I wanna know if it is okay to submit an update to an app that is different from the first release. For example, my first release would be a game, but on my next release, I want to remove the game but instead make a couple of web views and table views, etc. Will Apple stop me from updating the app?
The Mailbox is one example. When I first downloaded it, it doesn't really do anything but countdown on the number of people getting the app. Honestly, I lost patience and didn't bother trying it out. But I don't think it's an entirely different app, just that the countdown was a layer on top of a fully functioning Mailbox app, correct?
Every time you update new version, apple review team will review your new ipa, so what have updated write in new version.
So if your new updated app is valid means follow all guidelines than there is no problem.
Related
The app has a different bundle identifier and the old app is not enable for push notifications. We want to update the old app with one screen and a button that sends the users to the app store to download the new app. Will Apple even approve that? Any ideas on a better way to do it?
If it has a different bundle id it's probably possible. I've seen many apps doing this. For example free apps! They seduce the users with new features to buy the full app. So it wont be a problem to connect both apps via link to itunes. If you use Push N be sure to set up all correctly. My idea is to set the old one to a free app and connect them. And why dont you make the budles the same? Like a normal update?
We had to do something similar when an App we developed needed to change from our account to our customer's account (to comply with their internal brand standards). We updated the old app to say "We've Moved." and had a link to the itms: for the new version. We did let the user dismiss the notice and keep using the old version, though.
I'm sure they'll approve it if you let the user put off upgrading. Maybe not if you force them to upgrade as you suggested in your question.
I have an iPhone application in the App Store. I submitted 1.1 to the app store a few days ago, and selected to "Hold for Developer Release." I found out that there is a very serious bug in the approved version. I need to pull this binary.
From what I can tell, Apple doesn't support this. I have sent them an email, but there's another bug in the current version that needs to be fixed also, so time is of the essence.
I've heard that you can release the update in some random country (where I would have no sales) and then release the next (fixed) update in all countries. If I only release 1.1 in, say, Luxembourg, is the old version (1.0) pulled from the other stores? Are the chart ratings reset? I'm relatively high in the charts, and I don't want to lose the momentum the app currently has.
Until Apple supports rejecting approved binaries, I'm looking for the quickest alternative.
Craig. Let me answer some of your questions. First, if you release an update, regardless of what country it is released in, it will replace the old binary for every country. Thus, if you only select Luxembourg, you are not only releasing the update to all countries, but also removing the app entirely from every app store except Luxembourg.
Second, it would appear that even Apple has no say over the iTunes Connect website in terms of altering the process for one person. I believe you should be able to reject an approved update, I don't see why they would want to disallow this. However, since they do not right now, it's best to forget about it.
You basically have 2 options. One, you can release this new version to the world, which keeps your standing in the App Store and warn users of the bug and promise them a fix. At that point, you can appeal to the Review Board for an expidited review, which they may not give you. Remember, if you release the update, I would upload another update immediately after.
You're not going to avoid your problem but there are things you can do to minimize the impact of your mistake.
Second, you can remove the App from Sale, accept the new update, and upload a new one for review, and put the app back up for sale again once approved. The problem here is that you will most likely lose your store ranking and the app will be unavailable for about a week. Not what I would do. I would go with the first solution.
From my experience, customers are ok if you need to issue a fix and they're fairly understanding. Make sure you tell them exactly what's going on in the app description AND the "What's New" section. Make sure they see it. They'll be ok with a few days of inconvenience in return for your honesty and reassurance that the issue has been fixed in a near-future update.
Hope this helps.
Cheers!
You can reject an app that is on "Hold for developer release". You need to click "Binary Details", and there you should find the reject button.
I was hoping someone can answer a simple question for me...
If you create an iphone app and get it approved for sale, what happens if you add updates to it? Do you have to submit this for approval too?
How does the whole process of updating existing apps work?
Assistance would be very much appreciated, thanks
Yes, every update requires a new round of approval. Once your first app is live, the management page for your app offers an "Add Version" button, which takes you through a similar process to the original app, but with options to document changes.
