Apple Reminds Developers of App Store Freeze During Holidays

MacRumors · Dec 20, 2012, 02:24 PM

Apple has sent reminders to App Store developers that the annual shutdown of iTunes Connect is scheduled to take place from Friday, December 21, 2012 to Friday, December 28th, 2012.

iTunes Connect is the portal for developers to submit app updates and changes. As a result, no new apps, app updates or price changes will be reflected in the App Store during that time.

Quote:

We strongly recommend that you do not schedule any pricing changes in iTunes Connect that would take effect between Friday, December 21, 2012 and Friday, December 28, 2012. Pricing changes scheduled to take effect during this date range will not be reflected on the App Store and your app or In-App Purchase will become unavailable for purchase until after the shutdown.

We also recommend that you do not schedule any apps to go live during the shutdown. Releases scheduled with a start date between Friday, December 21, 2012 and Friday, December 28, 2012 will not go live on the App Store until after the shutdown.

As a result of the shutdown deadline, a large number of App developers have been cutting prices today as they compete for top ranking on the App Store Top Charts during the lucrative Christmas sales period.

Article Link: Apple Reminds Developers of App Store Freeze During Holidays

Dewroo · Dec 20, 2012, 02:30 PM

App store app freeze = end of the world.
you see, the app store won't come back. ever. there will be a catastrophic problem and all apps will be deleted off apple's servers.

apple will lose stock and go bankrupt.

LagunaSol · Dec 20, 2012, 02:30 PM

Bring on the annual massive holiday app sale!

gmanist1000 · Dec 20, 2012, 02:32 PM

Good time for them to fix the slow App Store with iOS 6! Though, I doubt they will.

Sixtafoua · Dec 20, 2012, 02:37 PM

Can we still get daily reports or is the whole thing down for that week?

rmwebs · Dec 20, 2012, 02:41 PM

Still baffles me that Apple cant afford to keep it open. I'm pretty sure there would be a fair few review staff that would be happy to keep working, especially any that dont celebrate anything this time of year.

----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sixtafoua

Can we still get daily reports or is the whole thing down for that week?

You cant even log in. It's completely shut down for the week. Here's the full email as MR dont seem to be showing it:

Quote:

iTunes Connect will be temporarily shut down from Friday, December 21, 2012 to Friday, December 28, 2012. During this shutdown, the following functionality will be unavailable:

Access to iTunes Connect and iTunes Connect Mobile
Delivery of any apps or updates
Additionally, the following will be delayed:

Releases scheduled to appear on the App Store for the first time
Pricing changes scheduled through the interval pricing system in iTunes Connect
We strongly recommend that you do not schedule any pricing changes in iTunes Connect that would take effect between Friday, December 21, 2012 and Friday, December 28, 2012. Pricing changes scheduled to take effect during this date range will not be reflected on the App Store and your app or In-App Purchase will become unavailable for purchase until after the shutdown.

We also recommend that you do not schedule any apps to go live during the shutdown. Releases scheduled with a start date between Friday, December 21, 2012 and Friday, December 28, 2012 will not go live on the App Store until after the shutdown.

troop231 · Dec 20, 2012, 02:48 PM

Glad my updates got approved today before the week long shutdown.

OriginalMacRat · Dec 20, 2012, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmwebs

Still baffles me that Apple cant afford to keep it open. I'm pretty sure there would be a fair few review staff that would be happy to keep working, especially any that dont celebrate anything this time of year.

Apple isn't shutting off the app stores.

They just won't be reviewing any new apps or updated apps while the employees are on vacation.

AFPoster · Dec 20, 2012, 03:23 PM

Any good ones on sale yet?

rmwebs · Dec 20, 2012, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OriginalMacRat

Apple isn't shutting off the app stores.

They just won't be reviewing any new apps or updated apps while the employees are on vacation.

I know...shockingly I did read the email, and have gone through this for a few years now

I meant there is no reason why they have to shut down iTunes connect and app reviews.

Tankmaze · Dec 20, 2012, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sixtafoua

Can we still get daily reports or is the whole thing down for that week?

the daily reports will be down the whole week.. which is shucks, wonder why apple can't create automated reporting for the reports

Bubba Satori · Dec 20, 2012, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmwebs

Still baffles me that Apple cant afford to keep it open.

Why? Apple has to shut the store down for hours when they only update one product.

Maybe they should buy Amazon and be able to dynamically update millions of products in real time.
Back to the future.

Jynto · Dec 20, 2012, 07:04 PM

The mayans were trying to warn us. We're all gonna die!

AidenShaw · Dec 20, 2012, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jynto

The mayans were trying to warn us. We're all gonna die!

Best of the day!

zorinlynx · Dec 20, 2012, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bubba Satori

Why? Apple has to shut the store down for hours when they only update one product.

Maybe they should buy Amazon and be able to dynamically update millions of products in real time.
Back to the future.

I think they do that more for marketing reasons than because of technical ones.

Amazing Iceman · Dec 20, 2012, 09:38 PM

Does this freeze also means we will not be getting iOS 6.0.2 nor OS X 10.8.3 until next year?

davebarnes · 02:01 AM

What about those of us who celebrate or don't "the holidays" at another time of the year?

spillproof · 02:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davebarnes

What about those of us who celebrate or don't "the holidays" at another time of the year?

You are in the minority. There is not enough money to be made in the minority. Follow the money. Just think of this as a massive sale that happens in the later part of December.

ConCat · Dec 21, 2012, 02:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davebarnes

What about those of us who celebrate or don't "the holidays" at another time of the year?

