IOS: availability date for app - ios

I uploaded an app on itunesConnect and i set availability date on 20/02/2012. Yesterday I received an email that say that my app is in "Processing for appStore"; today I have entered in itunesconnect and I have seen that my app is ready for sale; but in the version summary app availability date is 20/02/2012. What does it mean? Can I be sure that my app begin the sale on 20/02/2012?

Relax, the availability date controls when others can download it. But once the approval process is finished it'll be ready for sale, which reserves the page URL for it and allows you to send out redemption codes should you want others to download it early for testing etc.

Related

How can update the UI of an In App purchase?

I have some doubts using In app purchase. AFAIK only the first In app purchase is approved along with the binary. This is my current state,
I have my app already in AppStore with one weekly subscription.
Now I wonder if the following roadmap is possible:
Update the current IAP UI
Send to apple Apple Review more Weekly and Monthly subscriptions plans(some of them just change the introductory price)
My backend will decide which plan will showed to the user.
My problem now is I'm not able to update my current approved IAP, I modify the name, description and screenshot but when I save the changes the IAP is still Approved. Is it possible update a approved IAP? what about if I want to change the background?
On the other hand, I have another IAP waiting for review the last 5 days. Is it normal? Have I to send along with the binary to the app store review?

When are In-App Purchases activated after app has been approved for sale

I just made my first IOS app which has an IAP option and today it has been approved by iTunes Store. After I got the email, I had to wait another 4 hours before the app actually has been added to the App Store.
After I search for it and download it on my phone I decided to test the IAP option, but it doesn't seem to work. I am using my original Apple ID email and not the one I used for testing.
My question is, if the app has been added to the store, does the IAP has to work ? Or you have to wait awhile ? Just like waiting for the app to be added to the store after it has been approved.
PS: both the app and IAP has been approved by Apple and the status of my app is Ready For Sale.
edit:
If I run my app now from Xcode I get the following output from my code:
About to fetch product
Fetching products
Got response from Apple
Black Edition Theme
Black theme
0.99
Sending the payment request to Apple
Received payment transaction from Apple
Received payment transaction from Apple
Restored
Received payment transaction from Apple
It works how it should, but it keeps asking me for my Apple ID password continually and at some point said Cannot connect to App Store even if everything was successful, and after I click Retry I get the Confirm Your In-App Purchase screen but it also says Environment: Sandbox
I'm really confused why the sandbox screen is appearing.
Apple's servers often lag behind directly after updating an app with a new IAP (the product will not be found by the API). Waiting a few hours usually resolves the problem. We've had this with every new IAP we added.
You say the IAP "doesn't seem to work" ... what do you mean by that? You are charged for it, but you don't get the new content / feature / whatever it is? Or you select Purchase in your app but nothing happens?
It's been a while since I worked with IAP, but back when I did you had to submit at least one IAP component at the time you submitted your app for review. So both were reviewed at the same time.
If that's what you did, the IAP should be available immediately - if it's not, yeah... something's wrong.

Non-Renewing Subscription: turn back time

I'm creating an app that will unlock features to users for a limited time. Premium features let's call them. They can buy a subscription for a month, 6 months or a year. These subscriptions would be non-renewing. After a lot of searching the web and finding very different "solutions", I turn to StackOverflow for what the best should be.
When a subscription is bought, the end date is stored locally on the device until synced via iCloud, because Apple wants you to have this subscription on all your devices. The app checks iCloud to see if the current subscription is still available, shows a nice countdown for the users with days left. But I'm currently encountering a problem. When the user has paid for a month, and changes the date of the device to a year earlier (or something else), it can use the subscription for a year. The countdown now doesn't show 23 days left, but 389.
How can I avoid this?
Should I check a certain server to check for the real time and date?
What if a user only uses the app in airplane mode?
Thx in advance!
You could check standard web-based time-servers to do this. Since I have my own server (as part my in-app purchase mechanisms), I just ask my server for the current time, at the server. I do this every time the app launches, and every time I make a server-call (usually when in-app purchases are done). I then store the time locally (either in the KeyChain or NSUserDefaults, can't remember which!), and use it (and the device time, which ever is later in time) to compute purchase expiries.
Of course, this assumes that the user has a network connection when they launch the app. You can only do so much though!
Actually what happening is after successful completion of your InAppPurchase apple will provide you a Transaction Reciept...this transaction reciept is stored in locally . When you want to check the subscription is in active or expired you need to request the storekit with this transaction reciept then the store kit will give you the status .. if the status is 0 then it is in active state . if the status is 21006 then your transaction is Expired. If you want to continue the subscription in antoher device then you need to Restore the transactions there .. after completion of the restoration you will get all the product ids and the transaction reciepts.. you need to store the transaction reciepts there and you need to pass this for the storekit whether it is in active or expired state .. sorry for my poor english..

