How can I automate the process of releasing the same iOS app with different branding? - ios

Unique one but I'm sure there is a solution.
We run an app that will go onto be used by 100s of different businesses own customers.
A requirement for this is the app will need to appear in the App Store under different name + branding each time and every time.
The functionality within the app will be the same however it will be hitting different end points in places using different organisationIds.
How can we best make changes to this app such as adding features without uploading times to the app store?
Any recommendations?
We've had a look around at length but cannot seem to find a solution using Apples own products. Can't be the first to run into this surely. We specifically need this installed via the app store, can't just put the ipa file somewhere.

Related

New requirements for iOS app - keep them accessible to users/customers

I got an email from Apple that apps now require iOS13 + storyboard for app launch screen for existing apps. (I do not use storyboard for main app functionality)
I have developed a couple swift1/swift2 based for schools a long time ago. (Still works well)
Can I somehow ditch the app store and then provide direct access or download for school pupils?
i.e. is there any way forward to simple keep the apps-as-they-are? Maybe limited download availability?
Or will I have to take plunge back into app-building?
The requirement of a Storyboard launch screen is only when you need to submit an app update. If you are not wanting to update your app any more, then it won’t stop working because of this new requirement.
Regarding distribution outside of the App Store, you could use Adhoc distribution which requires you to know the device ID’s of the devices you want to install it to.

Can i have two versions of one App with different BundleIds and same display names?

We've an Application which is already live and used by many users. Now that we've came up with newer Programming language and new backend. We have created a new version of the App with completely different programming language as the older one.
We have some users who are still using the older(Legacy services).
Is it possible to create a new App with different bundleId than the older App but the same Display name and also the same Screenshots in App store as the older App?
According to App Store Review Guidelines,
Don’t create multiple Bundle IDs of the same app. If your app has different versions for specific locations, sports teams, universities, etc., consider submitting a single app and provide the variations using in-app purchase.
The problem is, we also require the older App for some of our customers, who have not migrated to the newer services.
Does Apple allows to have exactly same looking apps with different bundleIds and same display name in App Store?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
It is possible to set this new version up as a new app, you can even use the same screenshots. What you cannot re-use is the app name displayed to your customers on the App Store (Entered in App Store Connect). That is unique and you will get an error if you try to use the same name. You can of course use the same on device name (entered in Xcode).
As long as you do not spam the App Store with "copies" of the app, there should be no problem, I've seen this countless times and there are also some prominent examples of companies "phasing" out their old apps. It would probably appropriate to remove the "old" app from sale on the store in the mid- to long-term though.

Decommissioning an iOS app

Hi we have an iOS app in itunes which have more than 20,000 downloads.
since we have re-branded our company we have developed a new app which includes extra features than the existing app. New app is with new name and Bundle id.
So now rather than taking out the existing old app, we want to redirect all the existing users to our new app. How can we do that ?
what we did was , we updated the existing app version with the popup, which says this app no longer available please download our latest app. but this got rejected by apple.
Any best practices to decommission an ios app
Thanks
Apple will not allow you to completely drop all of the features in an app - they want users to still be able to use the app. Imagine if all of a sudden Facebook make it so no one could use their app, and forced everyone to download a new app. It probably wouldn't turn out too good for them.
What you should do is just make an update to the old app. All of the users will be able to update easily, with no hassle, and you won't lose and users.
Another way to do this is by calling your new app MyAppName 2, although this will really only look good if you're developing a game.
If you would really like to get rid of your old app, I would recommend removing it from the app store and contacting Apple (You'll have to give them a good reason. Wanting people to pay for a new app doesn't count as one)
What many developers do, is add code to an app that checks a specified endpoint for instructions at each launch. The instructions are either, run as usual or, display this message and URL.
Personally, I would do this, and also update the old app as a freebie teaser for the new app. Apple pays less attention to reductions in functionality than they do to "kills".
Run the teaser for a year or so, then kill it.

iOS app, identical functionality and codebase, different UI

I have a situation where the app functionality required is identical for a number of clients. The clients, for marketing purposes, wish to have the app completely rebranded in their own respective company colors - which means different launch icon, display name, skins etc.
From a code perspective, this is fairly easy to handle, but from an App Store perspective, I am a little uncertain about whether each version needs to be submitted to Apple as a separate app or is there a way to submit a single version to the App store which embodies the different UI variations
Thanks
The only thing that's not doable is the icon. Apps on the App Store are not allowed to change their icon.

App with iAd and App without ad should in different projects?

here is my question, i made an app and put on appstore, but i wish to charge the version without any iAd for 69p ...and the version WITH iad built in for free...
so, should I make two separte projects for each version?
and how do i make the free version with iAd should a pop up alert recommend user to go to appstore buy the ad free version?
is it just a normal UIAlertView with delegate method to call the App Store or open it as UIWeb in browser? how do i implement that?
any suggestions ?thank you very much
You can use compiler flags to wrap around your code so that you can have one source, and create multiple targets from the same project and build multiple apps (with different app identifiers and everything).
However, this causes you do have to manage two different apps in the app store (entering the same meta data twice), and deal with the review process on two different apps.
Also, people might skip over your paid version, whereas they would have installed your free version, and upgraded later.
I recommend that you have one source, one project, one target, and one app in the app store and use in app purchases (IAP) to turn off advertisements.

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