App Store & Play
What it is
Shipping a mobile app means more than writing code: you have to sign it, package it, submit it for review, and publish it to Apple's App Store and Google Play. Each store has its own developer account, signing system, metadata, and review process. Apple uses App Store Connect with provisioning profiles and TestFlight for beta testing; Google uses the Play Console with app signing and staged rollouts. This is the last mile that turns a build into something people can install.
Strengths
- Massive reach: the two stores are how billions of users discover and trust apps.
- Built-in distribution, payments, updates, and crash reporting.
- Beta channels (TestFlight, Play internal/closed testing) for safe pre-release.
- Staged rollouts and the ability to halt a bad release.
Trade-offs
- Review can be slow and occasionally rejects on policy or guideline grounds.
- Annual Apple developer fee and a one-time Google fee; both take a revenue cut on sales.
- Signing, certificates, and provisioning are fiddly and easy to misconfigure.
- Two separate pipelines, metadata sets, and store listings to maintain.
When to use it
Every consumer mobile app eventually goes through this. Plan for it early: reserve your app name, set up both developer accounts, and wire up automated builds so each release isn't a manual scramble.
Vibe coding fit
This is where AI assistants save the most tedium. Ask the model to script the release with a tool like Fastlane or Expo's EAS Submit so signing, versioning, and upload are one command. Have it generate store metadata, screenshots specs, and a release checklist, and explain rejection reasons in plain language when they happen. Automate the repetitive parts and keep a human on the policy judgment calls.
# Expo: build and submit to both stores
npx eas build --platform all
npx eas submit --platform ios
npx eas submit --platform android