App Store review times shortened to 2 days

Average App STore review times web screenshot 001

Apple’s oft-criticized review process for app submissions, which normally takes about a week or more, now takes as little as two days, according to developers who reported seeing dramatically faster App Store review times on submissions.

AppReviewTimes.com, a website that tracks average App Store review times using crowdsourced data, has confirmed that Apple’s review process now takes an average of two days to approve an app, based on 332 reviews in the last 14 days.

In December, the average was more than five days, and 8.8 days a year ago. And based on 41 reviews in the last 30 days, it now takes about 24 hours to approve a submitted Mac App Store app or app udpate.

According to Bloombreg, such a notable change in app review times is part of “a broader push to increase revenue from services including mobile applications.” A number of well-known app developers took to Twitter to tell the world how pleased they were by the significnatly shortened review times.

The less time Apple spends reviewing submissions, the faster developers can fix bugs, release critical updates and react to market changes. As a result, a one-week release cycle developers used to be accustomed to is now a two-day affair.

As a result, app development cycle accelerates.

I’m just speculating here, but the faster review times may have something to do with the fact that Apple’s marketing honcho Phil Schiller in December 2015 added App Stores to its ever-expanding roster of responsibilties.

Schiller has alwyas been the unofficial steward of Apple’s relationship with app developers, but with his role now official Schiller surely has a greater say over things like the App Store review process.

Are you surprsied by this positive trend in App Store review times? I, for one, am extremely glad that Apple seems to be becoming a lot more developer-friendly.

Source: AppReviewTimes.com via Bloomberg