For once, a change Apple has made to the App Store is actually benefiting developers, as a set of new policies have been put into place, shortening app approval time from over a week, down to as little as just under two days.
It now takes an average of 1.95 days for App Store reviewers to approve new app submissions for sale, according to data collated by AppReviewTimes.com. That is down from nearly 9 days at this time last year and 5 days in December.
The changes are said to be part of a broader push to make the App Store more efficient, as Apple begin to rely more and more on its services businesses for all-important revenue streams.
Apple’s shakeup of its services division first began back in September, as the App Store, – and most of developer relations – transitioned from Apple SVP Eddy Cue’s software and services domain, to worldwide marketing head Phill Schiller’s oversight. Schiller is reported to be pushing for major changes to the App Store, overseeing a “secret team” tasked with significant updates to the store.
As Apple’s hardware sales have lagged, their services businesses continue to become an important piece of the Apple revenue puzzle. Apple’s services revenue for the first fiscal quarter of 2016 came to nearly $9 billion, which was a record for the company.
