iOS Phased Release: How the App Store's 7-Day Rollout Works
Apple's phased release spreads an update over seven days, but only for automatic updates, with no rollback. What the schedule does, where it stops protecting you, and how to use the week to verify a release.
The short answer
- Phased release spreads a version update over 7 days: 1%, 2%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 50%, then 100% of users with automatic updates turned on.
- It only throttles automatic updates. Anyone can still download the new version from the App Store manually at any time.
- You can pause as often as you like, for up to 30 days in total. Resuming picks up on the day the release stopped.
- Release to All Users ends the phased release early and sends the update to everyone with automatic updates.
- It is not a rollback. People who already updated keep the build; the fix is a new version through App Review.
Phased release is the option in App Store Connect that releases a version update to the App Store gradually instead of to every device on the first day. It's the closest thing iOS has to a staged rollout, and it works differently enough from Google Play's that teams shipping to both platforms get caught out. This guide covers what Apple's schedule actually does, the limits that matter when a release goes wrong, and how to spend the seven days verifying the build.
The 7-day schedule
Once a version with phased release turned on goes live, the App Store offers it as an automatic update to a growing, randomly chosen share of users on eligible devices. Users aren't told they're part of a phased release. The schedule is fixed, and you can't change the percentages or the length.
| Day of phased release | Share of users |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | 1% |
| Day 2 | 2% |
| Day 3 | 5% |
| Day 4 | 10% |
| Day 5 | 20% |
| Day 6 | 50% |
| Day 7 | 100% |
Days spent paused don't count. A release paused on day 3 resumes on day 3, not on the day the calendar would have reached. When the release completes, everyone with the Admin or App Manager role who has access to the app gets a notification.
Who actually gets the update
The percentages apply only to automatic updates. Apple's documentation says plainly that apps and updates in phased release can be downloaded manually from the App Store by anyone at any time. Anyone who opens the app's page and taps Update, or installs the app for the first time, gets the new version on day 1.
So your real exposure on day 1 is higher than 1%, and it skews toward your most engaged users: the people who update by hand. Read adoption from your own analytics or crash reporter, split by app version, rather than assuming the published percentage. And compare the new version against the previous one over the same days, so you're comparing like with like.
How to turn on phased release
Phased release applies to version updates, not to an app's first release. You need the Account Holder, Admin or App Manager role. You can choose it while the version is in Prepare for Submission, Waiting for Review, In Review, Waiting for Export Compliance or Pending Developer Release, or after a rejection (Rejected, Metadata Rejected or Developer Rejected).
- In App Store Connect, open Apps and select the app.
- In the sidebar, click the app version you're submitting.
- Scroll to Phased Release for Automatic Updates and select Release update over a 7-day period using phased release.
- Click Save.
Once the version passes review, its status reads Ready for Distribution, with Phased Release shown next to it on the version page.
Pausing, resuming and releasing to everyone
- Pause: on the Ready for Distribution version, choose Pause Phased Release in the Phased Release for Automatic Updates section and save. You can pause as many times as you like, for up to 30 days in total. Pause for 10 days, resume, and you have 20 days of pausing left.
- Resume: choose Use Phased Release in the same section. The release picks up on the day it was paused.
- Release to All Users: at the top right of the version page. Everyone with automatic updates turned on gets the latest version their device supports, and the phased release ends.
- Removed from sale: if the app is removed from sale, including when your Apple Developer Program membership lapses, phased release stops and can't be used for that version again. When the app is reinstated, the version goes to all users at once, whatever percentage it had reached. To get a controlled rollout back, make the version unavailable for download and submit a new version update with phased release turned on.
A pause stops new automatic updates. It doesn't take the version off the App Store, so people who update by hand still get it.
What phased release can't do
- It can't roll back. Devices that took the update keep it. Fixing a bad build means shipping a new version through App Review. For a critical fix you can request an expedited review, but Apple decides whether to grant it.
- It can't target. No choosing countries, devices, OS versions or user groups, and no custom percentages. Everyone eligible is in one random pool on one fixed schedule.
- It doesn't gate server-side changes. A remote-config value, feature flag or backend change reaches every app version at once. If a risky feature has to follow the rollout, put it behind a flag that checks the app version, or turn it on separately once the release looks healthy.
- It doesn't slow down manual updates, as described above. Phased release limits how far a bad build spreads; it doesn't stop it spreading.
