Workaround for iOS AppStore 1024×1024 Icon Issue

by Jun 30, 2020

In the middle of June, Apple started enforcing a requirement for store submissions via App Store Connect. While the requirement is not new, in the past Apple allowed developers to add the 1024×1024 icons via the store listing, rather than as part of the app submission. Now they are requesting the icon to be part of the package, although it seems that some app updates are exempted from the rule.

We plan to add direct support for the deployment in a future 10.4 update release. In the meantime, we have published a very detailed set of steps to work around the issue using RAD Studio 10.4. The steps are on the Embarcadero Quality Portal (QP) web site for the issue RSP-29692, in the comment linked here: https://quality.embarcadero.com/browse/RSP-29692?focusedCommentId=85036

While the detailed steps are fairly long, in essence what you have to do is to use an asset catalog to provide all of the icons used by your app. This is needed in addition to the Storyboard Launch Screen support provided in RAD Studio 10.4 Sydney. Here is a summary of the detailed steps:

  1. Create an asset catalog with the actual icon and image files used by the app. You can do this by starting with the asset catalog provided in the workaround, and replacing the placeholder images in the file available in the QP entry with your own images.
  2. Compile the asset catalog on your macOS computer.
  3. Transfer the files generated as part of the asset catalog compilation from the macOS host to the application project root folder.
  4. Update the Info.plist file in the project to contain the correct property keys for the App Store Connect submission. The use of the DTPlatformVersion property key has been observed as key for the App Store Connect submission.
  5. Update the project deployment list to include the proper PNG files and replace the Info.plist and Assets.car files generated by default.

As a reference, Apple requirements for the different graphical elements are explained at https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/ios/icons-and-images/app-icon. With the detailed steps in the QP entry, you should be able to make a successful App Store Connect submission for your RAD Studio 10.4 apps.