I have submitted a paid app to app store. The client needs to download the app from the store for free, but all the other users should download as a paid app.
I am not the in-app purchases. I am setting the Price Tier in iTunes.
There is a separate Apple B2B program for supplying apps to specific custiomers, this may suit your needs.
With Testflight Beta your client can download and install the app for 30 days. For a review this should be sufficient.
Otherwise I would use the promo code as well - if that is really required. I mean compared to the production cost this is less than peanuts ...
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I'm not an iOS developer but I'm faced with the need to publish our application to App Store. Sorry if it the questions sounds stupid:)
We need to make a test flight, just to show the app to our customer. The issue is that we need to do it not through Fabric and etc but through App Store, that's crucial.
Is there an opportunity to restrict the app to certain devices by UDID since the app is not ready? Thank you!
UPDATE I need to publish to App Store, not though Fabric or Test Flight and etc. I understand it should not be done this way but I have such requirements
try using diawi.com
Diawi is a tool for developers to deploy Development and In-house applications directly to the devices
You cannot distribute through app store and target some specific device.
If you publish on the app store then the app becomes visible to all.
If you would like to make some kind of restriction than make a login screen through which you open up the rest of the app, and give the credentials to your specific customer.
Using Test Flight you can share the app-store version to your customer based on his appleId
From https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#before-you-submit
2.2 Beta Testing
Demos, betas, and trial versions of your app don’t belong on the App Store – use TestFlight instead. Any app submitted for beta
distribution via TestFlight should be intended for public distribution
and should comply with the App Review Guidelines. Note, however, that
apps using TestFlight cannot be distributed to testers in exchange for
compensation of any kind, including as a reward for crowd-sourced
funding. Significant updates to your beta build should be submitted to
TestFlight App Review before being distributed to your testers. To
learn more, visit the TestFlight Beta Testing.
You can publish to the App Store using Apple's B2B program, which will allow you to restrict sales to specific B2B customers of yours.
See: https://developer.apple.com/business/custom-apps/
I am about to sign an agreement to distribute a good amount of copies of my app to a company. They are using SOTI Mobicontrol for distribution.
Could anyone please explain what is needed from our end to make this smooth? First time I am doing this. I do have an LLC on my developer account. Do I need to upgrade to enterprise membership?
You can make a specific version available to that company as a B2B app. You can set a different price on the B2B app (free if they are paying your directly). The purchaser needs to nominate an AppleID that you will list against the B2B app in iTunesConnect. This AppleID can then “purchase” the app in the Enterprise volume purchase store and distribute it via their MDM.
The other option the client can just purchase “x”copies of your existing app through the volume purchase store. In this case payment would go through the App Store with Apple taking their cut.
I already have paid app on app store and now I have successfully implemented the in-app functionality in my app and uploaded my new binary on itunes connect but did not submit for review, because
now my app is free with limited functionality.
App price must be free, but app store will take around 2 days to review, If I change price to free user can download full app for free in this duration before my new binary is approved.
what should I do?
I was thinking to not change price to free and submit binary with option that I will release the app, when my binary is approved then I change price to free and then manually release the app.
Can apple raise any issue on this approach? or any other better approach?
You can choose your business model as you want. Pricing (Free + IAP, Paid + IAP etc.) is not a criteria of the Review Guidelines, if you are not using ways to circumvent Apple's 30% cut.
I am trying to release an invite-only iOS App. I don't particularly want this app on the App Store, and using TestFlight causes a lot of problems (having to constantly update binaries, limited users... Apple IDs).
At the same time I'd rather not have to resort to a third party distribution to get this kind of an alert.
Is it possible to release a secret invite-only App on the App Store?
Consider enrolling for an Apple Developer Enterprise Program
This will cost more but then you can distribute using your server . You can use MDM also no need to upload or use test flight.
I am not sure the last time you used Test Flight, but it has changed a lot in the last year. There can still be headaches with it, but since it was bought by Apple you now distribute your App through iTunes Connect which is the same way you would do it for releasing in the App store. You have a number of beta testers (up to 1000) that all you need is their email address. You can also have internal testers (up to 25 I think) which will get every build you upload automatically (however they do have some access to the information about your app through their iTunes accounts).
So in summary it takes the same amount of work and the same process to have beta testers that it does to release it through the App Store except that you don't have to wait the 5+ days for the App review. Do note that the beta version will expire after 30 days at which point you just need to upload a new one.
