I think what would really help if Apple had a Fast Track app approval system where developers could pay $300 to get an update approved within 2 days. Developers could use it as often as they wanted.
This would allow developers to iterate more quickly. Insanely more quickly. And would increase the odds of a startup finding product/market fit before running out of funds.
The current 10 days or so of waiting is really killing the iterative process.
Also, app ratings reset for each new update so developers tend not to want to update as often as to not upset their ratings... at least some developers. They need to fix that by not having ratings reset.
The iOS app review process is insanely long. So long that I started and released my first Android app while waiting for an iOS app to be reviewed.
FWIW there's some ways of mitigating the iOS review times. For example my apps download a small XML config file whenever they start up or come back from the background. So I can turn on/off features in the app remotely. Of course this requires the features to come bundled with the app. IMO it's worth it if you want to iterate.
It's hidden on Apple's site, but a developer can ask for an expedited review. Bugs, upcoming marketing dates, conferences, etc... all are reasons that can get an app review expedited.
But Apple makes it clear that it's an exception. Last year we got our first expedite request approved but our second one denied because we had already used up our first. Both were for critical bugs.
And here's what really bugs me about Apple. We have had multiple expedite requests approved the last few months, so it's clear there is no hard fast rule. The lack of hard rules is what is so annoying. One (or many) submission pass and suddenly an update will get tripped up by some trivial item that has been there since the beginning.
I believe you are entitled to one expedited review per app per year. In my experience though, getting your update reviewed faster , buys you precious little (yes, even if you are fixing a bug)
This would allow developers to iterate more quickly. Insanely more quickly. And would increase the odds of a startup finding product/market fit before running out of funds.
The current 10 days or so of waiting is really killing the iterative process.
Also, app ratings reset for each new update so developers tend not to want to update as often as to not upset their ratings... at least some developers. They need to fix that by not having ratings reset.