iOS App Availability Date set far in future - how to release immediately now that it's ready?

For a brand new iOS app, with the following pre-conditions:
Availability Date is far in the future
App is approved and Ready For Sale
How can one immediately (not even wait for midnight) release the app on-demand without waiting for a future availability date?
I found a few articles relating to this.
Use iTunes Connect to set a date when the app is available on the
store. For example, you can choose a date that immediately releases
the app to the store after it’s approved, or you can set a later date.
Using a later availability date allows you to arrange other marketing
activities around the launch of your app.
https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/IDEs/Conceptual/AppDistributionGuide/UsingiTunesConnect/UsingiTunesConnect.html
You can change your app’s availability at any time, removing it from
sale or replacing it in the store. If you move your app’s availability
to a time in the future, your app is removed from the store until the
new date. It may take up to 24 hours to refresh your app’s
availability in stores in all territories.
Before an app is approved, you may want to set the app’s availability
date to an arbitrary date in the future. When the app is approved by
Apple, you can decide more precisely when you want the app to appear
on the store.
https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/LanguagesUtilities/Conceptual/iTunesConnect_Guide/Chapters/ChangingAppStatus.html
To me the first statement suggests that if you set the release date in the past it will "immediately" release the app. - I found a similar post also stating the same thing: https://stackoverflow.com/a/7352542/2982796
What I have found it still takes 10 minutes for the application to show up on the direct link, then anywhere up to 24 hours to be searchable from within the app store.
From personal experience, I always set the release date to the date that I submitted it to the app store. This way as soon as its processed its released for sale. If the app is already approved and you had it originally set for a future date. Take the current date and time. It should release within a few minutes.

Setting up pricing tier for free app

I have developed an app which is submitted to app store already and also approved. But I have following questions in my mind.
Currently my app is free. But my client wants to make it paid after
2 months. I did not set pricing information because not yet
confirmed which tier want to select. So my question is if I set
pricing information after some days of my app approval, does app
will go for review again? Changing pricing information needs
approval?
Suppose one of the user downloaded app on his device when app is
free. Client changed pricing details and now app is not free. Now my
question is how that user will do payment procedure. Does apple
handle this scenario?
Currently my app is free. But my client wants to make it paid after 2 months. I did not set pricing information because not yet confirmed which tier want to select. So my question is
if I set pricing information after some days of my app approval, does app will go for review again? Changing pricing information needs approval ?.
NO. Unless you make some changes in your app and you want to upload a new version or something. Just a price change doesn't required a reapproval
Suppose one of the user downloaded app on his device when app is
free. Client changed pricing details and now app is not free. Now my question is how that user will do payment procedure. Does apple handle this scenario ?.
No apple won't handle this scenario. They'll continue to use it as free. Apple says App you once buy/download is yours. And all the updates which comes later are free.
Below are answers of your question.
No, your app will not go to review again for price change. Your app simply become paid app.
If user has downloaded your app when it was free, then he/she can use your app all the time. Even if after 2 months, if you make your app as paid, then existing users need not to pay for that, because they have already downloaded app when it was free. Only new user has to paid to download app.
Hope, you got an idea of your question.
Cheers!
No, changing price doesn't require another review
Once the app is downloaded the user has it they do not pay again.

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