I need to build an Store app that can be used to install a few apps that I've developed. I'm planning to do this using in-app purchasing. i.e. the user can purchase the new apps from my store. Is this possible?
No. The iOS security sandbox will prohibit installing any additional apps from your app. Only apps purchased from Apple's iTunes App store can be installed on a customer's device (except for a developers own devices, and a very limited number of beta test users).
You might be able to sell access to web apps, which a user would have to manually clip as web clippings onto their device (they can't be auto installed). But Apple may or may not accept an app which sells those web clippings, so you'd might have to figure out a way to sell them from your web site.
It would ultimately have to link to the app store to do the app downloads. In-app purchasing is just that...in your apps. You can set up a store, but if you want them to be installed as separate apps on the user's phone, you will just have to link to the app store.
Apple most likely won't allow it.
if you are using your "store" app to distribute full apps, instead of just additions to your store app, it DEFINITELY won't pass.
It would be circumventing their distribution system (and 30% cut) and they won't like that very much.
No, your app can't install other apps directly, but you can use an app store url to send your customers to any of your other apps in the app store. There's more info in this SO thread.
It would be a different story if you were working under the enterprise or ad hoc distribution models, in which case you could link to your apps on a web server and install them over the air. But given that you're talking about in-app purchase, it's pretty clear that you're distributing under the standard distribution model.
If your other apps just deliver new content, what you should do is build an universal app that handles all your content and then let the user download new and different content using in-app purchasing. Then you end up with an app similar to iBook, that offers different content, but the same user interface.
One option is to ship your "parent" app with all the content for "children" apps, albeit encrypted. Use in-app purchasing to decrypt "children" content.
Related
IOS paid application sharing we need to block.
Planning to submit paid application in Apple store. Suppose a user brought application and download to Itunes account, then i sync to my mobile device, able to use that.
1.From itunes can we share application ipa to any other user?
2.is there any way to identify which apple id used for downloading?
3.any option for blocking user without downloading from apple store?
Apps bought/downloaded from the app store are linked to the account that download the app. You can there for not just share the IPA.
On a jailbroke device you might be able to remove the security measures that restrict this. But what you are proposing is not possible with official App Store apps.
You cant code to UDID anymore since the update to the iTunes ToS. They are all account bound. In the cases I have tried to share the .ipa file the app data inside that app specific to me did not migrate to the new user
Hi can any one suggest me it is possible or not and if possible then how?
The premise is that the user pays for the app via a website and they gets an access code to send to her guests via the website. The user downloads the free app from the iPhone store and enters the code. We're trying to figure out if we can enable each user to customize the app icon so it can appear with a different image or text on the user phone.
You can't. The application's icon (and the application's property list file) is in the application bundle, which cannot be modified.
This would also violate the iOS SDK Terms of Use and the iTunes Store Terms of Service; you cannot have a third-party receive payment to access a free iOS application.
You can customize the iOS icon of a web app clipping, and put the web site to be clipped behind your private paywall. Apple has been reported in the past to accept App store apps that generate URLs to customized clippable web apps. No idea if they currently or will continue to do so.
Icons on App store iOS apps for stock OS devices can only be changed by Apple approving an update.
Evan is right... This goes against so many terms of the iOS SDK.
One thing you could do (but I can't guarantee it will be accepted by Apple) is create a registration system on your website. Then have a login on the App as soon as it loads and check that the user has a valid account which has paid the subscription. You would have to handle all of your payment stuff on the webside though, meaning the app would be useless unless the user has already sorted that out. If you do this, on submission of your app make sure you provide Apple with a demo account username and password!
As for the icon, you can't change it once the App is submitted. It is bundled in with your app binary and there is also a logo included in iTunes connect. You can change them, but only by submitting a new binary.
I am currently building an app for an existing and large Royalty Free music library. They sell stock music to be used in productions/websites/commercials etc. What they sell is the license to use the music in your production.
What they want to build is an iPhone and iPad app that is basically an extension of their website. Users can browse and purchase music through the app. I am building a web service to connect to the existing website and will most likely use Webview to handle payment via PayPal. The user is then sent a download link for their music via email after successful purchase
The question I have is whether Apple will reject due to the way we are selling goods. This is an already established business and the iphone apps are just an extension of that.
Any help is really appreciated.
If you sold using in-app purchase (30% to Apple) they would probably accept it. Otherwise not, and you should stick with a web app (which you could highly customize for the iPhone/iPad).
Most likely would get rejected. One option might be to use the iPhone app to browse and sample the tracks, but link out to a mobile safari web page to complete the transaction.
It will definitely get rejected.
My app had a link to our website that had a puchase link. They rejected the app for that too.
Buying directly from the app is not allowed.
If I have app which is already on App Store is it allowed to sell it on my website ?
You can create website for it, you can promote it there, you can put direct link to the AppStore on your page, etc. But there's no other way how to distribute it - just AppStore. Otherwise users will no be able to install it on their phones.
You can check this website, it has some information about promoting your app on your website. http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/faq.html
I'm developing a website and a companion iPhone app where users can purchase video content. I'd like to let users buy content from the iPhone app or the website, and then view their purchased content through either medium. My understanding is that the app will be rejected from the App Store unless it uses the StoreKit framework for in-app purchases, so I can't implement my own purchase backend. As far as I can tell, though, there's no such thing as a web version of the StoreKit framework.
Is there any way to make/verify "in-app purchases" from outside an app, e.g. through a website?
There must be, because the DC Comics/Comics/Marvel Comics apps from Comixology all do. You can purchase content either from the in-app store, or via the website. And then you can read the content both in the device or online.
Alas, I don't know how they did it. I guess that the web shop replicates the in-app purchases when you buy something: i.e., the device calls home after an in-app purchase and adds that purchase to your online account as well. And, when you buy something online, you can download it from within the app, bypassing the apple store. You can even download content in one app that was purchased in the other (they are mostly the same app with different branding)