AI & TechnologyITMS-90725 SDK Version Issue: Fix in Flutter (Xcode 26)

If App Store Connect shows ITMS-90725 "SDK version issue," the build you uploaded was made with an older SDK than Apple now accepts, and the fix is to rebuild it with Xcode 26 or later. Apple's upcoming requirements page says that since April 28, 2026, apps uploaded to App Store Connect must be built with Xcode 26 or later using an SDK for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, tvOS 26, visionOS 26 or watchOS 26. In a Flutter app, that often means the Mac or CI machine that builds the IPA is still running Xcode 16.

The facts below come from Apple's requirements and release pages, Flutter's docs and source, and GitHub's runner image lists, as shown in the sources. I checked each one on October 18, 2026.

Disclosure: App369 is my studio. I build and fix Android and iOS apps, mostly in Flutter, and the last section mentions what I sell. Apple doesn't pay me for anything on this page.

What the error says

The wording below is a developer's copy of the email, posted in an Apple Developer Forums thread in January 2026. It is not Apple's own documentation:

This app was built with the iOS 18.2 SDK. Starting April 2026, all iOS and iPadOS apps must be built with the iOS 26 SDK or later, included in Xcode 26 or later, in order to be uploaded to App Store Connect or submitted for distribution.

The same thread shows the message arrived months before the date it names. A GitHub issue in a project named pot-g-flutter, dated February 2026, describes the same warning on a build made with the iOS 18.5 SDK. Your email will name the SDK your build used. That number tells you how far behind your build machine is.

What Apple requires today

On October 18, 2026, the upcoming requirements page had no entry for Xcode 27 or the iOS 27 SDK. So Apple hasn't published an Xcode 27 upload requirement that I can find. Xcode 26 or later is the stated minimum. My advice: build with Xcode 26.6, or Xcode 27 once the app has migrated to UIScene. Read the UIScene guide before you move a Flutter app to Xcode 27.

Apple doesn't say whether this is a warning or a rejection. Its page says apps "must be built" this way, so plan on fixing it, not waiting to see.

Step 1: Install the required Xcode

1. Install Xcode 26 or later from the Mac App Store or Apple's developer downloads. Apple's releases page lists Xcode 26.6 (June 25, 2026) as the newest Xcode 26 release.
2. Open it once and let it install its components.

Step 2: Make the command line use it

A Flutter build runs through the command-line tools, so the selected Xcode matters, not the one you last opened. Flutter's iOS setup page gives this command for pointing the tools at an Xcode install:

sudo sh -c 'xcode-select -s /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer && xcodebuild -runFirstLaunch'

Replace /Applications/Xcode.app if you installed it somewhere else. Apple's TN2339 documents xcode-select --print-path to see the current selection, and xcode-select -switch to change it. Then run xcodebuild -version to see the version in use. My advice: do this on every Mac that builds the app, including old laptops and CI machines you forgot about.

Step 3: Don't trust flutter doctor for this

flutter doctor checks Xcode, but not against Apple's upload rule. In the Flutter source on the master branch, xcodeRequiredVersion is 15 and xcodeRecommendedVersion is 16. The doctor warns below the recommended version. Xcode 16 passes that check but would still trigger ITMS-90725. So a clean doctor result doesn't mean Apple will accept the build. Check xcodebuild -version yourself.

If your Flutter is old and the build breaks under Xcode 26, upgrade Flutter and see the iOS build-failed-after-upgrade guide.

Step 4: Rebuild pods and the archive

After switching Xcode, old build output can linger. Work from least to most destructive, from the ios folder:

1. pod install --repo-update.
2. If pods still build against the old toolchain, delete Pods and Podfile.lock, run flutter clean, flutter pub get, then pod install --repo-update again.
3. Build the archive with flutter build ipa, or archive in Xcode from ios/Runner.xcworkspace, and upload again.

The build-failed guide covers the deployment target, CocoaPods and plugin mismatches in more detail. Keep the two targets apart: the SDK is what you build with, and the deployment target is the oldest iOS you support. Apple's September 9, 2026 entry only requires iOS 13 or later. Your plugins may ask for more.

Fix it on CI

If the upload comes from a build server, the server's Xcode decides the SDK. For GitHub Actions, the macOS 26 arm64 image readme I read lists Xcode 26.6 as the default, along with 26.5, 26.4.1, 26.3, 26.2, 26.1.1 and 26.0.1. It also lists CocoaPods 1.17.0. GitHub announced a separate xcode-27 image label in July 2026, marked preview, and its readme lists Xcode 27.0 as that image's default.

If your workflow pins an older image or selects an old Xcode, change it. Older images list different Xcode versions, so check the readme for the image your workflow uses.

On other CI services, such as Codemagic, check the provider's own page for the Xcode versions it offers.

Other services that build for you

The warning can also reach people who don't run the build themselves. If a hosted or no-code builder makes your iOS build, the Xcode it uses is the vendor's choice. Check its documentation for the Xcode version, and if it is older than 26, export the project and build it locally with Xcode 26 or later, or wait for the vendor to upgrade.

Related errors

If the next email is about privacy manifests, see ITMS-91053 and ITMS-91061.

Need a hand?

If App Store Connect keeps rejecting your build with ITMS-90725, or the app breaks after the Xcode upgrade, the App Fix Ticket covers it in two fixed-price steps. A $450 Diagnosis gives you the root cause with evidence and a fixed repair quote within 3 business days, credited toward the fix. If you go ahead, the $1,200 Fix takes 5 business days and comes as a pull request. Or send me a short description.