Submitting Your iOS App

Once your iOS app is ready to be published, you will need to send it to mobile@ncsu.edu for validation and submission.  Before it is submitted to Apple for approval, there are some things that you can do to make the process easier and increase the chances of having your app published on the first try.

 

Satisfying Technical Requirements

There are certain technical requirements that have to happen before your app can be submitted.

  • Have a version number.  This is a number like 1.0 or 3.1.2.  It can contain numbers and periods.
  • Have a build number.  This number must be numeric and cannot contain any letters or punctuation.
  • It is suggested that apps should support the most current version of iOS and possibly the previous version as well.
  • Your app must be compiled for 64bit support

 

Providing Your Application Source

You must provide the entire XCode project for your app to be signed for the app store. Any external or third party libraries must be included as well.  Please provide all of this in a zip file, which will make your review time shorter and the reviewers happier.

The project files will be fairly large, so please use the campus Velocity service to send them.

 

Compiling the Required Metadata

When you send your source code, please also need the following additional information about your app, which will be submitted directly to Apple and will appear on the iTunes App Store.  Your app cannot be submitted without this additional information:

    • Version of the app
    • Primary Category
    • Secondary Category
    • Review Notes (optional – For Apple’s eyes only)
    • App Name
    • Description
    • Keywords (100 bytes or less)
    • Support email address
    • Support URL
    • Marketing URL (optional)
    • Screenshots – up to 5
      • Screenshots can be taken from the iOS simulator, but you can also check out this app for creating screenshots:  http://www.curioustimes.de/iphonesimulatorcropper/
      • For best results, do not include the status bar in the screenshot.
      • iPhone and iPod touch Screenshots must be .jpeg, .jpg, or .png files. Please see this documentation for details on the required size specifications.
    • You may provide an app preview movie demonstrating the use of your app. Details on the specifications for the movie can be found here

Please include all of this in a metadata.txt file in the zip file with your source code.

 

Preparing for the Review Process

Based on a good deal of experience submitting apps to Apple and seeing many of the traps users fall into, a review process has been developed to prepare your app so that it has the greatest chance of getting accepted by Apple on the first try.

After submitting your source code and your metadata, your app will be reviewed for a number of things:

  1. It compiles without crashing.
  2. It conforms to the published Apple UI guidelines.
  3. It conforms to the university branding guidelines.

Your app will basically be tested for everything that Apple tests for, and more. The review is scheduled as soon as possible, with the typical review time being 10-15 days. Once it passes the in-house review, your app will be submitted to Apple.  Apple’s typical review time is 5-7 days.

If your app doesn’t pass Apple’s scrutiny, you will be provided with their feedback, and then have to go through the process again until Apple accepts your app. If you are working with a hard deadline, such as the start of the semester or a specific event, submit your app with at least a month’s lead time.  That way, if Apple rejects your app, you have a chance to make the necessary changes and publish your app in time.

Once the app passes Apple’s scrutiny, it will be set up for publication on the date you requested.