Is there a testing phase for iTunes and Android Market? - itunes

I have a small app I've made that I intend to make available on both iTunes and on Android Market (AM).
I have purchased the developer certifications for both, built my app with the Android SDK and the iOS Xcode SDK. So I think I'm most of the way along.
I'm a little fuzzy on the steps after this, though. When I launch my app, I'd like it to be available on each market on more or less the same time. I'd also like to do a little testing to try and download each app to different people's devices for a beta phase. Also, my understanding is that iTunes requires some sort of approval before it goes live (does Android require the same?).
So, what I'd like to do is be able to put my app on both AM and iTunes, but have it not be publicly available. A sort of private phase, where I can test it, have selected testers download it, make sure it is working fine, and maybe even get Apple (and Android) approval.
Then, when I'm ready to go live, then mark my apps as public.
Is there anything like that on either market? If I upload my app to either market, is it from that moment publicly available?
If there isn't any such "private" phase, what is the usual process for testing the app on different devices before making it available for sale?

The android developer site confirms that you can upload your app without publishing to allow for final testing. See more information here: Publishing on Android Market (under "Configuring options and uploading assets" header). When you actually publish the app it should be up within minutes. See this answer as well Just uploaded Android App: How long before app shows in Android Market search?
Apple has a different approval which can take hours or weeks depending on how lucky you are :) I personally have not submitted an app for approval though so I don't know if there's a way to get approval and then delay the release. I don't have a dev account with Apple so I can't log in to see their app approval guidelines apparently, but maybe this has some useful info: iOS App Store Approval Guidelines

Related

Android - All users have to install Google Play Services?

For devleopment I have to do this:
If not installed yet, you have to install the following packages :
Extras / Google Play services
Extras / Google Repository
Android 6.0 (API 23) / Google APIs Intel x86 Atom System Image Rev. 19
Android SDK Build-tools 23.0.3
Is this for development only? Or do all my users of the app have to also download Google Play Services etc?
Yes I know this isn't really a question for stackoverflow, but where else can I ask this question? They are not letting me ask this in the github issues either.
I also can't test this, because react-native-maps isn't working for me, it keeps crashing. I wash hoping to learn if its worth the effort to fix the crash. If users have to install a bunch of stuff to use this, then its not worth.
If you are using services provided by Google Play Services like Maps, or push messages, location services or in-app payments then yes, your users must have it installed too. If you are not using Google Play Services, then it's not required.
But if required, they have to install Google Play Services app from Play Store, not development stuff like you listed:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.gms&hl=en
EDIT
How come Google doesnt defalt install this?
Google Play Services or apps like Calendar, GMail etc are NOT part of Android. These are Google applications and may or may not come preinstalled, depending on licenses phone/tablet manufacturer purchased from Google. As Android can perfectly live w/o these apps, some devices does not include it or come with alternatives (i.e. using other providers than Google).
I don't know even know where the proper place to tell them would be
Your app should check if Google Play Services exists usually on start before it start using it. See this documentation which discuss this.
Weird, I just clicked on "Google Maps" on my Android Simulator and it made my react-native-maps start working.
There was a licence agreement when I clicked Google Maps on the phone, so as soon as I accepted it, react-native-maps started working.

What happens to a published app in the App Store if you cancel you Indie Seat with Appcelerator?

I published an app to the App Store using Titanium Studio in 2013. I have recently found a bug in the code that I want to fix and publish.
I logged into Appcelerator's website to download the latest studio since it's been three years, only to find out that it's a paid platform now.
I just want to make a quick bug fix and publish. I don't need any of the services that come with the platform.
I realize there is a free SDK that you can compile yourself, etc, etc.
I don't mind paying for a $36 for one month only if it enables me to just publish a new version of my app.
My question is, if I publish the app after paying the $36 and then cancel my subscription, will the cancellation affect my app? Does the IDE inject some sort of "call home" time bomb?
I tried asking the support at appcelerator but they answered like a politician and dodged it.
Thanks for any help.
A published/compiled app has no direct connection with appcelerator. So if you cancel the subscription nothing happens.
However, if you use paid services... things might go wrong.
Statistics for example is a paid service. If you cancel subscription I assume the app keeps working but will make calls to their backend that most likely will fail (not sure about this). App should keep working.
If you use any cloud service (push notifications, arrow storage etc) your app will stop working of course.
If you don't use any of the services, you can just cancel and be done with it.
That said, if you just want to make 1 change to an app you could just dive in and compile without the Appcelerator Platform and just use the Open Source code.

How can I see the crash reports of IOS App which is not yet there in the Apple Store?

I am new to iOS platform(SWIFT - iOS9- Xcode7.3), I developed one Social Networking app in Swift and want to see crash reports of the app in the mobile as well as in Xcode. I did the process of Certifications,App ID, Provisioning Certificates and all...(whether all these are necessary for testing the app) I started with test-flight but I am not finding their SDK. So how to go with the step by step process of testing the iOS app before I go with the production.
Let me know if there are any other tools other than test flight. or What is the right way to do the process of testing and then production to the Apple Store. I dint find any proper answers please help.
Test flight is integrated with apple iTuneConnect app store build,As of now you can not get the crash report for beta build. App store build will not share the crash report to developer until it was not shared by user device (by enabling Share with app developer setting).There are many crash reporting tools
I will recommend to use fabric

Mac App crashes when I add a Distribution Profile

I've created a Mac App for Mavericks that uses MapKit. It works fine during development and testing on Xcode 5.1. Now I'd like to submit it to the App Store and I need a Distribution Profile which I've created successfully. Trouble is, as soon as I add it to my project, the app doesn't run anymore - it crashes every time without fail with this error message:
When I change back to "no provisioning profile", or to the profile that Xcode created during development, the app runs again.
My question: Is this expected behaviour, or will the app be rejected by the review team? I know that iOS apps don't run with their distribution profiles, but I'm new to Mac Development. Any insights into this way too complex topic are appreciated!
My app was approved - and the crash was indeed no issue for the app review team.
I had a chat with Apple about this who were kind enough to call me back and explain the issue. Looks like this phenomenon is "kind of" expected behaviour: Mac Apps may or may not crash when run with a Distribution Profile.
To avoid this problem, we can add both a Development AND a Distribution Profile to our app, without one having to replace the other. This was news to me. Had I however opened my tired eyes a bit wider I would have perhaps spotted the little disclosure triangle myself:
Perhaps this helps those with the same issue.

How to remove code signing in Xcode?

I've created an iOS7 project in Xcode 5. It's a very simple app. I zipped it and sent it to another developer. When they open it, they get these messages:
No matching code signing identity found
No code signing identities (i.e.certificate and private key pairs)
matching "iPhone Developer" were found. Xcode can resolve this issue
by downloading a new provisioning profile from the Member Center.
How do they get around this? The app isn't going to be submitted to the app store.
Is this happening because they have not linked Xcode to their online developer account? Isn't an online developer account free?
The other developer can ignore that message if the intention is to run the app on the Simulator. But you must use code signing in order to run an app from Xcode on a device, even for testing purposes, even if the app is never going to be submitted to the App Store. And that costs $99/year. End of story.
You could turn your account into a Company account and put this developer on your company; that way the developer is covered under your $99.
Or, if you just want to send the app to someone for testing and you don't need them to run the app directly from Xcode on a device, you can create an Ad Hoc build targeted to their device.
And of course the developer can look at your code, test on the simulator, and run your previously built Ad Hoc build on the device - but not run from Xcode on the device, i.e. the developer can not build for a device without someone paying that $99/year fee.