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Google Now Manually Reviews Play Store Submissions, Approval Times Still Faster Than App Store

Will be good for android users, it is still nice that they can install apps outside the store.
 
I can personally confirm that the Google Play store app review times are still as fast as 2-3 hours. This is fantastic and I really wish Apple would hire some more reviewers to get their review times down to this level (or close to it). Why is a faster review time good?:

1. (Obviously) The developer can get the app to their users faster. Every day an app is in review is potential lost income.

2. No matter how much you test a game or app, there are bound to be small bugs that slip through. Having a faster review time means these bugs can be fixed before it effects your users experience too much.

I am personally dealing with this issue on 2 of my recent releases. I fixed the bugs and even made some small improvements. I submitted the apps to Apple and Google on the same day. My Google players have been enjoying the new version for a couple days. My Apple players are still stuck with the old version and will probably continue being stuck with it for a few more days.

Same day reviews would be a dream come true, but even if Apple could shorten the review time down to 1-3 days that would make a HUGE difference. Currently Apple averages around 7-10 days.
 
I hate the approval process it's so inconsistent with its rules and takes forever. Most the time they just open the app hit a few buttons and pass it. I'm fine with that however that's after waiting 10 days!!!! It's crazy this even happens with updates.

Id love to see trusted developers get instant review processes for updates.
 
What the hell..

Its not a race to the finish line here...... Google's done good... manual is the only way to make sure apps do what they say...

Look at YouTube's automated system...... or mixed...(What a mess)..

You upload a video, and u have no idea if it will still be there next week.... Sam goes with apps..
 
fluchtpunkt said:
Because you don't ship apps with bugs that Apple does not consider critical.

If you ship an app with a bug, 7 days are a very long time. You basically spend these 7 days telling your users that the bug will be fixed as soon as Apple approves the update.
Click to expand...

Maybe the developer should test the app further before submission instead of rushing it:cool:
 
I'm still under the impression that the play store is full of crapware, slightly more than app store, but Google it's surely doing a better work here.
 
The one experience I had with Android apps was when my friend was downloading a timer app. I would never have let the thing he downloaded be anywhere near my tech. Can't say if that represents the Google Play Store at all. I think people who have never used Android say it's full of malware.

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tmanto02 said:
Is it just me hor do Apples manual review procedures seem to be getting slacker and slacker? There are so many 2048 and flappy bird clones in the App Store that it makes me not want to search for new games.
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I've tested their limits. They are not very strict when it comes to app quality; it's just about making sure no rules are broken.
 
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jabingla2810 said:
I bet Android fans all think this is a good idea now.
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Doubt it. There are lots of apple fans that don't think this is a good idea. Pros/cons.

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Max(IT) said:
I'm still under the impression that the play store is full of crapware, slightly more than app store, but Google it's surely doing a better work here.
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You will find the same crap exists on both. Though due to popularity and size of the App Store v play store, numbers might surprise you in relation to crap levels ;)
 
greytmom said:
When I read the part about the "long wait times" for Apple to approve apps, I was guessing it was a month, maybe longer. 6-7 days? I don't consider that long.

Edit: Keep in mind that I am not in this business at all. So, I have no idea if a week is a long period of time or not. If someone has to continually resubmit, I can see how that could drag on.
Click to expand...

It can certainly add up, especially when Apple rejects your submission. We had one problem with a client app where they kept rejecting it because of "improper use of the advertising identifier" and wouldn't explain much more. It took us two more attempts - where I cannot for the life of me think of what I had to change to satisfy them - and about 12 days in total to get it sorted out.

Then when you have a critical bug fix update and Apple refuse to expedite it it can be really annoying to have to wait while customers are unhappy.
 
John.B said:
<Insert walled garden joke here> ;)
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thats not how android works ;)

anyway, 5 or so years with android, never had a single case of malware. if you download shady apps from shady sources... yeah, you will have bad time. a little bit of common sense and you're good to go.

Max(IT) said:
I'm still under the impression that the play store is full of crapware, slightly more than app store, but Google it's surely doing a better work here.
Click to expand...

both the app store and google play have more than 1.4 million apps. both have a lot of crapware, believe it or not.
 
futbalguy said:
As someone who recently started submitting apps for review, I have found it incredibly frustrating to wait a week for your app to get reviewed. You have to consider the app can then be rejected and needs to be resubmitted and the process starts over.

