How small updates are you allowed to do?

[Outcast]

Is there any rules to how major an update need to be in order to update an app for iOS (considering apple must approve it..)
I am about to release a free version of an old app with iAds. But I also want to integrate Chartboost. So if I release this version now, can I do an update that puts in Chartboost later or is that to small an update? (it does not modify the actual game really..)

[Jeff]

You can always say its an engine update to improve performance

[Outcast]

+1

[mobichan]

You can update as much as you like. But each update resets your total ratings, so you will set your "rate me" count to zero each time you release a new update. It is a little cryptic how that affects your app, but it is believed to impact you negatively for things like being featured and appearing on charts.

Apple wants you to release stable apps, not rely on updates.

[Outcast]

mobichan: I agree with the logic of releasing something stable at the gate for most markets. But just on the appstore it sounds counterproductive where I thought the optimal idea was for apps to be continusly updated and supported with new content? If this is the case, new content updates are "punished"?

[mobichan]

This logic was designed before the Free to Play market became such a dominant force. Now that Apple has learned how to create rules to monetize off of IAP's, it is more advantageous for them to support F2P apps. But since it is so cryptic how the featuring works, this thinking might be a little outdated. I have heard this information through reliable sources who create successful games on iOS. But take it with a grain of salt. The rule still stands for zeroing out your rate me numbers, though.

As for content updates, most of the big players circumnavigate Apple by updating content through their own servers. It helps eliminate the need for submitting updates in order to update content.