App launch checklist: iOS and Android, step by step

Both stores give you a testing lane before production. On iOS, TestFlight lets you add up to 100 internal testers from your team and invite up to 10,000 external testers by email or through a public link you can post anywhere. External testing needs a beta app description and beta review information first. On Android, Play Console has internal testing for up to 100 testers, closed testing for a group you control, and open testing that anyone can join from Google Play. Finding those first testers is itself a launch task: a public TestFlight link or an open test is something you can already share in communities and directories.

This catches many first-time Android launches. Google Play says developers with personal accounts created after 13 November 2023 must run a closed test with at least 12 testers who stay opted in for 14 days in a row before they can apply for production access in the Play Console dashboard. When you apply, you answer questions about the app, the testing and your readiness. Put those 14 days into your launch plan from the start, not the week before.

Apple requires app privacy details in App Store Connect to submit new apps and app updates, and they cover the practices of any third-party code in your app too, such as analytics or ad SDKs. Google Play requires the Data safety section, where you describe what data the app collects and shares and how it is protected. Both show on your store page before anyone installs, so treat them as part of the listing. Go through every SDK you ship before you start the form, not after.

Apple reviews every new app and update. Its own page says that on average, 90% of submissions are reviewed in less than 24 hours, and that incomplete submissions can take longer. If a release has to land on a fixed date for an event you are part of, or you need to fix a critical bug, you can ask for an expedited review; if the app is rejected, you can appeal once per submission. Submit with complete review notes and a working demo account if the app needs a login, and leave yourself slack before any date you announce.

You do not have to launch cold. On the App Store, a pre-order lets people order the app before release; it downloads onto their devices on release day and they get a notification. For a brand-new app the release date can be 2 to 180 days after the pre-order goes live. On Google Play, pre-registration does a similar job: a campaign can last up to 90 days, after which the app has to launch to production, and you can run it for up to two apps at a time. Google recommends testing on a track before switching pre-registration on, and for new personal accounts the testing requirement above still applies.

The first version goes out to everyone, but the updates after it do not have to. Apple’s phased release spreads an automatic update over 7 days, from 1% of users on the first day to 100% on the seventh, and you can pause it for up to 30 days; anyone can still update by hand from the App Store. Google Play’s staged rollout sends an update to the percentage of users you choose, optionally in chosen countries, and you can halt it and resume it later for the same group. If a crash shows up, a small share of users sees it instead of all of them.

Launch traffic lands on your store page, so the name, subtitle, screenshots and description should be final before release day. Our ASO checklist covers every field limit and the rules that get a listing rejected. Outside the stores, list the app where makers and early adopters look for new apps; our checked list of free app promotion sites shows which directories give a followed link. For how attention is spread across app categories, see the indie app landscape study.

Censuus ranks apps by the real visit traffic they draw. Adding your app is free on the submit page, and from then on it can rise on the visits it earns. Sponsorship raises placement and adds a followed link to your website; the details are on the sponsor page. We do not promise downloads or rankings in the stores.