Apple Schedules iTunes Connect Holiday Shutdown

Apple announced a shutdown of the company’s iTunes Connect service for the Christmas holidays, the same as it did for 2010. The shutdown essentially means developers won’t be able to offer holiday discounts on App Store apps for iPhone, iPad, and Mac unless they schedule them to start before the shutdown.

iTunes Connect Holiday Schedule

iTunes Connect Holiday Schedule

Apple sent a letter to developers Tuesday announcing the shutdown from Thursday, December 22nd to Thursday, December 29th “for the winter holidays.” The company explained that:

During this shutdown, the following functionality will be unavailable:

  • Access to iTunes Connect
  • The delivery of any apps or updates

Additionally, the following will be delayed:

  • Releases scheduled to appear on the App Store for the first time
  • Pricing changes scheduled through the interval pricing system in iTunes Connect

We strongly recommend that you do not schedule pricing changes through the interval pricing system in iTunes Connect that would take effect from December 22 through December 29. Pricing changes scheduled to take effect during this date range will not be reflected in the App Store and the app will become unavailable for purchase.

We also recommend that you do not schedule any apps to go live during the shutdown. Releases scheduled with a sales start date between these dates will not go live until after the shutdown.

Developers looking to spark interest in their wares with a Christmas sale will need to look at starting such a sale on December 21st or before.

For customers, there will be no interruption. Apple’s announcement affects only developers’ ability to submit new apps and updates or change prices.