Rating spread
Up to 0.63 stars between one flagship's ratings in different storefronts.
4 of 25 flagships differ by 0.5 stars or more. The median spread is 0.31 stars.
48724
n = 25 flagships, storefronts with 100 or more ratings only.
Admiral Media research · November 2026
Where the app speaks the language, 24% of listings do not.
1,107 app and storefront pairs · 150 top apps · 25 portfolios · 14 storefronts · Collected 2 Nov 2026
The short answer
Less well than their apps: 24% of 1,107 app and storefront pairs showed a listing that is not fully localized, although the app supports the language.
Cite as: Admiral Media, App Store Localization Study 2026, public App Store data collected 2 November 2026.
Published By Admiral Media's ASO team.
Key findings
Most gaps keep the base screenshots, 139 of the 271 sit in 3 portfolios, and Sweden leads at 45%.
01Portfolios
Next stepAudit the whole portfolio, not only the flagship.
Running an app portfolio? Get each app and storefront pair read like this study.
02Flagship vs the rest
Next stepAudit the apps behind the flagship first.
By app: at least one gap
By pair
03Storefronts
Next stepPlan Swedish, Dutch and Polish listings on purpose.
Fewer top apps support Swedish and Dutch than German, and those that do are less often localized there. Japan (14%) and South Korea (15%) fare better than every European storefront (20% to 45%).
| Storefront | Not fully localized | Language support | Own screenshot set | Different name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SwedenSwedish | 45%23 of 51 | 37% | 26% | 39%of 140 |
| NetherlandsDutch | 44%28 of 63 | 44% | 31% | 39%of 147 |
| PolandPolish | 36%24 of 67 | 47% | 34% | 37%of 147 |
| TurkeyTurkish | 30%25 of 82 | 63% | 52% | 47%of 132 |
| MexicoSpanish | 25%29 of 115 | 84% | 73% | 58%of 139 |
| ItalyItalian | 23%26 of 111 | 76% | 63% | 56%of 149 |
| GermanyGerman | 21%24 of 116 | 83% | 71% | 62%of 141 |
| BrazilPortuguese | 20%21 of 106 | 78% | 68% | 58%of 138 |
| SpainSpanish | 20%24 of 118 | 81% | 70% | 57%of 148 |
| FranceFrench | 20%24 of 119 | 83% | 69% | 61%of 147 |
| South KoreaKorean | 15%10 of 65 | 54% | 54% | 53%of 122 |
| JapanJapanese | 14%13 of 94 | 70% | 64% | 64%of 137 |
| United StatesEnglish | No pairs | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| United KingdomEnglish | No pairs | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Want your own apps read in these 14 storefronts?Book a portfolio review
04Description vs screenshots
Next stepText done? Screenshots are next, starting with your largest non-native storefronts.
05Screenshot coverage
Next stepCount screenshot sets per app: 22% of top apps show their base screenshots everywhere.
Non-native storefronts with a storefront-specific screenshot set, per app
67%Median app: share of its non-native storefronts with its own screenshot set
06Games vs other apps
Next stepCheck every live title in every language it ships, not only the one on campaign.
Games ship in more languages and run more store features on their flagship pages, but more of their listings lag the app. The other 13 portfolios span 11 segments, none with 5 or more portfolios, so they are shown together.
Pairs not fully localized
Top 3: the games portfolios that hold 139 of the 271 gaps.
Want to know which of your titles hold the gaps?Book a portfolio review
| Games (n = 12) | Other apps (n = 13) | |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolios with at least one gap | 9 of 12 | 9 of 13 |
| Apps with no storefront-specific screenshots | 15 of 87 | 17 of 60 |
| Median languages per app | 13 | 11 |
| US flagship page with a preview video | 6 of 12 | 2 of 13 |
| US flagship page with an in-app event | 10 of 12 | 7 of 13 |
07Preview video and events
Next stepEvents are covered. The preview video is the open slot in each core market.
Our companion study of 1,000 top US apps found a preview video on 12.2% of listings and an in-app event on 24% (29 September 2026).
