iTunes Connect taking holiday leave. App Store dev process to get major overhaul, make devs smile?

As of late the App Store has been receiving plenty of flack for the poor developer feedback and communication channels. Devs can easily go weeks to months without any word — written or spoken — coming out of Cupertino towards their inboxes. Many have lost faith in the iPhone app platform and dev process altogether. The most recent and notable defectors of course being the Facebook for iPhone ex-lead developer Joe Hewitt who announced his distaste for the way the iPhone app development environment was heading. Such things however are in the past.

Apple meanwhile has remained pretty on any updates or improvements to the process at large. In the defense, roughly a month back they rolled out a new notification menu of sorts that provided devs with a 3-stage update of an apps progress through the catacombs of Apple HQ. Still, it was a bandage on a gaping hole. But a new announcement on the dev channel signals that a big change is on the way.

Published in a weekend note, Apple stated:

“iTunes Connect, the tool you use to manage your applications and access your reports, will be unavailable from December 23 through December 28, 2009.”

On the surface it could something as simple as cleaning house. I mean, the App Store has been open non-stop for well over a year now. Things have to be getting pretty cluttered. What’s more likely however is a massive overhaul being prepped for mass consumption. Apple while stubborn and ultra secretive isn’t turning blind eyes and ears to the various complaints that have been leveraged these past few months. A simple update here and there simply stating “we’re working on it” would have been nice, though I’ll take this newly posted comment as a sign of green pastures to come.

This planned shutdown comes mere days after a minor app store touch-up which further signals (to me anyway) that something is a brewing behind closed doors. The only answer is how soon will we see any new features (if there are any) rolled out? At least we won’t have to wait that long. Stay tuned…

9to5 Mac

Author: Mike Norris

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Gadget lover, smartphone collector, and beer connoisseur. I've been writing about gadgets for three years now and loving every minute of it. Outside of the digital landscape, I enjoy being active outdoors. I'm always up for a good conversation, so feel free to drop me a line!