You cannot release a secret App on the App Store, as it violated Apple's App Store Review Guidelines
2.22 Apps that arbitrarily restrict which users may use the App, such as by location or carrier, may be rejected
I have developed an enterprise app and its ready to use for my client.
My company bought an account and provides me with the credentials. So i created the ad-hoc distribution profile to distribute the app to my client's testing team during development using testflight.
But as i read somewhere, the account type iOS developer program can not distribute the app to any one,
If you want to distribute your app, you need to enroll for iOS developer [enterprise] program account. But that was not in my case, I was able to distribute my app to the client using the iOS developer program account.
I know, if you want to submit your app to the app store, you need to have an iOS developer program and,
iOS Developer Enterprise Program only allows you to distribute your applications to employees or members of your organization through Ad Hoc distribution.
Now my doubt is,
Is it really mandatory to submit our app to the apple for review to
ensure that our app is free of explicit OR else we can use it without
review? Why do we need an approval from apple when we are not
submitting to app store.
The client is telling they just want to get approval then they can sell it within In-House or B2B use.
Because my client asked me to submit our app to apple for just review, but do not want to put on app store. Once they approved, then they will distribute by using ad-hoc distribution profile.
Thanks.
You dont need to submit an enterprise app to the app store for review.
Your client's request is weird. It doesn't make sense. You can tell your client that Apple does not review enterprise apps.
Update:
your doubt:
Is it really mandatory to submit our app to the apple for review to
ensure that our app is free of explicit OR else we can use it without
review?
Answer: NO. Its not mandatory
Why do we need an approval from apple when we are not
submitting to app store.
Answer: You dont need an approval.
Now, there is a case where your client's request will fail for sure:
Assuming (for the sake of explanation) this app is a porn video viewer app, it'd never be approved by the Apple App Store reviewer. And if the enterprise build deploy is contingent upon AppStore approval, even that wouldn't happen (since the client is adamant)
Note: Enterprise accounts are not meant to circumvent Apple's pay wall. i.e., you should not distribute the app outside your organization.
Hope this answers your question. (if it didn't feel free to add a more specific question to the original post.)
3rd Update:
FYI Enterprise Developer account are not easy to obtain. If Apple Developer Center thinks your client is shady, they may have to manage with the regular developer account. The question you are asking has no credible sources for answers because no one would insist on doing something like this.
Is it really mandatory to submit our app to the apple for review to ensure that our app is free of explicit OR else we can use it without review? Why do we need an approval from apple when we are not submitting to app store. The client is telling they just want to get approval then they can sell it within In-House or B2B use.
You do not need approval, once you are enrolled on the enterprise scheme you will not need to get approval from apple for any applications created as an enterprise application.
However if you then want to sell it on the normal app market it will need to be done from a totally separate account and will need approving.
The enterprise license is a way of making sure that rogue apps do not start making the rounds as they do not need to be installed via itunes, they can just be hosted on a website and downloaded directly from there to the device.
I assume your client may be worried that you aren't going to provide a stable, malware free application and would like apple to authorise & test it first, even though it is not going on to the app store so they have peace of mind that if it's good enough for apple its good enough for them. Or that the MD once heard that Apple HAS to authorise it and they are just jumping through hoops for them.
Companies that are enrolled in the iOS Developer Enterprise Program (currently $299 / year) do not need to submit apps to Apple for approval or distribution. These companies can host and wirelessly distribute their in-house apps without Apple acting as gatekeeper.
If you are an external contractor who has been hired to code an app, you may need to hand the app over for them to sign with their Enterprise key so that they can then distribute in-house.
It would be (very) unusual for an Enterprise Program member to submit their app to Apple for review because it is unnecessary. And so far as I know there is no option to do this without setting up all the app details in iTunes Connect and pretending you were going to sell the app.
Update 1:
#Praveen-K: What doubt is there? If you want to have Apple "test & approve" your Enterprise app (a really bad idea) then you will need to:
Create a fake Apple store app
Fill in fake info in iTunes Connect
Provide an on-sell date a long way onto the future
Provide all the login info and access to your servers that the real app requires
Assist the Apple app approvers in accessing your own data to get approval
Then, after approval, delete the app from iTunes Connect and the App Store
If this does not answer your question then perhaps you need to make sure your question is very clear.