ASO news digest for August 2026

Apple rolled out mockups and guidance for the app’s product page header and updated age ratings for Korea, while Google Play announced new app quality requirements that could affect visibility on the store. All the key ASO updates from August — in our new digest.

App Store News

In the App Store, Apple added mockups and guidance for the product page header

Apple published guidelines for the Product Page Header — the first thing users see when they land on your app’s page. Through video or images, you can now showcase your brand, highlight seasonal offerings, announce new content, and more.

These headers can now be tested through product page optimization, just like screenshots and the app icon.

Apple updated age ratings for the Republic of Korea

On August 12, Apple made two changes to App Store age ratings for Korea.

The first change is already live: if your app has an official rating from Korea’s regulator, GRAC, you can now carry it over directly to the App Store — just provide the classification number when submitting your next version, and your App Store rating will match it.

The second change takes effect in October: a couple of content descriptors — infrequent mild profanity and mature themes — will move from “All” to “12+”.

Google Play News

Google Play introduces new app quality requirements

On August 26, Google Play announced two new requirements for apps: one on memory usage, the other on secure account migration when switching devices.

For memory, Google set thresholds for RAM usage, bitmap images, and code optimization. Play Console already has new tools that show exactly where an app is “bloating” in memory.

For sign-in — when a user switches to a new Android device, the app now needs to authenticate them automatically, without extra steps (via the Restore Credentials API).

The new requirements won’t kick in right away — the memory rule takes effect in February 2027, followed by the sign-in rule in April 2027.