App Store - Anyone know Apple's process/schedule?

[gopherhockey]

I did a bit of searching and apologize if this has already been discussed.

I am curious if anyone knows the typical process Apple is using in the App Store. By that I mean do they constantly approve apps 24/7, on certain days only, is there a different schedule for updates?

The reason I ask is that I've come to see the App Store like Christmas now that I have an iPad. Constantly checking for new apps, updated apps I already have, etc.

Also, things like when do they update the "News and Noteworthy", "Top Grossing" and "Staff Favorites"? Are the "Top Charts" a live changing entity constantly calculated?

I guess it would be fun to have some clue as to how these things work.

 

[illogikaStudios]

Hi,

I can speak of my experience as a 3rd party developer:

- Apple seems to review games during weekdays, and so far none of our releases or updates approval occured during a weekend. However, a developer can choose a release date in the future for an app to be released on a weekend.

- The "New and Noteworthy" and "Staff Favorites" seem to be updated every few days.

- The Top grossing and top charts are updated in semi-realtime according mostly to daily sales volume (and the previous 2 or 3 days). Some other factors such as ratings, reviews, overall sales number and updates seem to matter a lot less and we found out that it's used by seeing some apps climb the charts in a given week in small markets without registering sales.