You do indeed need to have updates approved. So once your initial application is created in iTunes Connect, uploaded and approved by apple and available through the store, you can easily submit new versions.
You log into iTunes Connect and click Manage my Applications.
Select the application and click the Add Version button.
Fill out details of the update (such as the new version number, what's changed, any new screenshots, etc).
Upload your new binary via the application loader.
Wait for review.
The process of update is almost exactly like the process of creating and pushing out the first release. It's really quite simple, tbh.
The update process is nearly identical to the original submission, except that you don't have to reenter all the metadata (but you can modify almost all of it, except for the app ID, during update submission).
Update review times have historically varied by large amounts, either slower or faster than the original app's approval time, on the order of 1 day to 1 month. Don't count on it being any less.
I've submitted my application to the app store and had it approved. I'd set the release date to a few months in the future, but in the meantime have added a lot of extra functionality to the product.
I still want my app to be listed as a 'new release' when it comes out (the release data hasn't been reached yet) so should I replace the binary, or do I have to remove the old app completely and start a new app?
Obviously, the previously approved app hasn't been released so I don't want the new code to be counted as an update.
Cheers,
Bryn
I asked the question here mainly because there is much more active iPhone community here, coupled with the huge amount of questions regarding iStore submission/code signing etc.
For anyone still wanting an answer to this:
If the application has not ever been released, reject the binary and create a new application altogether. If you want to keep the same name as the app you'll have problems since Apple won't allow you to completely remove the old application and you can't have two with the same name. In this case, email them directly explaining the situation and they should rename the old application to an arbitrary name, freeing up the name for the new app
This question already has answers here:
Can I force an iPhone user to upgrade an application?
(16 answers)
Closed 5 years ago.
I am about to upload my Iphone application to the apple store, however I intend to release more versions in the near future. Is there anyway to make my application auto update once I upload a new version to the apple store?. That is as I am about to upload version 1.0, once i upload version 1.x, can the user be notified of this or can the application be auto-updated?. Can anyone point me in the right direction?. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
-Oscar
No, this functionality is not available on the iPhone. The AppStore provides updates through the store only, and Cydia provides updates through Cydia only.
The direction i've seen many applications take is at start, check an XML file that you host for information on newer versions, and typically display a message to the user (preferably in a news ticker or non-obstructive manor) about a new version being released, and why they should upgrade.
You can't auto-update, however as far as I'm aware nothing prevents you from notifying the user that a new version is available, within your app. For example you could contact a web server to find out what the latest version is, and compare that to a build number in your app bundle, then display an appropriate alert/notification to the user. Or, you could get fancy and use the 3.0 push notifications for this.
In theory the appstore app/itunes will do this anyway, but it's clear that a lot of users don't see that.
Another thing you can do using the method I outlined (that the app store won't do) is tell the users that a new version is available, what it does, and that it's waiting for apple.
Even simpler is just to embed an 'announcements' channel in your app somewhere. That lets you talk to your users without waiting for apple - you can tell them there is a new version on the way, etc. I do this with an app I'm beta testing - a button on the main screen shows announcements, which I pull from my server.
Maybe if enough app developers did this, apple would start turning the approvals around quicker. Or change the legalese to prevent it [assuming it doesn't already] :-)
This is functionality provided by the app store. When you submit new versions, after apple has approved them, they will become available through the app store as updates to users that already have the app installed.
User will see new available updates to apps he owns in iTunes. User can then choose to get the update.
I'm not sure about updates via iPhone but if you pay for data downloads you would prefer to download apps/updates over iTunes on your Mac and then sync to iPhone. It's cheaper that way.
My guess is automatic version updating is intentionally left out. Think about it: what kind of strain will they have on their server if everyone on the planet with an iPhone downloaded An update to Fruit Ninja at the same time? I think their passive notification to the users via the red circle and white number allows them to spread out/stagger the update downloads and reduce server load.