
HN, Help. Launching my app in front of 3,000 tomorrow, Apple withholding bugfix - g0atbutt
My Plea:
I submitted an app a couple weeks back which just recently got approved for a soft launch. After playing around with it on older devices we found a massive memory leak that severally effects stability and performance.<p>We quickly submitted a 1.1 version and contacted "appreview@apple.com". They said not to worry, and that it would be ready by Sunday. Fast forward to Saturday and my 1.1 version says that it's still "Pending an Apple release". I've gotten nothing but radio silence after Apple said they would have it ready by Sunday. I show this puppy off in less then 24 hours in front of 3,000 people and I'm starting to sweat bullets.<p>I know that I'm grasping at straws here, but I don't know what else to do. If you guys could up vote this, maybe someone who knew what to do would see it, and be able to help me out of jam.<p>Thanks HN community! I really appreciate it!<p>My email address is in my profile.
======
tomjen3
Cheat - use the version that actually works on your phone for the demo, then
have the people who are interested in it give your their email so you can send
a message to them the moment the new version is ready.

If they are willing to come to a demo of your app, chances are they are so
interested they are also willing to wait a bit for it.

------
natch
This actually smells like a marketing post to me. Get some interest, then a
few days from now post a followup with a link to demo video, name of app, and
bam, instant interest from the HN community. I really don't see what the
problem is.

It only happens on older devices [edit: or at least it only came to your
attention after testing on older devices]. Many of the people who actually
download apps have tend to update their devices regularly [edit: and thus are
less likely to immediately see a problem]. And the update is imminent. No
problem here.

~~~
g0atbutt
Nope. This is for a missions organization, not exactly HN's cup of tea.

~~~
weel
Missions? As in proselytizing?

------
natch
If your 1.0 version is in the store, what's the problem? A few members of your
audience will download the 1.0, then a day or so later they'll get an update.

Is there anything stopping you from showing the 1.1 version, and telling
people that it's a free upgrade if they buy the 1.0 version?

------
redaranj
"Pending an Apple release" means that the binary was built against a version
of iOS that hasn't been released yet (probably 4.2). You could try
resubmitting with a deployment target of 4.0 if you need to get it into the
store right away.

~~~
g0atbutt
This isn't it. It was built against 4.1 (just double checked it).

~~~
annon
4.1 was not released for iPad.

3.2.2 is the most current public iPad release.

EDIT: Just saw it was raquo that said his was iPad only, sorry.

~~~
chc
Did he said it's an iPad app? I assumed it was for iPhone and iPod Touch
(since there is no "older" iPad).

------
eljaco
Don't know the full context here, but I would show it off with newer devices
and let people know a fix is almost out the door for an issue with older
devices.

Also, put up a sign-up form on your site to collect user's emails to let them
know when the fix is ready; that way you minimize the number of people you may
lose due to the bug. They know you are being proactive and you have a way to
get in touch with them.

*NOTE: Wrote this up before seeing tomjen3's message which states pretty much the same idea.

------
thought_alarm
"Your app has been randomly selected for additional security screening."

I guess next time you'll run your app through Instruments once before you
submit it?

But I'm sure your users will find all sorts of bugs in the 1.0 release. That's
just reality. I would wait until you get those bug reports before you do a 1.1
release.

------
lordmatty
Do you know who your local WWDR (Developer Relations) representative is?

My experience with Apple is that if you are polite and reasonable they will do
everything they can to help you out.

Try somebody like Bill Dudney (find him on Twitter) - who is a really nice guy
- as an initial contact.

Good luck!

~~~
g0atbutt
I just contacted him. Thanks for the idea, I'll keep you posted!

------
davidw
> My email address is in my profile.

Which is, of course _not visible_ to the rest of the world.

You have to put it in the 'about' section.

~~~
g0atbutt
I just put it there. Thanks for the comment. Obviously not my day today…

------
gte910h
Had you said this on Friday, I could have called someone.

If you talk to the developer relations people, they're really good at checking
this stuff out, however they're weekday only folks.

~~~
g0atbutt
Bummer. Apple said that it was going to be ready by the end of the week, and I
got an email notification at the end of the day Friday saying that it was
"Pending an Apple release". This is a really cruddy situation.

------
aroon
You should really post your bug number. You did file a radar, right?
Bugreport.apple.com...

~~~
panic
Do the app reviewers use Radar?

~~~
aroon
At some level I'm sure they are reading them, but it gives everyone involved
in your communication a central place to track your issue. Always, always,
always file a radar and let your DTS/WWDR rep know the bug number.

------
jsz0
I wouldn't worry about it too much. Demo your updated version and just tell
everyone there's a new version pending approval. I doubt anyone is going to
hold that against you.

------
jhrobert
This is an embarrassing situation and I can only be compassionate.

There is a lesson here: the Apple process of approval is not agile enough.

Once the initial version has been approved, subsequent "minor" version should
get an immediate "default approval".

That's the proper way for Apple to build some trust relationship with their
developers.

Of course, some people could abuse that system, but that's easy to monitor
(like when there is a sudden increase in sales just after a "minor update")

~~~
inaequitas
What is a 'minor version upgrade' and how do you propose Apple automates that
process? Surely you don't expect that stealing your address book would prompt
the developer to make the app a v2 because of the extra functionality?

------
whatusername
Dear HN, iOS devices do not have a 1 year lifespan. You need to cater for 2 -
and realisticly 4. Plenty of people upgrade their phones annually. But that
phone gets sold on ebay or passed to the next member in the family.

// Your target audience for an app may be bleeding edge -- but for a lot of
situations: "only a fraction of your audience will have old devices" is not
right.

------
jbverschoor
Hmmm. you're in the same boat as I am, I'm still waiting on an update and a
lite version, so I can't really plan a campaign right now..

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1937250>

How did the showoff go?

------
jonhendry
"Withholding bugfix" seems a bit of an exaggeration. Your app is one of who
knows how many that they're working on. Yours seems really important to you,
but every developer has their own cherished baby that is more important than
any other.

------
Tichy
Maybe it is not such a big deal: only a fraction of your audience will have
old devices, and memory leaks also are not the end of the world. Afaik one app
can not bring down the whole device on iOS.

~~~
terinjokes
Actually, I've done it many times. Screen flickers off, and then I'm suddenly
back in the initial bootup phase.

~~~
ryanpetrich
A memory leak should not be able to do that (indeed, calling malloc repeatedly
until it fails does not). You should report this

------
g0atbutt
I would really appreciate any help/advice/contact info. If you have any
thoughts at all that could help me out I'd be most appreciative.

Thanks again!

