Distribute Apps in Apple App Store

Apple reviewers are recommending that I use the Apple Business Manager instead of the App Store to publish my App. But I suspect that it will only work for devices cataloged within the Apple Business Manager that I will not be able to assign easily. Does anyone have experiences in this Apple environment to recommend me about it? Thank you

Unclear, why wouldn't Apple allow an app for the App Store? What is your app about?

I think it is only a recomendation. I will report more details in the next version when I have solved other issues detected.

When the app is developed for a single group of users, Apple does not approve the app open with a distribution for all people in the App Store. In this case we have 2 options for these apps, select a distribution as Business/School or as Unlisted app.

As Business/School app we can only distribute the app internally in the company/school as private and only for the company employees or school students. It is recommended for a big companies or schools. And you need to have an Apple Id Business/School perfectly identified into Apple where the app will be distribute (and not into the public App Store).

As Unlisted app we can distribute the app only with a special Apple-link delivered for us to the users what we want. The app is not visible in the App Store. Is not necessary an Id Business/School. Apple send us this special link to can download and install our app from the App Store (because nobody can see the app into the App Store).

For my app the ideal is a Unlisted Distribution. I don't need a open public distribution app

As general information for all methods, the approval apps into Apple to can distribute our apps is a very hard process because the Apple Technicians do a very deep analysis of every app. They are asking about all things of our app. And you need demostrate all that they ask. I'm now involved in this proces where I spent a lot of time.

GOOD NEWS!.

Apple has fully approved my app. The App has a single AIA source file for Android and iOS and is a professional app with more than +9000 blocks and 4 navigation screens . The same AIA for Android and iOS works correctly in both platform. On iOS I have had to put a few restrictions (some dimensions of layouts / arrangements and labels in fixed because in automatic or fill-parent do not work well, some error controls canceled, cancel some activitystarter accesses that only work with Android and does not show addresses of locations on iOS). But properly controlled, these restrictions are not a job-stopper for having a single source file for Android and iOS, which is a very important issue in SW development.

Many thanks to the entire AI2 team at MIT for their excellent work in expanding AI2 functionalities to the Apple environment, which is increasingly larger, especially in younger generations.

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My congratulations to Ferran Simon, for his success in publishing an app created with App Inventor in both application stores (for Android and iOS mobiles).
I was excited and for a moment I thought I could do the same as Ferrán, with the app I just finished (after 7 years of work and learning how to program with AppInventor). It is a 2nd generation carpooling app, with which sharing a regular car trip (such as going to work) is as easy as pressing a button ("I'm leaving now").
But I just discovered that I can't do it.
The problem is that the FirebaseDB component is not implemented for iOs. And it is exactly what I use to interconnect the app (of the car driver, or the passenger) with the central server of the platform, which finds when both are going in the same direction and are compatible (at which moment it presents them, and proposes to both of them to go together).
Does anyone know how else could I implement the messaging communication protocol between apps and servers, other than through the Firebase real-time database?

This comment is a new topic, and it needs to be a new post on the forum. We're still working to get all Android components implemented in iOS. I suspect that the community will have some suggestions for your app.

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Hello Susan. Thank you very much for reply and your efforts.
If you tell me that you are also going to implement the FirebaseDB component, I can wait a couple more months, and may be it is not worth opening a new discussion looking for alternatives.
For a moment (as the progress bar shows 0, and the component still appears in the experimental drawer) I was afraid there was something wrong. Or that Apple didn't like people using a Google service like Firebase realtime data base.

Hello Martín,

For the moment maybe you can connect using the web component?

METRIC RAT AI2 - Firebase with a Web Component

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Thaks Ramon, but I'm afraid I can't use the web component.

As TIM says:

Unfortunately, there is no REST method for handling data changed that can be handled through the Web component.

I need to use the FirebaseDB component in my project, to set up listeners.

Yes, that's true...sorry...then you have to wait :woman_shrugging: