When you update a description, price, or any data like that that will be published in about a day (as soon as the App Store "refreshes"). Even though your updated app appears as a separate listing in iTunesConnect, it shares the same description as your listed app, so there is no way to change the description so it goes live at the same time on the App Store. However, you will receive an email that your update has been approved (usually about a business week) and you can edit the description then so both the update and the description go live at the same time (once again, about a day as the App Store refreshed). Not a perfect system, but definitely manageable.
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App Store Experience of a Developer
- Thread starter bridgeyman
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When you update a description, price, or any data like that that will be published in about a day (as soon as the App Store "refreshes"). Even though your updated app appears as a separate listing in iTunesConnect, it shares the same description as your listed app, so there is no way to change the description so it goes live at the same time on the App Store. However, you will receive an email that your update has been approved (usually about a business week) and you can edit the description then so both the update and the description go live at the same time (once again, about a day as the App Store refreshed). Not a perfect system, but definitely manageable.
Well, now for the followup. I released an update (along with a healthy amount of calls to support) and the release date was fixed when the update was posted. It definitely made a difference, as my download numbers almost tripled.
Really, now I am sorry I was such a complainer.The App Store definitely has its disadvantages because it is so new, but it has been well worth it to get access to such an awesome distribution channel. Apple was overwhelmed I think, but things are getting more stable and they keep adding features to iTunesConnect for the developers.
yalag: Was it worth it? I didn't count my hours, but I can be sure that it took less than 1,500, if you know what I mean.
Are you implying that you made $1500? Lets do a calculation. Suppose you made $1500. For a high schooler, I would say an hour is worth $20. So basic math gives you 1500 * .66 (apple's cut) / 20 = 49.5 hours. If so, going by a full time job schedule, thats around a week's worth of work hours. Did you finish your app in one week's worth of time including time spent on research, development, testing, graphics, promotions, fighting with iTunesconnect, doing support for your buyers etc etc. Mostly I would bet it is more but of course this is just my random guess.
Even if he only made $1500, the app continues to sell, and could see an increase in sales if word of mouth gets out.
One thing I would be totally pissed about at the moment if I were a developer is that links to apps in the app store no longer work on Mobile Safari. They come up invalid.
To the OP, good luck. Lesson learned here is that perseverance is king. If they lose you in the shuffle, do whatever it takes to get back in the game. Or app.
One thing I would be totally pissed about at the moment if I were a developer is that links to apps in the app store no longer work on Mobile Safari. They come up invalid.
To the OP, good luck. Lesson learned here is that perseverance is king. If they lose you in the shuffle, do whatever it takes to get back in the game. Or app.
Maybe I shouldn't be so vague.
I was saying that with my profit (after Apple's cut) would be 1,500 hours at $10 / hour. Also, this is not nearly a full time job. I work on it as much as I can find time, but I am a full time student trying to finish high school and my associate degree. I don't know if what I am making is typical, but I say if you have a good idea go for it! The the past few weeks I have been making an average of $500 a day. Certainly this is much more than your average high school job.On the other hand, I helped develop another application that hasn't seen quite the success Lumen has, but it is competing with several other apps with essentially the same function.
The above is modern management ignorance. Sticking to a schedule simply because it is the schedule is and can be demonstrated to be very damaging to companies. Apple burnt a lot of its reputation with the release of the SDK version of iPhone and will have to work very hard to over come this disgrace.
Well yeah it doesn't because you loose more by shipping crap software than you gain by it.
Why should they when by that time better platforms will be available? As has been pointed out earlier in this thread the SDK itself has a lot of issues. It is not easy to produce quality apps with the SDK when much of it is broken in one sense or the other. Lets put it this way there have been a lot of complaints with respect to the quality of some of the apps, with the complaints directed at developers. That is really sad because from what I can see the larger balance of the problems lie with the Apple software.
So the question is if you have a product in mind do you look at the platform with the early but crap SDK or do you wait for a manufacture that has taken the time to deliver stable stuff.
Notably too the iPhone 2.1 release isn't as stable as I would have hoped for. Safari crashes more than it ever did, often on common web sites. Mail is slightly better because instead of crashing every day it is much more random now. In fact Mail had me tricked into thinking it was completely fixed as it went for a week without crashing. So even with 2.1 Apple has a lot to polish here. Actually it will be some time before they can polish because they need to start with some 80 grit sand paper and then work their way up to polishing compound! It is one thing to be a fan it is another thing to try to justify very bad behavior on the part of a company like Apple, with 2.0 they have been very bad.
Dave
Dave
Bridgeyman, why are the dates getting messed up on a few apps, did you ever figure that out?
I've called support, emailed support and talked to Apple, but nobody has been able to explain why our release date didn't change with our update.
Do you think it's something that the developer can address in the submission process or does it have to be Apple?
I've called support, emailed support and talked to Apple, but nobody has been able to explain why our release date didn't change with our update.
Do you think it's something that the developer can address in the submission process or does it have to be Apple?
I always thought the giving away the app for free tactic was kinda shady. It seems like a bug in the App Store ranking system that download numbers from a free app would count towards a ranking on the paid apps list. That being said, perhaps giving it away for free or for really cheap could at least get the Lumen name out there.
My initial listing got messed up because my app was approved long before my bank and contracts went through. However, all of my updates have gone fine, so I really don't have much advice for you. :\
Ouch. What is your app? Have you tried calling Apple? (I know the support agents really aren't able to do much, but it can be kinda comforting.)