Preparing Your iOS App for the Upcoming SDK Requirements (April 2026)

Apple has announced new minimum SDK requirements for App Store submissions starting April 28, 2026. If you're working on an iOS app, it's time to plan your upgrade.

What’s Changing?

All apps submitted to App Store Connect must be built with the latest SDK versions:

• iOS / iPadOS → SDK 26 or later
• tvOS → SDK 26 or later
• visionOS → SDK 26 or later
• watchOS → SDK 26 or later

Required Upgrades

To meet these requirements, ensure your development environment is updated:

• macOS → Version 26.4 (Tahoe)
• Xcode → Version 26

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Common Issue After Upgrade

After upgrading, you might encounter a build issue related to the fmt library (v11.0.2) when running the app on a physical device.

This happens because the newer Apple Clang compiler in Xcode 26 has compatibility issues with consteval.

Workaround Fix (Podfile Patch)

Add the following snippet inside your existing post_install do |installer| block in your Podfile:

rubyCopy
# Workaround for Xcode 26: newer Apple Clang breaks consteval in fmt 11.0.2
# Patch base.h to disable consteval since the header doesn't check for pre-defined FMT_USE_CONSTEVAL.

fmt_base = File.join(installer.sandbox.root, 'fmt', 'include', 'fmt', 'base.h')
if File.exist?(fmt_base)
  content = File.read(fmt_base)
  unless content.include?('Xcode 26 workaround')
    patched = content.gsub(
      /^(#elif defined\(__cpp_consteval\)\n#  define FMT_USE_CONSTEVAL) 1/,
      "// Xcode 26 workaround: disable consteval\n\\1 0"
    )
    if patched != content
      File.chmod(0644, fmt_base)
      File.write(fmt_base, patched)
    end
  end
end

Final Steps

1. Add the snippet to your Podfile

2. Run:

   consoleCopy
   pod install

3. Clean and rebuild your project

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References

• Apple Announcement: https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=ueeok6yw
• Expo Issue Thread: https://github.com/expo/expo/issues/44229

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Tip: Don’t wait until the deadline. Upgrade early to identify and fix compatibility issues in your dependencies.