Using the seven days to verify a release
A phased release is only as useful as what you watch during it. Agree on the pause criteria and who makes the call before day 1, while nobody is under pressure. Base the thresholds on your previous version's numbers rather than on a figure picked on the day.
| Stage | What to check | Pause if |
|---|---|---|
| Before release | Symbol files (dSYMs) uploaded to your crash reporter for this exact build; dashboards and alerts filtered to the new version; the previous version's baseline written down. | You can't see crashes for the new build symbolicated. Fix that before turning the release on. |
| Days 1–2 (1–2%) | New crash signatures that don't appear in the previous version; crashes on launch; failed sign-ins; errors from the new version in your server logs. | A new crash signature, or a crash on launch or in sign-in, appears in more than one or two reports. |
| Days 3–4 (5–10%) | The crash-free rate against the previous version; the main flows (sign-up, purchase, the app's core action) completed per session, by version; API error rates by app version. | Either number falls clearly below the previous version's baseline. |
| Day 5 (20%) | Hangs, memory and battery reports from your performance tooling; support tickets and App Store reviews that mention the update. | A regression your team wouldn't ship knowingly, even if it doesn't crash. |
| Days 6–7 (50–100%) | Rare crashes that only show up at volume; behaviour on older devices and OS versions. | Anything that would justify a hotfix. Pausing gives you time to ship one before the rest of your users update. |
Xcode Organizer shows crash reports and metrics such as hangs and launch time, but only from users who share analytics with app developers, and its numbers take time to fill in. For decisions on days 1 and 2, use a crash reporter and analytics SDK that report in near real time, and treat Organizer as a later check.
Automating phased release
Each version's phased release is an appStoreVersionPhasedReleases resource in the App Store Connect API. Its phasedReleaseState is INACTIVE (not started), ACTIVE (releasing), PAUSED or COMPLETE (released to every device with automatic updates). A PATCH to the resource pauses or resumes the release, or releases it to everyone straight away.
- Turn it on from CI: fastlane's
deliver(andupload_to_app_store) action takesphased_release: true, or theDELIVER_PHASED_RELEASEenvironment variable, so the setting doesn't depend on someone ticking a box in App Store Connect. - Pause from alerting: the same API lets an on-call script pause the release when a crash alert for the new version fires. Keep a person in the loop for resuming and for releasing to everyone.
- Report progress: polling the state and the current day into your release channel makes it easy to see which day each rollout is on.
iOS phased release vs Google Play staged rollout
Teams shipping both platforms often run one release plan for both. The two mechanisms differ in ways that matter:
| App Store phased release | Google Play staged rollout | |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule | Fixed: 7 days, 1% to 100% | You set the percentage and raise it yourself; it never increases automatically |
| Who is included | A random sample of users with automatic updates; anyone can update manually | New and existing users, chosen at random for each release |
| Stopping | Pause for up to 30 days in total; the version stays on the store for manual updates | Halt: no more users get the version; those who have it keep it |
| Country targeting | No | Yes, chosen when the rollout starts; countries can't be removed once it has started |
| Undoing a bad build | Ship a new version through App Review | Ship a new release with a fixed app bundle |
| First release of an app | Not available | Not available |
In practice, Android gives you a dial and iOS gives you a timer with a pause button. If your release plan says “hold at 10% for 48 hours”, that's one setting on Google Play. On iOS it means pausing on day 4 and keeping an eye on the 30-day pause allowance.
Frequently asked questions
Does phased release apply to people who download the app for the first time?
Phased release only controls automatic updates. Anyone who downloads or updates the app from the App Store, including first-time installs, gets the new version from day 1.
Can I change the percentages or make the rollout longer than 7 days?
No. The schedule is fixed at 1%, 2%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 50% and 100%. The only way to stretch it is to pause, for up to 30 days in total across all pauses.
What happens when I resume a paused phased release?
It picks up on the day it was paused. Paused on day 3 means it resumes on day 3, at 5%.
Does pausing stop people from getting the update?
It stops new automatic updates. The version stays on the App Store, so people who update manually still get it.
Can I use phased release for my app's first version?
No. It is offered for version updates only. Google Play's staged rollouts have the same restriction.
Can I roll back to the previous version during a phased release?
No. Pausing limits how many more devices update, but nobody who has the build loses it. The fix is a new version submitted for review.
Sources
- Release a version update in phases — App Store Connect Help
The schedule, eligible statuses, roles, pausing and the 30-day limit, Release to All Users, and what happens when an app is removed from sale.
- PhasedReleaseState — App Store Connect API
The INACTIVE, ACTIVE, PAUSED and COMPLETE states.
- Modify an App Store Version Phased Release — App Store Connect API
Pausing, resuming or immediately releasing through the API.
- deliver — fastlane docs
The phased_release option and DELIVER_PHASED_RELEASE.
- Release app updates with staged rollouts — Play Console Help
How Google Play's staged rollouts choose users, halt, resume and target countries.