Release notes people actually read (both stores)
Most release notes read like a commit log leaking onto a product page: "Version 4.2.1. Bug fixes and performance improvements." Nobody updates an app because of that line. The what's-new field is one of the few places a real person sees your words at the exact moment they're deciding whether to tap Update — so it's worth the ten minutes it takes to write it properly.
It's not a keyword field
First, set expectations. On neither store does the what's-new text feed search ranking. Apple indexes your app name, subtitle, and the keywords field; Google reads your title, short description, and long description. Release notes are not part of that. Stuffing version notes with keywords does nothing for discovery and makes the copy worse for the human reading it. Write for the human.
If you want to know which fields do carry keyword weight, that's a separate topic — see where ASO keywords go.
The two limits are wildly different
App Store ("What's New"):
- 4,000 characters max for the version release notes.
- But only roughly the first 100–170 characters (about two to three lines) show on the product page before a "more" link truncates the rest. Treat that opening as the whole message; everything after it is for the minority who expand it.
- Release notes are localized per language — each App Store locale gets its own version notes.
Google Play ("What's new" / recent changes):
- 500 Unicode characters max, per language. That's the whole budget, not a soft cap. Play truncates hard.
- Same localization rule: each language you support gets its own 500-character entry.
The practical takeaway: write the App Store note so the single best reason to update lands in the first line or two, and write a separate, tighter Play version that says the same thing in under 500 characters. Don't paste the 4,000-character App Store note into Play and let it get chopped.
Lead with the benefit, group the rest
Two rules cover almost everything:
- Open with the payoff, not the version number. "Offline mode is here" beats "v4.2.1 released." The first line is the only line most people read.
- Group changes into New / Improved / Fixed. It's scannable, it signals you shipped real work, and it lets a reader jump straight to the part they care about.
Template — App Store (front-load the first ~150 characters)
Copy this, fill the brackets, and make sure the headline line survives on its own — assume everything below it is hidden until the reader taps "more".
[One-line headline: the single best reason to update.
Keep it under ~150 characters so it survives the "more" cut.]
New
• [Feature] — [what it lets the user do]
• [Feature] — [what it lets the user do]
Improved
• [What got faster, clearer, or smoother]
Fixed
• [A bug users actually noticed]
Have feedback? [support email or link]Template — Google Play (whole thing under 500 characters)
Same message, tighter. This one has to say everything in 500 characters, so cut to the changes that matter.
[Best reason to update, one line.]
New: [feature] and [feature].
Improved: [what's better now].
Fixed: [the bug people hit most].
Thanks for the reports — keep them coming.Good vs bad, same release
Here's a version note that wastes the slot:
"Version 4.2.1. Various bug fixes and performance improvements. Updated dependencies. Refactored the sync engine."
It's a changelog for the team, not a reason for the user. Here's the same release rewritten for the person holding the phone:
Offline mode is here — your edits now save even with no signal
and sync the moment you're back online. No more lost notes.
New
• Offline editing
• Dark mode on the home-screen widget
Improved
• Search is about twice as fast
Fixed
• The crash some of you hit when importing large filesNotice the first line does the whole job on its own. On the App Store it's the part that shows before "more"; on Play it's the part that fits inside 500 characters with room for the grouped list underneath.
Localize it — it's per language, on both stores
Because release notes are stored per language, a listing that's translated into ten locales has ten what's-new fields to fill on every release. Most teams either skip translating this field (so non-English users get English notes, or nothing) or write it once and forget the rest. Both leave the field doing less than it could — the reader deciding whether to update is standing in their own language.
This is where Mokbi helps: alongside your app name, subtitle, description, and screenshot captions, it drafts and localizes the what's-new text into 50 languages, so the release note isn't the one field that stays English while the rest of the listing is translated. You review and edit every line before it goes near the store — you copy the final text into App Store Connect and Play Console yourself.