Apple has just sent out a notice to all iOS and Mac developers reminding them of the yearly App Store freeze. This notice reminds all developers not to set any pricing changes or new app releases to go live between the dates of December 21st and December 28th. All changes made during this time period will not go live until after the freeze. If a developer decides to attempt a price change during this time period, their app will go offline until the freeze has ended. Developers are also unable to push bug fixes or other updates to their apps during the freeze.
What sucks even more for smaller developers is the fact that iTunes leader boards aren’t updated during the freeze, meaning that apps are unable to rise or fall in the leader boards during this time period. However, if an application is already on the charts, its developer can be sure to cash in during the freeze.
The App Store freeze happens every year around the holidays. Because of this, most app sales start the week before Christmas and end a few days afterwards. VentureBeat has reported that the week of Christmas is the App Store’s busiest week of the year as tons of new iOS devices are activated and iTunes giftcards are redeemed after being found under the Christmas tree.
