What is phased release on the App Store?

Phased release is for updates, not first releases, and it works on iOS, macOS and tvOS apps. Instead of every user getting the new version at once, Apple hands it to a random sample of users with automatic updates on, growing each day: 1%, 2%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 50% and then 100% on day 7. Users aren’t told they are part of it, and anyone can still download the update by hand from the App Store at any time.

You choose it on the version page in App Store Connect, under Phased Release for Automatic Updates, before the version is released. While it runs you can pause it for up to 30 days in total, as many times as you like, and Release to All Users ends it early. Choosing it takes the Account Holder, Admin or App Manager role.

It is Apple’s counterpart to a Google Play staged rollout, with one difference: Apple’s schedule is fixed, while on Google Play you pick and raise the percentage yourself.

In VibeView. VibeView doesn’t submit builds for App Store review or turn on phased release. It gets the build to your TestFlight testers; once the build is available to them, its card says how to add it to an App Store version. Phased release is then on that version page: Apps → your app → Distribution → the version → Phased Release for Automatic Updates. See Done in the store’s console.