Apple Releases Enhanced Sandbox Testing to Developers

After being announced earlier this year at WWDC, Apple has now released enhanced sandbox testing to developers.

apple developer banner

The feature will allow developers to test their in-app purchases for a wide range of scenarios, such as upgrades, downgrades, cancellations, introductory offers, and interrupted purchases.

The Apple sandbox environment lets you test in-app purchases on devices using product information set up in App Store Connect. You can now test upgrades, downgrades, and cancellations for subscriptions, as well as reset the introductory offer eligibility for a test account from Settings on devices running iOS 14 or later. You can also test your app's response to interrupted purchases on devices running iOS 14 or later. And App Store Connect users with the Developer role can now create and manage sandbox tester accounts.

The enhanced sandbox environment will afford developers far greater ability to test the implementation of their purchases using Apple's StoreKit framework in Xcode and iOS 14. Developers can now use a sandbox Apple ID to simulate all purchase situations exactly as their users will experience it.

Enhanced Sandbox Testing was first revealed at WWDC alongside other improvements to Xcode, "macOS Universal" apps, WebExtensions API support for Safari, and more transparent privacy information in the App Store.

Top Rated Comments

Baymowe335 Avatar
47 months ago
Not for Epic though.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PickUrPoison Avatar
47 months ago
Another one of the many developer tools Epic doesn’t want to pay for. The cheapskates ?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Appleman3546 Avatar
47 months ago
I actually ran into this problem two months ago, I was unable to test in-app purchases and was shocked to learn that I couldn’t in sandbox. This update is very needed, especially since we want to make sure the transaction involving money actually works properly before submission to avoid an unnecessary rejection!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kkspire Avatar
47 months ago

To little, too late. Soon the App Store business model will come crashing down The world is ganging up on the ways of the App Store. Change is in the wind.
The world is ending. Things are so terrible. God is coming back to rapture us all.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thewayfaerer Avatar
47 months ago

it has always been possible to test in-app purchases in sandbox.
Yes, but especially approval simulation was very difficult, as some threads on stack overflow show.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature

iOS 18 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Friday April 12, 2024 11:11 am PDT by
iOS 18 is expected to be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for Siri and many apps, and Apple plans to add RCS support to the Messages app for an improved texting experience between iPhones and Android devices. The update is also expected to introduce a more...
iOS NES Emulator Bimmy Feature

NES Emulator for iPhone and iPad Now Available on App Store [Removed]

Tuesday April 16, 2024 11:33 am PDT by
The first approved Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the iPhone and iPad was made available on the App Store today following Apple's rule change. The emulator is called Bimmy, and it was developed by Tom Salvo. On the App Store, Bimmy is described as a tool for testing and playing public domain/"homebrew" games created for the NES, but the app allows you to load ROMs for any...
Delta Feature

Delta Game Emulator Now Available From App Store on iPhone

Wednesday April 17, 2024 9:58 am PDT by
Game emulator apps have come and gone since Apple announced App Store support for them on April 5, but now popular game emulator Delta from developer Riley Testut is available for download. Testut is known as the developer behind GBA4iOS, an open-source emulator that was available for a brief time more than a decade ago. GBA4iOS led to Delta, an emulator that has been available outside of...
iGBA Feature

Apple Removes Game Boy Emulator iGBA From App Store Due to Spam and Copyright Violations

Sunday April 14, 2024 9:22 pm PDT by
Apple today said it removed Game Boy emulator iGBA from the App Store for violating the company's App Review Guidelines related to spam (section 4.3) and copyright (section 5.2), but it did not provide any specific details. iGBA was a copycat version of developer Riley Testut's open-source GBA4iOS app. The emulator rose to the top of the App Store charts following its release this weekend,...
iPhone 15 Pro Action Button Translate

All iPhone 16 Models to Feature Action Button, But Usefulness Debated

Tuesday April 16, 2024 6:54 am PDT by
Last September, Apple's iPhone 15 Pro models debuted with a new customizable Action button, offering faster access to a handful of functions, as well as the ability to assign Shortcuts. Apple is poised to include the feature on all upcoming iPhone 16 models, so we asked iPhone 15 Pro users what their experience has been with the additional button so far. The Action button replaces the switch ...
iGBA Feature

Game Boy Emulator for iPhone Now Available in App Store Following Rule Change [Removed]

Sunday April 14, 2024 8:06 am PDT by
A week after Apple updated its App Review Guidelines to permit retro game console emulators, a Game Boy emulator for the iPhone called iGBA has appeared in the App Store worldwide. The emulator is already one of the top free apps on the App Store charts. It was not entirely clear if Apple would allow emulators to work with all and any games, but iGBA is able to load any Game Boy ROMs that...