From what I've seen shipping AI features in production apps, the retention cliff for AI-powered apps usually comes down to one thing: whether the intelligence gets better the more someone uses it, or stays static. Apps that maintain long-term growth tend to share a few characteristics: the AI surface is deeply embedded in a workflow the user already has (not a standalone feature they visit occasionally), the output quality improves with user context over time, and there's a clear value moment that happens fast — within the first session ideally. Apps that spike and drop usually have AI as a novelty layer on top of an otherwise thin utility. The intelligence impresses once, but there's no underlying habit loop bringing users back. With Foundation Models and Core AI shipping in iOS 27, this problem gets more interesting — on-device inference means you can personalize continuously without a server round-trip, which removes the biggest friction point for building context over time. The apps that figure out how to use local context accumulation for genuine personalization are going to have a structural retention advantage. Curious whether Apple's data shows a meaningful difference in Day-30 retention between apps where AI is core to the primary action vs apps where it's a secondary feature. — Divya Ravi, Senior iOS Engineer

Based on what's been discussed in App Store sessions over the years, retention and engagement metrics consistently outweigh acquisition metrics as predictors of sustained organic growth — and this makes intuitive sense. The App Store algorithm surfaces apps that keep users coming back. An app with strong Day-7 and Day-30 retention signals to Apple's systems that it's delivering real value, which feeds into editorial consideration, category rankings, and Search relevance. Pure acquisition volume without retention is essentially paying to inflate numbers that don't compound. The most underrated signal in my experience: session frequency in the first week. Apps where users return 3+ times in the first 7 days show dramatically better long-term curves than apps with high Day-1 engagement that then goes quiet. That early habit formation seems to be the strongest leading indicator. Would be genuinely interested whether Apple's data confirms session frequency in Week 1 as a stronger predictor than Day-1 retention specifically. — Divya Ravi, Senior iOS Engineer

Have ran into this exact problem on SDK teams distributing to multiple partner integrators — same frustration. No native deep link to a specific build exists today, but two things that actually work: App Store Connect API Wire this into your CI pipeline so the moment a build finishes processing, it posts the direct link to Slack or Teams automatically: GET /v1/builds?filter[app]={appId}&filter[version]={version}&filter[buildNumber]={buildNumber}&filter[processingState]=VALID Nobody has to navigate anywhere. The link comes to them. Takes about a day to set up and completely eliminates wrong installs. Named group workaround (works today, zero code) Create an internal group called "QA-Current". Keep only the active build in it. Share that group link once — when a new build is ready, swap the build in the group. Your QA team always opens the same link, always gets the right build. Not elegant but it works immediately while waiting for native support. On the sort order issue in the groups tab — that's a separate problem worth filing independently. Build ordering by recency should be the default for internal groups and it clearly isn't. Your FB13812978 is a good start, but the more individual feedback reports Apple sees on this the better. What CI system are you using? The API approach is straightforward on Xcode Cloud and GitHub Actions — happy to share the specific implementation if useful. — Divya Ravi, Senior iOS Engineer

This happens when older subscription groups or price points weren't properly retired in App Store Connect. A few things to check: First, in App Store Connect go to your app → Subscriptions → look for any subscription groups that are still "Active" but shouldn't be visible. Older plans stay visible to users who are grandfathered on them — you can't remove them entirely if active subscribers exist, but you can stop offering them to new subscribers by setting availability to "No longer available for new subscribers." Second, if these are legacy price tiers from before Apple's 2023 pricing update, they may show differently in Manage Subscriptions because the display name hasn't been updated. Worth checking your localizations — sometimes an old display name persists even after a price change. The cleanest approach for avoiding confusion going forward: keep subscription groups minimal, use clear display names that include the price, and when retiring a plan set it to not available for new subscribers before deprecating it. Users on the old plan see it because they're still on it — but new users won't see it as an option. — Divya Ravi, Senior iOS Engineer

Hi, Is there a way programatically i can check if UIPastecontrol is disabled or enabled as in grayed out or not?