App preview video
In-app event
08Names and subtitles
Next stepNames already change by market. Carry that work into the screenshot captions.
A different name is not proof of a translation: it can also be a market keyword or a local brand choice.
Subtitle, Germany vs the US
Gaps with a different name
Names by storefrontAlso in the data
Ratings differ by storefront by up to 0.63 stars. Releases are current: 25 of 25 flagships updated within 30 days.
Rating spread
4 of 25 flagships differ by 0.5 stars or more. The median spread is 0.31 stars.
n = 25 flagships, storefronts with 100 or more ratings only.
Rating floor
n = 142 top apps with at least one storefront with 100 or more ratings.
Release habit
n = 25 flagships, current version date in the base storefront.
Check your own portfolio
Start with one app and three storefronts. Tick each step as you go.
0 of 5 steps doneDone. Now pick your route.
Then pick your route
One app
A score and a list of fixes for one App Store listing.
Open the ASO CheckerPortfolios
For 2 or more apps in 10 or more store markets, or one app in 20 or more.
Book a portfolio review4.9 on Clutch from 48 reviews
Published client results
Each figure comes from a published Admiral case study.
LowerProperty appCustom product pagesApple Ads“Admiral Media were extremely helpful and efficient in making Apple's Custom Product Pages work for us.”
Alexandra ZinnowLead PPC, Digital Marketing, ImmoScout24−43%cost per acquisitionAgainst the default page, same ad groups, 4 weeksRead the ImmoScout24 case study 
HigherBrain training appKorean App Store+93%App Store search downloadsBefore and after localized metadata in KoreaRead the NeuroNation case study 
LowerMeditation appApple AdsNew markets−38%cost per install+54% click-through rateRead the Petit BamBou case study Method and limits
One day of public App Store data, read the same way for every app.
Every figure on this page is computed by one script from the stored store responses. Journalists and researchers can ask us for the aggregate tables.
Questions
The companion study covers 1,000 top US App Store listings. Check one app with the ASO Checker.
About one in four are not. In public App Store data on 150 top apps from 25 app publishers and consumer brands, collected on 2 November 2026, 271 of 1,107 app and storefront pairs (24%) where the app supports the local language showed a listing that was not fully localized. 18 of the 25 portfolios had at least one such listing.
Admiral Media does this in its enterprise ASO programs: keyword research by native speakers in each market, localized screenshot captions, localized screenshots in core markets, and a review of every listing before release. Ask any agency how it handles screenshots, not only text. In our study, 151 of 271 gaps had a translated description but base screenshots (2 Nov 2026).
Admiral Media runs this as one program: every app and storefront gets a tier, one keyword library per language is shared across apps, and updates for both stores follow one calendar. The apps behind the flagship need it most. In our study, 48 of 99 other top apps had a listing gap, against 6 of 24 flagships (2 Nov 2026).
Of the 14 storefronts we read, Sweden and the Netherlands. On 2 November 2026, 45% of language-supported pairs in Sweden (23 of 51) and 44% in the Netherlands (28 of 63) were not fully localized, followed by Poland at 36%. Germany was at 21%, and Japan (14%) and South Korea (15%) were the most localized of the 14 storefronts.
The app binary lists the storefront's language, but the storefront shows exactly the base listing's screenshot set, or a description that is identical to the base listing or detected in the base language. Only pairs where the app supports the language count, so the gap is between what the app supports and what the listing shows.
It reads public App Store data on one day. It cannot see custom product pages or product page tests, downloads, conversion, revenue or paid traffic, and it does not cover Google Play listings. The 25 portfolios were chosen by Admiral Media, so the sample is not a random cut of the App Store.
Open each app's product page in every storefront you care about, compare the screenshots and description with your home listing, and mark each pair as localized, text only or not localized. For one app, run the ASO Checker. For 2 or more apps in 10 or more markets, or one app in 20 or more, book a portfolio review.
Yes. Please cite Admiral Media, App Store Localization Study 2026, public App Store data collected 2 November 2026, and link to this page. Every figure states its sample size. The study is anonymous, so we do not share results for named companies or apps.
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