iOS - Test app store binary before release?

Question

I had read once that if in iTunes Connect you marked a binary as "hold for developer release", there was a way to install that version from the app store instead of the current version in the store - thus allowing for one final check that the binary was good before release, and to ensure which binary was actually submitted.

I was unable to find a way to link to the approved binary though in a recent submission. Does anyone know how you can install an app store binary that has been approved before you release it?

Answer 1

What I do is an archive build (a release build). Then in the Organizer I choose the archive and then distribute it as an ad-hoc build. The resulting ipa file gets installed into iTunes then that version gets synced to an iOS device for testing. If it all looks good I then go back to the Organizer and choose the same archive. This time I choose to do an App Store distribution and submit the app to Apple for review.

The only difference between what you end up testing and what ends up in the App Store is how the app is signed. It's the same binary otherwise.