Studio notes
Notes on building apps
- The Small Business Program, eligibility and renewal How Apple's Small Business Program actually works for a small studio: enrollment, the $1M threshold, mid-year crossings, and portfolio-level accounting.
- App Store Server Notifications V2, the short version A practical note on what App Store Server Notifications V2 actually are, why they matter for subscription apps, and how we handle them at Olnesta Ltd.
- How subscription price-increase consent works How Apple handles subscription price increases for existing subscribers, when consent is required, and what the developer actually has to do.
- Family Sharing for subscriptions: the toggle to set before review Family Sharing on auto-renewable subscriptions is a per-product toggle set before review, and getting it right the first time matters more than it looks.
- StoreKit 2 basics, from the perspective of a rewrite What actually changes when you move a small iOS app's purchase layer from the original StoreKit to StoreKit 2, and where the sharp edges are.
- What in-app events are actually for In-app events are time-boxed cards that surface in Search, Today, and your product page. Here's what they're useful for and what to plan around.
- Custom product pages, explained What custom product pages actually are, what they change, what they don't, and how we think about them when planning a release at Olnesta Ltd.
- App preview video specs, in practice What Apple actually expects from App Store preview videos: real footage, per-device sizing, the 30-second cap, and why the first few seconds carry the most weight.
- What phased release actually does Phased release limits a bad update's blast radius by rolling out over a week, with pause and full-release controls we can use at any time.
- TestFlight review vs App Store review, in practice TestFlight Beta App Review is a different queue with a different bar than App Store review. Here's how the two feel when you're shipping.
- Answering the export compliance questions without guessing How we handle the encryption declaration for iOS submissions, what the Info.plist key does, and when standard HTTPS is actually exempt.
- Reading the App Privacy nutrition label correctly The App Privacy label is a developer questionnaire, not something Apple infers. Here's how we keep ours honest as SDKs and features change.
- Keyword stuffing and 2.3.7 rejections Why repeating search terms in your app name or subtitle triggers guideline 2.3.7, and where those keywords actually belong.
- What guideline 3.1.2 actually requires from a subscription screen A practical read of what App Review looks for on a paywall: disclosure, functional links, restore, and honest trial framing.
- Why apps get rejected for spam under 4.3 Guideline 4.3 rejections usually come from apps that share a shell with something already on the store. Here's what actually counts as differentiation.
- How to expedite an App Store review When Apple grants expedited reviews, how to ask for one, and how to write a justification that gets approved.