iosios-appstore
I have an app available on the App Store and regardless of the reason, I want it to be "Sold out" for the next month while still having the ability to release updates.
Is this possible and if yes, what’s the best way to go about this?
I am considering changing the price of the app to the max tier and writing "Sold out, restocking on xx.xx.xxxx" in the promotional text.
Yes. Current version ratings are reset after each update. Some apps even say in the update text "Please rate us each time we release an update".
If you previously rated an app, and a new version is released, if you go to rate it again your prior rating (and review text) will be pre-entered, but you can change it.
So, if you religiously review the app each time it gets updated, you could have "reviewed" each version, yet it's unlikely that your star votes add up and your new review seems to replace any/all older ones each time you update it.
The feature has been around for a number of years. It's enabled for every app by default and an opt-out for developers per app version. You can remove an older app version from download through iTunes Connect → My Apps → app → App Store → Pricing & Availability → Last-Compatible Version Settings → Available Versions.
The key information as to why you are seeing the feature not working is mentioned in this page:
Some of your customers may not have a device that's compatible with your latest app version. To allow them to continue using your app, we make the last-compatible version of your app available to them.
If one or more of your app versions have significant usability or legal issues, such as infringement, deselect it below. This isn't recommended for any other reason. Any version you deselect won't be available for redownload from iTunes in the Cloud. You can't deselect your current App Store version.
iTunes Connect Last-Compatible Version Settings, emphasis mine
Downloading a previous version of an app requires the app be downloaded from iTunes in the Cloud, i.e. the app must be in the user's purchase history. This means it does not apply to new downloads, but rather re-downloads.
For a user to download an app which requires a later version of iOS, they must first either:
This adds the app to the user's purchase history and is now eligible for last-compatible version download through the feature popup as you mention.
sample:
Best Answer
There is no such provision available on the App Store, hosting the app while users can’t purchase/install it. Most likely explanation would be that it interferes with the overall UX and has the potential of causing confusion.
Hiking the price temporarily would not be an advisable approach. It will likely bring negative publicity to the app. This approach (especially with regard to the promotional text) could also cause the app update to get rejected.
If you would like to control when the app update gets released on the App Store, you can choose to manually release instead of automatically release when approved when submitting the app update.