Launching an iPhone app that is still in TestFlight
George · 3 min read
The short answer: if your app works but is not in the App Store yet, you can launch it now with a TestFlight public link. People join your beta from the link, install it with Apple's TestFlight app, and send you feedback. You get early users and real reactions before your App Store launch, which then has more behind it.
Many iPhone apps sit finished for weeks while their makers polish screenshots and wait for the right moment. Meanwhile, nobody is using them. A TestFlight launch puts the app in people's hands while you still have time to change things.
How TestFlight works
TestFlight is Apple's beta testing service. You upload a build in App Store Connect and invite testers. There are two kinds:
- Internal testers are people on your App Store Connect team.
- External testers are anyone else. You can invite up to 10,000 of them, by email or with a public link anyone can open.
Before external testers can install a build, its first version goes through a short Beta App Review by Apple. Each build can be tested for 90 days, so keep uploading new builds as you improve the app.
Make a public link
In App Store Connect, open your app, go to TestFlight, create an external testing group, add a build, and turn on the public link. You can limit how many people may join with it. The link looks like testflight.apple.com/join followed by a short code.
Anyone with an iPhone and the free TestFlight app can join from that link.
Launch with the link
On ShipDesk you can launch a beta app with just its TestFlight link. Paste it where the App Store link goes. Your launch page shows a Join the beta on TestFlight button, and the app is labelled as in beta, so nobody expects a finished App Store listing.
Write your launch so beta testers know what they are signing up for:
- Say it is a beta. People are more forgiving, and more helpful, when they know.
- Say what you want to learn. "Does the setup make sense?" gets better answers than "thoughts?"
- Say what is coming. A line about what you are working on next gives testers a reason to stay.
Turn testers into feedback
TestFlight lets testers send screenshots with comments straight from the app, and you see them in App Store Connect. Tell people about it, because many do not know the feature exists.
Also:
- Ask a few testers directly for a short chat. Five honest conversations often teach more than many silent installs.
- Watch where people stop. If many testers open the app once and never again, look hard at the first minute.
- Reply to every message. Early testers who feel heard become your first fans.
Then move to the App Store
When the app is ready, submit it for App Store review. Once it is live, update your launch with the App Store link so new visitors can download it directly. Your beta testers already know you, which makes them the first people to tell.
The short version
- You can launch an iPhone app before it reaches the App Store.
- A TestFlight public link lets up to 10,000 external testers join.
- The first external build goes through Beta App Review, and each build lasts 90 days.
- Be clear that it is a beta and say what feedback you want.
- Switch to the App Store link once you are live.