Apple iphone app transfer or app replacement

Question

We have built an inhouse version of an iPhone application that is to replace another that is already available from another developer.

I was wondering if you think we can use "app transfer" from the previous developer and in turn replace it with our own app. Previous developer has agreed for the transfer (ofcouse excluding his code). Therefore our question is if we can transfer his app to our development name and then replace the app with our own. Our goal is that the current users of this app will receive ours as an update to what they already have and not as a different app.

In short, transfer and replace so users get our app as an update.

Note: Please note that as we were unaware of this "transfer" we submitted yesterday our version of the app with a slightly different name. Should we cancel submition (as it is still pending for validation) and follow some route you may suggest in your replies, or stay as it is now?

Answer 1

If you keep the Appidentifier the same between the original version and the new version you will submit, this should work as expected. (But nobody has much know-ho of the new "transfer" option yet) So, you process would be as follows:

1. Hand the old developer your TeamID and your Apple ID
2. The old developer transfers the current App over to your team
3. Once done (no clue how long that takes), you have the app in your itunes connect
4. Now you add a new version of the App to itunes connect and mark it as ready to upload

5. You upload your newly coded app that meets these criteria:

   • Application Bundle Identifier is the same as with the App you're updating
   • Your new App is signed with a correct certifcate/provisioning profile (just correct for the appid, doesn't have to be the same one)
   • The BundelVersion and BundleShortVersionString are at higher than those of the already submitted applications.

So basically, it will work just like a regular update.