From submission to release: how long does an app take?

[Myrobotwillneverdie]

I was just wondering approximate wait times? Is it different for updates vs. new submissions? Thanks.

[arkanigon]

I've found the updates to be a little faster... I think for a new app... maybe 6-7 days... for an update 3-4 days...

This is just off the top of my head...

[spacecowgoesmoo]

I think that it's maybe a week or two. However, MAKE SURE that you get started on your free/paid license as soon as you start your app, cause that takes at least a month and will really hold you up if you start it as the same time at submission.

[THEDeliriumTrigger]

Idk about the submission times, but are you a coheed fan by chance?

[lazrhog]

my latest game mizoo has been in review for over 3 weeks now :(. Having an online high score table seems to really slow the process up as they insist on everything being perfect.

[Manta Research]

Approval times vary greatly. Anywhere from 1 day to 1 week is typical. Depending on the app, it can sometimes take several weeks. Sometimes updates vs new are faster, but this is not always the case. I would say that recently approval times have gotten better, but the reviewers have also gotten a lot stricter. If anything is outside of their recommended guidelines, you'll get rejected. If you're sending data up to a high score server, then this is considered "personal information" and you need to have all of the recommended warnings and the ability to opt out. Good luck!

[Myrobotwillneverdie]

wow, thanks. These are some angles I hadn't considered yet. Very insightful

[Knight]

I've found the updates to be a little faster... I think for a new app... maybe 6-7 days... for an update 3-4 days...



This is what I have experienced as well.

[lazrhog]

Ahh well, MiZoo just got approved so there you go. 22nd December 2008 submitted, approved Jan 15th 2009. What Manta Research just said was absolutely correct, and I can confirm was the reason why my app took so long.

[mehware]

My update took 3 days.

[Shroomies]

When I submitted my app, it took a week to get approved. Since then every update (7 so far) so always taken 3 business days.

Tu

[lithiastudios]

guidelines, you'll get rejected. If you're sending data up to a high score server, then this is considered "personal information" and you need to have all of the recommended warnings and the ability to opt out. Good luck!

What are the recommended warnings? If I have a high score page with a submit button, do I need a warning like, "Submitting your score will submit your phone ID and score data to a server."?

[Manta Research]

Yes, if you're submitting to a high score server it must be obvious to the user that the high score will be sent to an external server via a static message or a dialog, and there should be an option to cancel if the user decides not to submit.

If you have external network access, some reviewers also ask that you bring up a message if you cannot connect to the external server to fetch current high scores.

Hopefully this advice saves everyone some time in their submission. We've had far too many rejections for things like this...

[Michael Kerley]

I've been very lucky with approval times so far. Versions 1.0 and 1.1 of Pipes were approved in ~4 days. Those versions were released in November and December, respectively.

Version 1.2 was incredibly fast - I submitted it yesterday at 4AM PST, and it was approved around 1PM. I saw the new version actually show up in the US App Store around 5PM. And that was even with the addition of an online leaderboard in 1.2 :)