This is mostly done for efficiency because a large portion of their employees would take off for the holidays anyway. Might as well make it an event. Makes for happy employees.

smes3817 · Dec 21, 2012, 07:51 AM

Anyone know what time today the freeze begins?

AlphaHumanus · Dec 21, 2012, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AFPoster

Any good ones on sale yet?

Bastion is only .99$ If your into bash-em-up isometric arcade games, its a must.

The fact that the narration is game-play influenced and totally dynamic makes it worth .99 all on its own.

TouchMint.com · Dec 21, 2012, 10:58 AM

Things have been on sale most of this week but don’t be surprised to see prices go up right before the freeze.

In the past the freeze locks in sales locations so most major companies will use sales to climb the charts and then right before the lock-in they will raise prices back up.

It would be nice if apple didn’t lock up the charts so companies couldn’t do this but ohh well.

BTW: Bracket Maker is always .99c no price tricks here!
/end promo

johnkountz · Dec 23, 2012, 11:32 PM

I run a small Software Development Company, we have three (3) App's in the Apple Store.

We are receiving reports that Customers are unable to make InApp purchases, our in-house tests have verified this to be the case. We had no price changes, app updates, or InApp changes for two weeks, so there's nothing we did to cause this.

At the same time, we are unable to Manage our Customer feedback and Sales information, we've been locked out of iTunes Connect so we can't see what Sales we are having. This was definitely NOT the case last year, we checked sales on a daily basis.

Oh how we miss you Steve Jobs

Dec 20, 2012, 02:30 PM	#2
Dewroo macrumors regular Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Tilton, NH.	App store app freeze = end of the world. you see, the app store won't come back. ever. there will be a catastrophic problem and all apps will be deleted off apple's servers. apple will lose stock and go bankrupt. __________________ I am Flutterwhat, Musical hipster pony.
	4

Dec 20, 2012, 02:32 PM	#4
gmanist1000 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Sep 2009	Good time for them to fix the slow App Store with iOS 6! Though, I doubt they will. __________________ Tech Reviews on YouTube http://goo.gl/3zjZP Latest Video: Bose AE2w Bluetooth Headphones Review
	1

Dec 20, 2012, 02:37 PM	#5
Sixtafoua macrumors 6502 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Boston, MA	Can we still get daily reports or is the whole thing down for that week? __________________ My App
	0

Dec 20, 2012, 02:48 PM	#7
troop231 macrumors 601 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: At the gym	Glad my updates got approved today before the week long shutdown. __________________ My iOS apps: MyTradeshow , Outdoor Rules & Regulations iPhone 5 MBP 15" 2.3 i7 HR-AG
	0

Dec 20, 2012, 03:23 PM	#9
AFPoster macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jul 2008	Any good ones on sale yet? __________________ 2011 15" MacBook Pro 2.2Ghz i7, hr anti-glare iPad 2 32gb (white) iPhone 4S 16gb x2
	0

Dec 20, 2012, 02:30 PM	#3
LagunaSol macrumors 601 Join Date: Apr 2003	Bring on the annual massive holiday app sale!
	1

Dec 20, 2012, 07:04 PM	#13
Jynto macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Nottingham, UK	The mayans were trying to warn us. We're all gonna die!
	2

Dec 20, 2012, 09:38 PM	#16
Amazing Iceman macrumors 68020 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Florida, U.S.A.	Does this freeze also means we will not be getting iOS 6.0.2 nor OS X 10.8.3 until next year? __________________ 17" MacBook Pro (2007) iPad 3G / new iPad LTE 64GB AppleTV 2 Follow @AmazingIceman for useful tech info and more (mention MacRumors).
	0

Dec 20, 2012, 09:58 PM	#17
davebarnes macrumors member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Denver, CO USA	What about those of us who celebrate or don't "the holidays" at another time of the year? __________________ Dave Barnes, +1.303.744.9024, WebEnhancement Services - Worldwide Last edited by OllyW; Dec 24, 2012 at 02:01 AM. Reason: offensive post title
	0

Dec 21, 2012, 07:51 AM	#20
smes3817 macrumors newbie Join Date: Jan 2008	Anyone know what time today the freeze begins?
	0

Dec 21, 2012, 10:58 AM	#22
TouchMint.com macrumors 6502 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Phoenix	Things have been on sale most of this week but don’t be surprised to see prices go up right before the freeze. In the past the freeze locks in sales locations so most major companies will use sales to climb the charts and then right before the lock-in they will raise prices back up. It would be nice if apple didn’t lock up the charts so companies couldn’t do this but ohh well. BTW: Bracket Maker is always .99c no price tricks here! /end promo __________________ www.TouchMint.com iPhone App Developer Apps of the month: Baseball Stats Tracker Touch (Over 10,000 Copies Sold!) Quiz and Flashcard Maker
	0

Dec 23, 2012, 11:32 PM	#23
johnkountz macrumors member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: USA	AppStore shutdown is, well, stupid I run a small Software Development Company, we have three (3) App's in the Apple Store. We are receiving reports that Customers are unable to make InApp purchases, our in-house tests have verified this to be the case. We had no price changes, app updates, or InApp changes for two weeks, so there's nothing we did to cause this. At the same time, we are unable to Manage our Customer feedback and Sales information, we've been locked out of iTunes Connect so we can't see what Sales we are having. This was definitely NOT the case last year, we checked sales on a daily basis. Oh how we miss you Steve Jobs __________________ Retired Software Engineer MacBook 1.8 SDD, MacBook Pro 2.2 SR, 20-inch iMac Alum, MacBook, iPhone, Apple TV Several of each, and not a Windows machine among them.
	0


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