App Store Connect Help
App Store Connect Manage asset packs Overview of Apple-hosted asset packs
Overview of Apple-hosted asset packs
The Background Assets framework allows you to schedule background downloads of additional content using your server or content delivery network (CDN). Apps targeting iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26 and later can use Managed Background Assets. With Managed Background Assets, the system automatically manages downloads, updates, and compression for your assets. Additionally, apps distributed through TestFlight and the App Store can use Apple-Hosted Background Assets, and Apple will host the content on your behalf.
Assets for Managed Background Assets are managed through asset packs that you configure using a command-line packaging tool in Xcode, or the Managed Background Assets Developer Tools for Linux. Users’ devices automatically download these asset packs separately from your app build. When you use Apple hosting, you can also upload asset packs to App Store Connect separately from your app build.
Learn how to create, download, and locally test Apple-hosted asset packs.
After you upload an asset pack to App Store Connect, you can test it using TestFlight, and submit it for distribution on the App Store.
Localized asset packs
Starting with iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, tvOS 27, and visionOS 27, you can use Managed Background Assets to distribute localized assets separately from your app build. Include localized assets in separate asset packs for each language, and users automatically receive the appropriate asset pack based on their system settings, or app language preferences when available.
Note: Devices running earlier OS versions won’t receive localized asset packs.
You can distribute localized asset packs through TestFlight. Later this year, you can also submit localized asset packs for distribution on the App Store.
You can associate each asset pack version with one language in the manifest file. The language must be a valid BCP-47 identifier and can contain language, script, and region subtags (for example, “zh-Hans-CN” or “en-US”). You can change the associated language from version to version, and you can associate a language with multiple asset pack versions.
Note: Creating and testing localized asset packs isn’t supported in the Managed Background Assets Developer Tools for Linux. Use the packaging tool in Xcode instead.
If no localized asset packs match a user’s language settings, the system uses the asset pack in the next most relevant language, such as other regional variations of the language or the app’s primary language.