered App Stores program signal a new era for mobile app distribution. Here's what indie devs should be thinking about.

Carlton Aikins
cross-platform

React Native vs Flutter vs Kotlin Multiplatform: How to Choose in 2026

A practical comparison of the three leading cross-platform mobile frameworks in 2026, with real adoption data, performance benchmarks, and decision criteria for indie devs and small teams.

Carlton Aikins
android

Google's Android Developer Verification Is Rolling Out. Here's What It Means for You.

Google is deploying Android Developer Verifier to devices this month. Indie devs have a window to prepare before sideloading changes hit in August.

Carlton Aikins
ai

How to Add AI Agents to Your Mobile App in 2026 (Without Burning Through Your Cloud Budget)

A practical guide to building AI-powered features into iOS and Android apps using on-device models, hybrid architectures, and task-specific agents.

Carlton Aikins
ios

The iOS 26 SDK Deadline Is April 28. Here's What You Actually Need to Do.

Apple's new SDK requirement hits in four weeks. Your app will get Liquid Glass whether you want it or not — here's how to prepare.

Carlton Aikins
swift

Swift on Android Is Official: A Practical Guide to Cross-Platform Swift Development in 2026

Swift 6.3 shipped an official Android SDK. Here's what it actually supports, how it works, and whether it makes sense for your app.

Carlton Aikins
app store

Apple Killed IAP Promo Codes. Offer Codes Are Actually Better.

Apple retired In-App Purchase promo codes on March 26. Here's why offer codes are a straight upgrade for indie developers.

Carlton Aikins
google play

Google Play Just Overhauled Its Fee Structure. Here's What Developers Actually Need to Know.

Google slashed Play Store commissions to 20%, introduced alternative billing, and launched registered app stores. A practical breakdown for mobile developers.

Carlton Aikins
aso

App Store Optimization in 2026: The Indie Developer's Complete Guide

ASO has changed. Keyword stuffing is dead, screenshots are your biggest conversion lever, and AI tools are table stakes. Here's what actually works in 2026.

Carlton Aikins
app store

Apple Just Gave Developers 100 New Metrics. Here's What to Do With Them.

Apple overhauled App Store Connect with 100+ new metrics this week. More data is only useful if your listing is worth optimizing. Here's how to think about it.

Carlton Aikins
product

Why Stora

Deploying a website takes minutes. Shipping a mobile app to the App Store still takes days. We built Stora to close that gap.

Carlton Aikins