iOS - Publication timeframe

In ideal conditions, the whole process to get your iOS app in the App Store will only take a few days.

However, there are a few mandatory steps before your iOS app gets published in the App Store, whether GoodBarber takes care of the submission process for you, or whether you deal with it solo. Each one of these steps may impact the global timeframe.

It's not uncommon that a few adjustments need to be made before the app is good enough to be published, so we recommend getting to it as soon as your app is ready and not to wait the last minute to deal with the publication process.

Also, keep in mind that you are main actor of the whole process, so the publication timeframe depends on you too!

1. GoodBarber's Review: 
GoodBarber's review team knows a lot about the App Store Review Guidelines, and their goal is to help you maximise your chances of passing Apple's review quickly. To begin the review, you first need to submit a brief containing information about your app.
The team will reply with 1 business day* after your initial request, after reviewing the content of your app. 
If your app isn't already perfect as it is, the GoodBarber Review Team will send some feedback to help you fix problems that might cause a rejection from Apple. 
It will then be up to you to make the appropriate changes and let the team know they can review the app again. 
You will be able to move onto the next step once the team has determined that your app follows the App Store Review guidelines . 

2. Creation of the Apple Developer Account: 
If you don't already have an Apple Developer Account , you will be required to create one at this point. 
Creating a Company/Organization account requires some extra time, compared to an Individual account, as Apple's team will make some extra verifications on your business.
Regardless of the time it may take,  you must create the right type of account in order for your app to be compliant with Apple's guidelines  : Apps should be submitted by the person or legal entity that owns or has licensed the intellectual property and other relevant rights. 

3. Verification of your developer account:
The GoodBarber Review Team will then verify that your iOS developer account follows Apple's guidelines. Once this has been confirmed, the team will contact you back within 1 business day* and move your app forward to the next step of the process. 

4. Compilation and upload of your iOS native app:
Once the review is over, a new support ticket is generated to request the management of your iOS submission process. The team will use this ticket to communicate with you, so you should follow it until the team confirm that the submission is done.
Within 1 business day* after receiving this request, the GoodBarber Take Care Team will create the certificates to compile your native app, and upload the binary file to App Store Connect.
The compilation itself takes about 15 minutes. 
Processing the binary after its upload usually takes a few minutes as well. This depends on Apple's service. 

5. Test with TestFlight
Once the binary file has been processed by Apple, you will be able to test your app with TestFlight. ​
The Account Owner always receives an invitation by email with instructions on how to test the app. 
Internal testers will receive an invitation after they've been registered for a test in App Store Connect.
External testers will receive an invitation after they've been registered for a test and after the binary has been reviewed by Apple. 

6. Submission to App Review:
Right after the binary file has been processed by Apple, GoodBarber Take Care team fills the app information in App Store Connect and submits the app to Apple for App Review.
Apple will notify you by email at every step of their review process, which may take up to 7 days: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/ .
Note that Apple may require additional information from you to complete their review. If they do, they will contact you directly.
In case this happens, you should contact GoodBarber's Support Team so they can help you as quickly as possible.
 
7. Publication of the app: 
Depending on the testing option you have selected, the publication of the app is managed slightly differently.
- If you selected the option to publish the app as soon as possible without testing it, the app will be published right after Apple's approval.
- If you selected the option to test your app with TestFlight before it's published, the publication will be set to manual so the app doesn't immediately becomes available for the public. It will have to be manually published after you are done testing it. 

*Except on weekends
- GoodBarber's regular Support Team works 7/7
- GoodBarber Review Team and GoodBarber Take Care Team work on business days.

1. Compilation and upload of your iOS native app:
To compile a new version of your iOS app, you must update the form in the iOS > Publish menu. This will generate a new ticket to the GoodBarber Take Care team to request the update of your app. Within 1 business day after receiving this request, the team will renew the certificates if needed (unless they are still valid), compile your native app, and upload the binary file to App Store Connect.
The compilation itself takes about 15 minutes. 
Processing the binary after its upload usually takes a few minutes as well. This depends on Apple's service. 

2. Test with TestFlight
Once the binary file has been processed by Apple, you will be able to test your app with TestFlight.
​The Account Owner always receives an invitation by email with instructions on how to test the app. 
Internal testers will receive an invitation after they've been registered for a test in App Store Connect.
External testers will receive an invitation after they've been registered for a test and after the binary has been reviewed by Apple. 

