The App Store winter hiatus: what does it mean for me?

Every year, Apple announces a brief hiatus for the App Store during the holidays. A recent note on Cupertino’s developer Web page has revealed the dates for that shutdown in 2015: Dec. 22 through Dec. 29.

The busiest season on the App Store is almost here. Make sure your apps are up-to-date and ready for the winter holidays. New apps and app updates will not be accepted December 22–29, so any releases should be submitted, approved, and scheduled in advance. Other iTunes Connect functionality will remain available.

What does that mean for you, the app consumer? Mostly, it means a slow week for new and updated apps. There will be few, if any, new releases coming to the App Store during that time, and likely for a week after that. That’s not to say there won’t be any new apps at all, since some developers may have already had their titles approved and scheduled them to release during the hiatus.

This also doesn’t mean the App Store will shut down completely. Since Apple states that “releases should be submitted, approved, and scheduled in advance,” we may still see new titles coming to the App Store during that week-long hiatus. All of the apps that were already released or updated will also continue to be available for download.

Any of you who get new iPhones, iPads, Apple Watch devices, or Apple TVs for the holidays will continue to be able to update your operating systems, buy apps, and otherwise use your devices just as you would outside the hiatus. The only difference during the week of Christmas is that developers cannot submit new apps or updates. Unless you’re a developer yourself, you shouldn’t notice any difference in the App Store during the week of the hiatus from any other week of the year.