Anyone who publishes apps knows the waiting. You submit a version to the App Store, and then it sits with Apple for review. Sometimes it goes through in a few hours, sometimes it takes days. It’s always been like that, and you get used to it.
But there’s one thing where I noticed the difference can be really big: in-app purchases.
Added later: patience needed
When I add an in-app purchase to an existing app later on, things get slow. The new addition has to be reviewed separately, and for me exactly that approval took much longer than a normal update. The app itself was long finished, but the purchase was stuck in the queue.
Included from the start: much faster
It was completely different with an app that already included the in-app purchase when it was first submitted. Everything was reviewed in one go, and the approval came through much faster. No second wait, no back and forth.
What I’m taking away
- App Store review times vary. Planning in a little buffer always pays off.
- An in-app purchase added later can drag out the approval considerably.
- If an app will need an in-app purchase at some point, I now plan it in right from the start.
Luckily, that was the case with Tiny Garden Days: the whole garden for a one-time 3 USD was part of the app from the beginning. For my next projects I now ask myself this question right at the start. Will it need an in-app purchase at some point? Then it goes straight into the first version.