Apple lays out 2018's holiday downtime for App Store submissions

Apple on Tuesday announced its traditional holiday downtime for new App Store submissions, this year scheduled for between Dec. 23 and 27 Pacific time.

Developers will be unable to submit new apps or even updates to existing ones during that period, Apple said. Releases will still be able to go live, but will have to have been submitted, approved, and scheduled in advance.

All other App Store backend tools will remain accessible.

Christmas is typically the one consistent time of the year when Apple shuts down App Store submissions, giving its reviewers a break. Otherwise the team is often working to approve apps within a couple of days, or less than that in the case of critical fixes.

Ironically the holiday is also when App Store downloads tend to peak, as people receive new iPhones and iPads as gifts and immediately rush the store to get common apps like Facebook, YouTube, and Google Maps.