App Store RejectionGuideline 2.5.4 — Hardware Compatibility

Your app claims to support devices it doesn't actually work on.

If your App Store listing says your app supports iPhone and iPad but the iPad version looks like a blown-up phone app — or crashes entirely — you're going to hit 2.5.4. Apple reviewers test on the devices your listing claims to support. Here's how to fix it.

What Apple said

“Your app does not function as expected on iPad. When we launch the app on an iPad, the layout appears broken and the interface does not adapt to the larger screen. Apps must work correctly on all compatible devices listed in the App Store.”

What this actually means

Apple tests your app on every device family your listing claims compatibility with. If you checked 'iPhone and iPad' in App Store Connect but only designed for iPhone, the stretched or misaligned iPad layout will get you rejected under 2.5.4. You either need to fix the iPad experience or remove iPad from your supported devices.

What Apple needs to see

  • A fully functional and properly laid out experience on every device size your listing claims to support
  • Adaptive layouts using Auto Layout or SwiftUI that handle iPad screen dimensions gracefully
  • No iPhone-only UI elements that break when scaled to iPad (like fixed-width containers)
  • Thorough testing on actual iPad simulators in Xcode for all screen size classes your app targets
  1. 1Open Xcode and run your app on iPad simulators for all sizes your listing claims — iPad mini, standard iPad, and iPad Pro
  2. 2Fix any layout constraints that assume iPhone-sized screens, replacing hardcoded dimensions with flexible Auto Layout rules
  3. 3If a proper iPad experience is out of scope, update your App Store Connect device compatibility to iPhone only and remove iPad support
  4. 4Add iPad-specific screenshots to your App Store listing if you're keeping iPad support — missing iPad screenshots are a signal you haven't tested it
  5. 5Use size classes in your layouts to differentiate compact (iPhone) and regular (iPad) width environments properly

While you're at it — Apple also requires these pages for every app.

Fix this rejection, then make sure you're covered on the compliance side too. Apple requires every app to link to a hosted Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Support page, and Data Deletion page. No link means another rejection — just for a different reason.

Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Support Page
Data Deletion Page
Generate my compliance pages — $9

Common questions

Can I submit as iPhone only and add iPad support later?
Yes. Limiting your submission to iPhone is a completely valid strategy if iPad support isn't ready. Uncheck iPad in App Store Connect's device compatibility settings, ensure your screenshots are iPhone-only, and ship. Add iPad support in a future update.
My app works on iPad but the reviewer says it's broken — what should I check?
Test on the specific iPad model Apple uses for review — typically a current-generation iPad Pro. Pay attention to multitasking layouts (slide over, split view) which are enabled by default on iPad and often break fixed-layout iPhone apps.
Does Apple require a native iPad UI or is scaling from iPhone acceptable?
Pixel-doubled iPhone scaling is not acceptable for new submissions. Your app needs to run natively at iPad resolution. It doesn't need to use every square inch of the larger screen, but it must be a proper native experience, not a blown-up phone layout.