
Ways to change a live app without shipping a release
Staged releases, flags, remote config, OTA, server-driven UI, a CMS, WebViews and API changes: what each can change, what it can't, and how to pick.
Topic
Feature flags, remote config, OTA updates and store rules: the ways to change a live app without a release, and what each one can't do.
6 posts

Staged releases, flags, remote config, OTA, server-driven UI, a CMS, WebViews and API changes: what each can change, what it can't, and how to pick.

Apple's rules name downloaded code and hidden features, not server-drawn screens. What the text says, what to tell reviewers, and what we'd never do.

Waiting for a release costs more than the days on the calendar. A way to price the wait with your own numbers, and which changes are worth moving.

Apple's phased release spreads an update over seven days and can be paused. It can't recall installs, cover the web, or change shipped content.

Merging code and showing it to users are two decisions. How splitting them lowers risk, and what it costs in flags to clean up later.

A flag decides who sees what, remote config sets a value, a CMS holds content other people edit. How to tell them apart, and how each gets misused.

Staged releases, flags, remote config, OTA, server-driven UI, a CMS, WebViews and API changes: what each can change, what it can't, and how to pick.