Depending what your app is, could you consider distributing privately via TestFlight - or even making it a web app?

Doesn't apply to alllll apps - but flagging it in case you hadn't recently looked into it.. web apps can do a lot and don't charge 15%.

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user43928 a day ago | parent | next [-]

On iOS they can't even reliably persist user data on the device, last time I checked.

It's probably no coincidence that the only allowed browser engine on iOS doesn't provide proper PWA support.

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arvinsim a day ago | parent | next [-]

Yeah, I tried and compared some PWA apps in my Macbook and iPad. The iPad one definitely will reload and get stuck if there is no internet connection.

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devmor a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I've got a couple PWAs I deploy off of my tailnet and use on my iPhone and iPad.

I have encountered no issues (using IndexedDB for user data) so far. If you approach database sizes larger than 1GB I believe you might run into quotas.

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user43928 17 hours ago | parent [-]

What I read is that if the device's storage is full, WebKit just drops your data, which would be unacceptable for a production app.

I don't know if that's true though.

	▲	devmor 11 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I would have to test that because that is concerning but I have apparently solved that problem by accident by syncing my IndexedDBs with an API server when a connection is available.

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giancarlostoro 21 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> It's probably no coincidence that the only allowed browser engine on iOS doesn't provide proper PWA support.

Oh the irony too...

https://youtu.be/p1nwLilQy64

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ChrisMarshallNY a day ago | parent | prev [-]

> distributing privately via TestFlight

Don't let Apple catch you doing that. Good way to get your account banhammered.

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quasarsunnix a day ago | parent [-]

You need their permission for External TestFlight distribution anyway, otherwise you need to add everyone to the App Store Connect account to forego their reviews.

Currently suffering through rejections just to get a client’s app into the first rounder of testers’ hands.

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19 hours ago | parent | next [-]

[deleted]

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sevenseacat 21 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

It took us literally months to do this for a recent client project.

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__m 19 hours ago | parent [-]

What made it take so long? Btw. The review for external testing happens only once per version, not per build

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ChrisMarshallNY 15 hours ago | parent | next [-]

It usually takes a couple of days, the first time, then it's almost immediate, until the next version bump.

I use TestFlight almost from the start of a project. Great way to involve non-tech folks, and work out UI design issues quickly.

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sevenseacat 14 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

it kept sitting waiting for review for a week and then getting rejected for bullshit reasons, over and over again

	▲	ChrisMarshallNY 13 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> bullshit reasons Depends on the reason. "Bullshit" is in the eye of the beholder. I don't think that they reject for branding issues, in the TestFlight review (like they do, for the App Store -I have had my app rejected, because it had the word "finder" in its name). For example, if you change the color of the Sign in with Apple button, it will get rejected (in the App Store review -I don't know if they would reject it in the TestFlight review). They do, however, look for things like private API access, crashes, and dodgy behavior. Even if a code path is TODO, it shouldn't crash. I just fill those with NOP functions.