Apple is preparing two changes for developers that have nothing to do with this month’s device launches: new App Store product page art due this fall, and a fifth in-person Developer Center opening in Berlin later this year. Apple has confirmed both in its own developer news posts, but has not given either one an exact date.
Both items sit on Apple’s developer news page well below the headlines about iPhone 18 Pro and iOS 27’s release on September 14, but they affect every developer marketing an app on the store, not just those shipping updates for this month’s hardware.
Key facts
| Change | Announced | Timing Apple has given |
|---|---|---|
| New App Store creative assets | August 5, 2026 (following a June announcement) | “Fall” launch, no exact date |
| Berlin Developer Center | June 3, 2026 | “Later this year,” no exact date |
| App Store submissions for the 27 releases | September 9, 2026 | Open now |
What the new product page art actually adds
Apple’s August post describes assets that go “beyond in-use visuals to highlight your brand, seasonal offerings, exciting new content, and more,” usable in a product page header, in search results, and in In-App Events. Apple published an asset best-practices guide alongside design templates for Figma, Photoshop and Pixelmator so developers can prepare artwork before the assets go live. Apple has also said a preview tool for these assets is coming to App Store Connect, without saying when.
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Apple’s post frames the August announcement as a follow-up rather than a new idea, pointing back to a June 2026 developer announcement that first described the capability. Reading the two together, the assets were designed months before the fall launch window Apple has now confirmed, which suggests the design templates and best-practices guide are close to final even though the launch date itself is not fixed.
The stated use cases, product page headers, search results, and In-App Events, cover three of the most visible places a customer encounters an app before installing it. None of Apple’s own material reviewed here states whether existing screenshots and app previews will still be required alongside the new assets, or whether the new formats replace anything currently in App Store Connect.
A fifth Developer Center, this time in Europe
Apple’s Developer Centers are described on its own site as “dedicated spaces designed for in-person developer sessions, labs, workshops, and appointments.” Apple currently runs them in Cupertino, Shanghai, Bengaluru and Singapore. Berlin will be the fifth, offering, in Apple’s words, “consultation areas and dedicated labs” with “hands-on support from Apple experts in multiple languages.”
Apple’s own description positions the Berlin center as serving “teams of all sizes and at every stage of app development,” rather than a facility limited to large studios. It will be Apple’s first Developer Center in Europe, meaning European developers currently have to travel to Cupertino, Shanghai, Bengaluru or Singapore for the same kind of in-person labs and one-on-one appointments the other four centers already offer.
| Existing Developer Centers | Location |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cupertino |
| 2 | Shanghai |
| 3 | Bengaluru |
| 4 | Singapore |
| 5 (announced, not yet open) | Berlin |
Apple’s own deadline tracker does not mention either one
Apple maintains a page listing “upcoming requirements” for developers, and as of this writing its newest entry is still the SDK minimum requirement that took effect April 28, 2026, a deadline that has already passed. Neither the fall creative-assets launch nor the Berlin Developer Center appears on that page, and neither does the October 1, 2026 deadline for Apple’s revised EU terms, which Apple has announced elsewhere on its developer news site. Developers relying solely on the upcoming-requirements page would miss all of it.
What Apple has not said
- Apple has not given a specific date for the fall creative-assets launch, only the season.
- Apple has not given a specific date for the Berlin Developer Center opening, only “later this year.”
- Apple has not said when the App Store Connect preview tool for the new assets will ship.
- Apple has not updated its own upcoming-requirements page to include either change.
As of September 13, 2026, developers can review Apple’s asset best-practices guide and prepare submissions now that App Store review is open for the 27-generation operating systems, but a firm date for either the assets or the Berlin center has not been published. Coverage of this month’s Apple event and Apple Watch Series 12 is available for developers tracking what else Apple shipped in September.
