App Store Review Times Are Getting Worse, Not Better

A thread on Google Play app review times now regularly exceeding a week is generating the kind of resigned frustration that comes from a chronic problem with no fix in sight. Commenters note that Apple's App Store review, long criticized as too slow, now looks fast by comparison. CoMaps, an open-source maps app, is cited as a recent victim, with the implication that smaller or newer apps without an established track record get hit hardest.

The pattern is that both major mobile gatekeepers are slowing down, not speeding up, even as the volume of apps and updates increases. For developers, this means longer feedback loops between a bug fix or feature ship and it reaching users, which is a direct hit on iteration speed.

The f-droid comment is the sharpest: the Google review process is described as the best advertising f-droid could ask for. That is a real signal. When the official distribution channel is slow and opaque enough that developers start routing around it, the platform has a problem.