iOS App Store updates

iOS has no in-app update API like Play's. Upwell gets as close as the platform allows:

• Prompts come from the policy, confirmed by the App Store lookup.
• Updating opens the App Store product page inside your app (SKStoreProductViewController), so users can tap "Update" without leaving it.
• Required updates show <ForceUpdateScreen />, a modal that can't be dismissed, with an "Update" button that opens the sheet.

Configure the policyCopy Anchor Link

{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "ios": {
    "appStoreId": "1234567890",
    "latest": { "version": "3.4.0", "build": "1", "releasedAt": "2026-10-18" },
    "minimum": { "version": "3.0.0", "build": "1" },
    "recommendAfterDays": 2
  }
}

Version comparisonCopy Anchor Link

iOS compares CFBundleShortVersionString first and CFBundleVersion second, so teams that reset the build number for every version (3.4.0 (1), 3.5.0 (1)) work out of the box. Put the build number you ship in build, even if it's always "1".

The App Store lookupCopy Anchor Link

Upwell calls https://itunes.apple.com/lookup (by appStoreId when set, otherwise by bundle id) to learn the live version, its release date and its minimum iOS version.

• The lookup lags. Apple's CDN can serve a stale answer for minutes to hours after a release. Upwell adds a unique query string to skip cached answers, but the policy stays the source of truth: the lookup only adds information, it never overrides latest or minimum.
• Minimum OS. If the newest version needs a newer iOS than the device has, Upwell doesn't prompt, because the user can't install it.
• No latest in the policy? The lookup alone can still produce a recommendation when it reports a newer version.

TestFlight and development buildsCopy Anchor Link

The in-app sheet is used only for App Store installs. TestFlight builds, development builds and the simulator get a store link instead, and the install source shows which one applied (testFlight, sideload, unknown). This keeps a TestFlight tester from being sent to the public App Store version by surprise.

To try the flows on iOS without a release, use simulation. It runs on iOS with a JavaScript fake of the store.

Opening the App Store yourselfCopy Anchor Link

const { openStore } = useAppUpdate();
await openStore(); // the store link, regardless of the current decision

The config plugin adds itms-apps and itms-beta to LSApplicationQueriesSchemes, so Linking.canOpenURL() works for those URLs in your own code. Upwell itself doesn't need it.