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