Developers are frustrated at Apple for launching iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and watchOS 7 with just one day's notice
stuff they don't deal with — and it caught them *completely* by surprise.
MashableMatt Binder
Context & Ripple Effects
The ground for this clash was laid months earlier: after first developer betas arrived at WWDC in June with public betas following in July, Apple [[a:1161049|confirmed on September 16 that iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, and tvOS 14 would ship that same day]]. Developers who had spent the summer testing betas were left with a single day to validate their apps against the final gold-master builds.
The frustration matters because the fall launch is when review queues spike and any last-minute breakage hits the App Store at its busiest moment of the year. The episode appears to have registered: a year later, Apple announced iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 five days ahead of their September 20 release, a visibly longer runway.
First-order effects
Developers lose their usual window to test final builds and push compatibility updates, so apps tuned only to betas risk misbehaving on day one of iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and watchOS 7.
App Review faces a surge of last-minute submissions compressed into a single day before the new OS versions reach users.
Second-order effects
The public developer backlash puts pressure on Apple's release communications, and the following year's cycle reflects it — the iOS 15 release was announced five days out rather than one.
Developers rationally hedge by treating beta software as near-final, shifting QA effort away from gold masters and toward pre-release builds to absorb whatever notice Apple gives.
Third-order effects
If short-notice launches persist, annual OS drops effectively turn Apple's beta program into the de facto final testing window, restructuring how independent developers budget release engineering each fall.
Release-cadence transparency becomes a recurring flashpoint in Apple-developer relations — the same relationship already strained on other fronts like App Store search advertising plans.
The trend: Apple's annual fall OS launches are becoming an ongoing negotiation over how much notice developers get, with the company quietly lengthening the runway after each round of backlash.
Talked to iOS lead at a popular app. Apple made their usual petition to develop new-to-iOS 14 features for launch day. Things were broken in betas, are still broken in GM, and this whole kerfuffle has prevented them from shipping + being day one partner Apple *asked* them to be.
I thought I was being smart by submitting an update built with the 13 SDK on Monday, a day before the likely 14 GM release and rush of submissions. I think it backfired. 14 SDK apps are being prioritized and reviewed in record time. I bet 13 apps are at the bottom of the queue.
Only now do submissions to the App Store work. It is 10PM UK time; iOS 14 launches tomorrow. App Review can be anywhere from an hour to several days. This is a whole lot of unnecessary stress on developers in an otherwise stressful year https://twitter.com/...
Hey all you Apple Devs hanging out on Twitter right now instead of working on your iOS 14 update: GOOD FOR YOU! Take a breather. Take a break. The world will not end because your app isn't ready since they sprung this on you. You're doing a great job. We love you.
Yearly reminder that right after updating to a major new release of iOS, your device does a bunch of one-off stuff in the background that may degrade battery life for a couple of days. Leaving it plugged in all night is a good way to ensure all of that gets done ASAP.
Mmmhmmm. Goes on @apple's ‘learning opportunities’ list. Aviation runs on iOS and in the event there's something we need to adjust to after the final drop, a day is not enough time. Kudos @foreflight team for reacting. Like when Neo had to dodge bullets. https://mashable.com/...
Developers: You don't need to be ready for day one, just take your time and get it right. It's 2020, cut yourself some slack, prioritise your mental health. Also developers: Boom! Day one, losers!
Developers: You don't need to be ready for day one, just take your time and get it right. It's 2020, cut yourself some slack, prioritise your mental health. Also developers: Boom! Day one, losers!
Still not sure how I feel about the Epic/Apple/Google thing. If Epic wins, Apple and Google will be forced to allow 3rd party app stores and launchers... which I am NOT looking forward to. We've all see how much it sucks to have Steam, Epic Launcher, EA Launcher, etc.
Developers with App Clips: if your app is “Pending an Apple Release”, you can already confirm that your card is working by removing local experiences from the Developer menu, clearing the experience cache and scanning an NFC tag or QR code of your Clip URL
it's 9/16, 3:02pm PT if your engineering team doesn't have their iOS14 app update out yet, fire them all and start over with people who care #Hustle #WinnersOnly
This is pretty spot on, pity there's only one good mobile platform worth building for so we have to suck up being treated like absolute shit https://www.jessesquires.com/ ...
I wouldn't say that. It's two eternal problems: - Apple's hardware release dates dictate their software release dates, not the software quality or readiness. - Most of Apple seems to have *far* too little of an idea of the challenges and conditions faced by outside developers. ht…
Sorry, my iOS 14 features aren't ready yet. Since it'll be a while before most of my customers use iOS 14, I spent the summer prioritizing bug fixes and my family's pandemic/school logistics (we're OK, just busy). Like you all, I'm just doing what I can this year. More soon.
The latter seems like a massively deep-rooted flaw in Apple culture. I can't tell you how many times I've told an employee about some big problem in public APIs, signing, deployment, the App Store, etc. — stuff they don't deal with — and it caught them *completely* by surprise.