On an app that had already been approved once, I had an update rejected. Tt took me literally 3 minutes to correct the issue that Apple had with my app but it then took them 5 more days to review that update. So it took about two weeks for a minor app update to make it to the store. That's a long time and I've seen stories of people taking almost a month because they can keep finding new issues to cause rejection.

Another time, Apple rejected an update and left a message that didn't even make sense, so I responded promptly and then it takes them 3 days to read and respond with a comment that makes more sense.

Just seems very frustrating when this is your livelihood.
Click to expand...

+1. The App review time for the Apple store is a disaster for developers. We produce magazines for Newsstand and our last approval (for an update) took 14 days. I WISH it was only 6 days on average. I dont believe that average for one minute based on our experience. It can take days for Apple to respond to a review message. Meanwhile customers are screaming down the phone looking for an update.

The Play store is a joy in comparison (speaking as a developer).
 
micfur said:
+1. The App review time for the Apple store is a disaster for developers. We produce magazines for Newsstand and our last approval (for an update) took 14 days. I WISH it was only 6 days on average. I dont believe that average for one minute based on our experience. It can take days for Apple to respond to a review message. Meanwhile customers are screaming down the phone looking for an update.

The Play store is a joy in comparison (speaking as a developer).
Click to expand...

Right... The fact there's almost no money (you know fragmentation and bad demos) to be made and development costs are like double (you know fragmentation...) is just fine and dandy... Maybe if you do something simple like a mags, maybe it is not bad... Why not just put a HTML5 website for this of thing anyway?
 
I think you guys are really focusing on the timeframe vs Apple's.

This is about Google becoming more like Apple in that they are being more selective about their apps and at least attempting to put the human touch in the approval process. It's a good think for Android users as we all know apps on the Play Store can be a hit or miss.
 
the-msa said:
hey, if ios users think that widgets, 3rd party keyboards, icloud drive and hey siri are cool suddenly, you should have android-user have their go too ;)
Click to expand...

Widgets made their way on Android because they were in Java, you know that thing Google pilfered ... Macs had them in 2005 and I'm pretty sure the idea existed before that as add ons to Windows desktops.
 
MasterRyu2011 said:
True, but would you rather have humans reviewing (poor job or not) or none at all?

It may take Google a while to get there, but it's a step in the right direction; that's all I'm saying.
Click to expand...

I understood a hit or miss¨¨ as there are apps with more quality than others, if this was the meaning, both App Store and Google Play have they full crop of poor quality apps.
 
jabingla2810 said:
I bet Android fans all think this is a good idea now.
Click to expand...

Depends on the type of Android fan you're talking about some think it's silly, some think it shows the flaw in google SW checks and they finally admitted it, and some just don't care.

jabingla2810 said:
I think us geeks at Macumors understand the short falls of the system.

My post was a bit of a joke, but I do know a LOT of Android fans who have laughed at Apple's insistance to review App Store Apps before their release, and have long stated that one of Androids strengths is it's free market.

Perhaps this will eliminate illegal apps, perhaps limit piracy that has plagued Android more than it has plagued iOS. Perhaps not.
Click to expand...

You don't know many Android fans do you.

acctman said:
I'm guessing they're using some automated script to scan through the app code. Doubt it's manually being reviewed/tested and looked at by a human.
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That's the system they've been using, the only thing that the human IMHO can do is actually use the app and see if it does what it's supposed to, but who knows maybe they're looking at code.
 
Tech198 said:
What the hell..

Its not a race to the finish line here...... Google's done good... manual is the only way to make sure apps do what they say...

Look at YouTube's automated system...... or mixed...(What a mess)..

You upload a video, and u have no idea if it will still be there next week.... Sam goes with apps..
Click to expand...

What are you going on about in terms of Youtube? Everyone in my network (including me) have never had a video mysteriously vanish. What we have had happen was Content ID picking up music or gameplay footage with a copyright and disabling monetization until the copyright owner reviewed the video and saw our network had licensing for the content. The videos money making features are promptly restored.

Now if you upload something with horrible content that is against the EULA or TOS and it gets reported and removed, that is all on you buddy.

lowendlinux said:
Depends on the type of Android fan you're talking about some think it's silly, some think it shows the flaw in google SW checks and they finally admitted it, and some just don't care.



You don't know many Android fans do you.
Click to expand...

Hey man! Stop pointing out those straw men they propped up.
 
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