App Store What's New Character Limit

Guideline 2.3.12 requires new features and product changes to be clearly described in the What's New text. Apple allows a generic description only for simple bug fixes, security updates and performance improvements. A version that adds a feature with the line "Bug fixes and improvements" does not meet the guideline.

What's New belongs to the platform version, together with the description, keywords and promotional text, not to App Information. In the App Store Connect API it is the whatsNew attribute of a version localization. That means each language of each version has its own text and its own 4,000 characters.

A hypothetical release note for Streakly 2.4: "New: home screen widgets for your streaks. Improved: reminders now respect Focus modes. Fixed: a crash when editing a habit from the calendar." That is about 150 characters, which is plenty. Most release notes use a small fraction of the allowance, so the limit is rarely the constraint; the guideline is.

• Repeating the full description. Keep it to what changed.
• Writing it only in English when the app is localized; each locale shows its own text.
• Assuming it feeds search. Apple lists app name, subtitle, keywords and company name as searchable, not What's New.

The same 4,000 applies to the description, while the screenshot count has its own limits. Compare all limits in the metadata limits reference and plan translations with the localization guide.