3. Submission to App Review:
Right after the binary file has been processed by Apple, GoodBarber Take Care team updates the app information in App Store Connect if needed (unless you selected the option not to change anything in the store) and submits the app to Apple for App Review.
Apple will notify you by email at every step of their review process, which may take up to 7 days: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/ .
Note that Apple may require additional information from you to complete their review, even for an update.
If they do, they will contact you directly and you should contact GoodBarber's Support Team so they can help you as quickly as possible.
 
4. Publication of the app: 
Depending on the testing option you have selected, the publication of the update is managed slightly differently.
- If you selected the option to publish the app as soon as possible without testing it, the app will be published right after Apple's approval.
- If you selected the option to test your app with TestFlight before it's published, the publication will be set to manual so the app doesn't immediately becomes available for the public. It will have to be manually published after you are done testing it. 

*Except on weekends
- GoodBarber's regular Support Team works 7/7
- GoodBarber Review Team and GoodBarber Take Care Team work on business days.

1. Creation of the Apple Developer Account: 
It is mandatory to create an Apple Developer Account  before starting the compilation process. 
Creating a Company/Organization account requires some extra time, compared to an Individual account, as Apple's team will make some extra verifications on your business.
Regardless of the time it may take,  you must create the right type of account in order for your app to be compliant with Apple's guidelines  : Apps should be submitted by the person or legal entity that owns or has licensed the intellectual property and other relevant rights. 

2. Creation of the certificates and compilation of your app
This usually takes a few minutes, maybe half an hour tops if you really take your time.
All you have to do is follow the steps described in your back office. Once all the files have been uploaded, you can launch the compilation of the app, which usually takes about 15 minutes. 

3. Creation of the app in App Store Connect
You can use the time the app is being compiled to create the app in App Store Connect and start filling the App Store information, uploading your screenshots, etc.
The time this will take really depends on you. 

4. Upload of your iOS native app:
As soon as your iOS app is compiled, you can download the .ipa file from your back office, and submit it to App Store Connect using Transporter. You will only be able to submit your app for App Review once the binary has been processed. 
Processing the binary after its upload usually takes a few minutes. This depends on Apple's service. 

5. Test with TestFlight
Once the binary file has been processed by Apple, you will be able to test your app with TestFlight if you want.

6. Submission to App Review:
Once all the App Store information have been filled, and the binary has been processed, you can submit your app to Apple for App Review. 
Apple will notify you by email at every step of their review process, which may take up to 7 days: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/ .
Note that Apple may require additional information from you to complete their review. If they do, they will contact you directly.
 
7. Publication of the app: 
Depending on the publication option you have selected, the app will either be published immediately after Apple's review, published on the given date that you've selected, or not available after the review until you publish it manually.  

1. Compilation of your app
Apple certificates only need to be renewed when they are invalid, or if the Push Certificate is about to expire soon. 
Otherwise, you can go ahead and compile the app directly. The compilation usually takes about 15 minutes. 

2. Update of the App Store information in App Store Connect
You can use the time the app is being compiled to edit the App Store information, your screenshots, etc. Most of these elements can only be changed when sending a new version for App Review. 
Unless your app has changed a lot, this shouldn't take as much time as for a first submission. Still, be thorough, especially if you made changes to your app. 

3. Upload the new version of your iOS native app:
As soon as your iOS app is compiled, you can download the .ipa file from your back office, and submit it to App Store Connect using Transporter. You will only be able to submit the new version of your app for App Review once the binary has been processed. 
Processing the binary after its upload usually takes a few minutes. This depends on Apple's service. 

4. Test with TestFlight
Once the binary file has been processed by Apple, you will be able to test your app with TestFlight if you want.

5. Submission to App Review:
Once all the App Store information have been filled, and the binary has been processed, you can submit the new version of your app to Apple for App Review. 
Apple will notify you by email at every step of their review process, which may take up to 7 days, but is usually quicker for an update: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/ . 
Note that Apple may require additional information from you to complete their review. If they do, they will contact you directly.
 
6. Publication of the app: 
Depending on the publication option you have selected, the new version will either be published immediately after Apple's review, published on a given date that you selected, or not published until you manually make it publicly available. Until the new version is published, the previous version remains accessible.