Directories are one route to a new iPhone or iPad app. Apple’s own pages, press with open contact routes and a few communities are the others, and each publishes what it wants from you.
Product page and App Review
Directory listings, reviews and press all send readers to your App Store page, so finish it first. Apple sets the limits: a name and a subtitle of up to 30 characters each, 170 characters of promotional text you can change without a new version, 100 characters of keywords, up to 10 screenshots and up to three app previews, each up to 30 seconds. Apple says App Review typically clears at least 50% of submissions in under 24 hours and 90% in under 48, so schedule launch posts after approval.
- Keywords: no trademarked terms, other apps’ names or prices (guideline 2.3.7); Apple calls improper keywords a common reason for rejection.
- Apple says over 40% of unresolved issues fall under guideline 2.1: crashes, placeholder content, incomplete information. Add a demo account if there is a login.
- Betas, demos and trial versions belong in TestFlight, not on the App Store (guideline 2.2).
- Don’t manipulate charts, search, reviews or referrals: guideline 5.6.3 says it is not permitted, which rules out buying or swapping reviews.
Sources: Apple: Creating your product page · Apple: App Review · Apple: App Review Guidelines
Featuring nominations in App Store Connect
Apple’s editors take pitches through Featuring Nominations in App Store Connect. You can nominate a launch or pre-order, an app enhancement, or new content such as offers and events. Apple’s featuring page asks for at least two weeks’ notice and suggests up to three months ahead for wider consideration; the Help page recommends at least three weeks. Apple says there is no checklist, and lists user experience, UI design, innovation, uniqueness, accessibility, localization and your product page as factors. A nomination asks to be considered; it does not promise a placement.
- Account Holder, Admin, App Manager and Marketing roles can submit nominations.
- Add up to 5 supporting links; Apple’s examples include TestFlight public links.
- One nomination can cover up to 10 apps from the same developer account.
- If you are considered, Apple may email Admin, App Manager and Marketing contacts to ask for promotional artwork.
Sources: Apple: Getting featured on the App Store · App Store Connect Help: Nominate your app for featuring
TestFlight and pre-orders before launch
TestFlight takes up to 10,000 external testers per app, invited by email or a public link. A public link can be open to anyone or filtered by device and OS version, and you can cap how many people join. The first build for external testing goes through TestFlight App Review, and a build can be tested for up to 90 days. Pre-orders let a brand-new app release 2 to 180 days after the pre-order is published, once App Review has approved it.
- Anyone can share a public link. Testers who join through one appear as anonymous in App Store Connect, though installs, sessions and crashes still show.
- You can submit up to six builds to TestFlight App Review in 24 hours.
- Apple supplies a pre-order badge for marketing; swap it for the download badge on release day.
Sources: App Store Connect Help: TestFlight overview · App Store Connect Help: Invite external testers · Apple: Offering your apps for pre-order
Free copies for reviewers
For a paid app, send reviewers a promo code. App Store Connect generates up to 100 per version of each platform. Each code works once, on any storefront where the app is available, and stays valid for four weeks from the day you generate it. You can send codes by any channel, and they also work for an unreleased version of an app that is already on the App Store. People who redeem one cannot rate or review the app. Apple announced that from March 26, 2026 promo codes for in-app purchases can no longer be created, and offer codes now cover every in-app purchase type.
- Apple’s note says promo codes remain the way to give a free download of the app itself.
- Required role: Account Holder, Admin, App Manager or Marketing.
- A code expires four weeks after generation, so generate close to the day a reviewer will use it.
Sources: App Store Connect Help: Request and manage promo codes · Apple Developer News, Oct 29, 2025: Enhancements to help you submit and market your apps
Press and indie showcases
Some outlets publish how to reach them. 9to5Mac’s weekly Indie App Spotlight tells developers who want to be featured to get in contact by email, and its contact page lists a separate address for news tips. MacStories lists its editors’ emails and says it writes only about apps it has tested itself, never does paid reviews and does not rehash App Store release notes. Pitch a launch, a major update or a clear angle rather than a bare link.
- 9to5Mac Indie App Spotlight: a weekly series; the latest installment on the page is dated Sep 19, 2026.
- 9to5Mac news tips: tips at 9to5mac.com or an anonymous form; sending a tip counts as permission to publish and syndicate.
- MacStories: reviews use its own screenshots, and it writes only about apps its team has personally tested.
Sources: 9to5Mac: Indie App Spotlight · 9to5Mac: Contact the team · MacStories: About
Communities that welcome app posts
Hacking with Swift’s App Announcements forum is for people who have just shipped an app or a big update. Its admin asks for an App Store link, suggests adding promo codes and tells you to ask if you want feedback. Hacker News’s Show HN is for something others can try, and it says landing pages and sign-up pages are off topic and that you should not ask friends to upvote. Neither is a review site, so use them to find early users and feedback.
- App Announcements is a category of the Hacking with Swift forums and falls under its code of conduct.
- Show HN: make the app easy to try, ideally without sign-ups, and be around to answer questions.
Sources: Hacking with Swift: About the App Announcements forum · Hacker News: Show HN guidelines
Facts checked Oct 9, 2026 against the sources linked in each section.