macOS-latest defaults to Xcode 16.4 instead of Xcode 26, breaking App Store submissions

[jari-kuipers]

Description

On macOS-latest (which resolves to macOS-15), the default Xcode is 16.4 (iOS 18.5 SDK).
Apple now requires the iOS 26 SDK for all new App Store submissions. Pipelines that
rely on macOS-latest without an explicit xcode-select step fail at upload time.

Platforms affected

• Azure DevOps
• GitHub Actions - Standard Runners
• GitHub Actions - Larger Runners

Runner images affected

• Ubuntu 22.04
• Ubuntu 24.04
• Ubuntu Slim
• macOS 14
• macOS 14 Arm64
• macOS 15
• macOS 15 Arm64
• macOS 26
• macOS 26 Arm64
• Windows Server 2022
• Windows Server 2025
• Windows Server 2025 with Visual Studio 2026

Image version and build link

macOS-15, version 20260428.0039.1

Is it regression?

Yes. macOS-latest used to build apps that could be submitted; it no longer can since Apple enforced the iOS 26 SDK requirement.

Expected behavior

The default Xcode version selected in macOS-latest should be the latest supported 26.3 in order to comply with Apple's requirement that all App Store submissions are built with the iOS 26 SDK or later.

Actual behavior

macOS-latest resolves to macOS-15, where xcode-select defaults to Xcode 16.4.
Build succeeds but upload fails with:
"This app was built with the iOS 18.5 SDK. All iOS and iPadOS apps must be built
with the iOS 26 SDK or later in order to be uploaded to App Store Connect."

Repro steps

1. Use vmImage: 'macOS-latest' in Azure DevOps (or equivalent in GitHub Actions)
2. Build an iOS app and attempt to upload to App Store Connect
3. Upload fails with the SDK version error above

[pierreluc16]

Expected behavior

macOS-latest should resolve to an image where the default Xcode satisfies current Apple SDK requirements for App Store submissions.

You want macos-26 as macOS-latest or change default Xcode to 26.3 on macos-15 ?

[jari-kuipers]

@pierreluc16 Apologies. The benefits of letting AI "refine" your issue. I changed it accordingly now.

[pierreluc16]

@pierreluc16 Apologies. The benefits of letting AI "refine" your issue. I changed it accordingly now.

Ok.

[v-GeorgyPuzakov]

Hi @jari-kuipers,
Is there anything I can help you with or has the issue already been resolved and I can close the Issue?

[pierreluc16]

Hi @jari-kuipers, Is there anything I can help you with or has the issue already been resolved and I can close the Issue?

The issue from description On macOS-latest (which resolves to macOS-15), the default Xcode is 16.4 (iOS 18.5 SDK).
Apple now requires the iOS 26 SDK for all new App Store submissions. Pipelines that
rely on macOS-latest without an explicit xcode-select step fail at upload time.

[jari-kuipers]

Exactly @pierreluc16. Thank you

Hi @v-GeorgyPuzakov,

I'm not familiar with the codebase but I did take a peak. I saw that toolsets-15.json references the default version of XCode.
Since a valid XCode version is already included in the runner (26.3). Could we just change this default from 16.4 -> 26.3.

Again, I'm not familiar with the codebase so I'm probably oversimplifying.