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.
Related
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.
I have what I believe to be a pretty unique situation and I can't seem to find a solution online. The problem timeline:
4 years ago I paid a developer to build/upload an app to the iOS App Store for me under my own developer account.
Over the years it became outdated and this April it was kicked out of the App Store
I took some online courses this year and rebuilt the app from the ground up.
I would like to post my rebuilt version to the App Store - completely fresh like it's a brand new app (because it basically is)
A couple more things to consider...
I used Swift vs the original Objective-C that the developer used.
I used UserDefaults instead of what appears to be iCloud. (the dev account seems to be littered with permissions for things I don't intend to use - so advice on how to get rid of all of the weird stuff I don't use would be helpful, too)
I also have a different but similar bundle identifier (it replaces "RandomRuby" with "Random-Ruby") that Apple's App ID registration system seems to not like.
The level content and game play are the same - but I have no idea how to figure out what level the previous users were on. (which I'm ok with if it's ethical to make people start over).
It had In-App purchases (they could purchase consumable "Rubies" to use for hints and there was an "Ad Free" upgrade option. The new app doesn't use ads - it just has consumable "Rubies" for monetization). I have no plan to add ads back in - so I imagine a complete reset would be ok here, too? Again - is that ethical?
With all of this context - my question is...
How do I upload a completely-rebuilt-from-scratch app with the exact same name from the exact same company as an expired app through the iOS Developer system? Is this even possible? I'm having a hard time figuring out where to start. I can't even get past creating an App ID.
To update an existing app in your Apple Developer account you only need to use the same BUNDLE ID (e.g. com.apple.keynote) in your Xcode project and a higher version/build number. Everything else is not relevant.
Your previous iOS APP is bounded with the Apple Developer account when it was submitted. And the APP name is unique, just like anyone else may not create another app named 'Facebook'.
So, if the Apple Developer account was not yours, you are in trouble. You need to ask the previous programmer to transfer the APP to you.
If the Apple Developer account was merely expired, and you can prove that the account belongs to you, I guess you can contact Apple Support for help.
I've seen solutions like AppHub that allow changes to an already-published iOS App without submitting an updated version to the App Store but as far as I know it doesn't support Xcode. Are there any others that are similar to AppHub that support AppCode and Swift?
My reason behind this is that I am making an app for my school and don't like using WebView. There is an announcements tab that needs to be updated daily but to submit an update to the App Store takes a couple of days.
If you are adding daily news to your app, putting a new version on the App Store every day is definitely not the way to go. Look into a backend service like Firebase or AWS to deliver content updates without the need for the user to update the app daily to see them.
I already have an app in the app store which is a paid app. Now, I want to make the app free but put an option for NEW users to upgrade for the price. The old users can continue using all the new features of the app since they have already paid. My problem is that how will I track and distinguish new vs old users.
I think my answer is Receipt Validation in iOS 7 but it looks super complicated to implement. Any recommendations?
UPDATE: WRONG SOLUTION! DON'T DO THIS
One solution that has been floating around on the web is to save the version in NSUserDefaults. While that would work but what happens if the user deletes the app and reinstall it again. NSUserDefaults will be gone and then we are going to force the user to buy the app again or upgrade it again.
I need to submit to the Apple app store a new version of my app. My app is based on JSON feeds. The problem is that the new app works with a new version of the feeds, but the new version of the feeds can't be released while the current feeds still working for the current app.
So my question is how apple can review my app? Will Apple approve my app even if the feeds are not live?
My idea was to submit the app for the review even if it's not working, and if is approved start the new feed and remove the old one. Any suggestion on how to solve this problem?
Another idea could be submit the app, and while is in queue keep the old feed live, and after 4 days start the new feed (so Apple can review the app), in this case the app won't work just for a couple of days.
Thanks
Francesco
Short answer: No, your app will be rejected.
Longer answer:
You should provide a way to keep the current (past version) feed working at least for a while along side the new one, otherwise people that don't update the app, which you have no way to control, will have an application that doesn't work.
What you could/should do is keep the previous version available on one url (yourhost.com/feed) and the new version on another url (yourhost.com/feed/v2/).
Internally you can keep just one version, the newer, and then use some kind of facade/converter to handle the conversion from the new schema to the old one. This way you would only need to maintain one version of the code while providing a way for both versions of the application to work.
Your app will be rejected if Apple tester find it empty of content.
I've had an app rejected for "not being ready for production" for something very similar.