{"id":339595,"date":"2017-04-29T00:00:28","date_gmt":"2017-04-28T16:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1482981"},"modified":"2017-04-29T00:00:28","modified_gmt":"2017-04-28T16:00:28","slug":"rollout-ios-rox-lets-app-developers-deploy-new-features-safely-just-like-the-big-guys-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/rollout-ios-rox-lets-app-developers-deploy-new-features-safely-just-like-the-big-guys-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Rollout.io\u2019s Rox lets app developers deploy new features safely \u2013 just like the big guys do"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Rollout.io<\/a>, a company that had developed technology that allowed mobile app developers to update their apps without having to go through the App Store approval process, is now entering a new business after Apple cracked down on apps using its software<\/a>. Today, the former TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield finalist\u00a0<\/a>has transitioned to a new product that\u00a0allows developers to selectively roll out new features in their apps to subsets of users before deploying them the wider user base.<\/p>\n

Rollout.io\u2019s original product was well-received, as it solved a problem that many app developers\u2019 face \u2013 the need to quickly patch a bug or address a critical security hole in a timely fashion. The App Store approval process\u00a0can slow down getting those sorts of changes released to all users, and then it still relies on users updating the apps on their mobile device in order to see them\u00a0applied.<\/p>\n

Rollout.io\u2019s original\u00a0solution, on the other hand, could actually \u201chot patch\u201d applications on the fly, thanks to developer tools (the Rollout SDK) where it packaged pre-defined solutions<\/a>, like those that could disable functions that were causing crashes, for example. Developers could also inject JavaScript code to fix more complex problems.<\/p>\n

But Apple wasn\u2019t having it. In March, Apple began alerting developers<\/a> that they would have to remove Rollout.io\u2019s code because it was not in compliance<\/a> with its guidelines for developers. For Apple, the decision was likely about being able to control its ecosystem, in addition to\u00a0the possible\u00a0security concerns that accompany being able to change apps without approval.<\/p>\n

At the time, 2,000 app developers had installed the SDK, which was running on 80 million devices.<\/p>\n

According to Rollout.io co-founder and CEO Erez Rusovsky, the company\u2019s new product \u2013 called Rox by Rollout<\/a> \u2013 was already\u00a0in development before Apple made its\u00a0decision. But now instead of being a secondary offering, it\u2019s the main one.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In fact, Rusovsky\u00a0says the development of Rox was influenced by feedback from its existing customer base, who had manipulated the hot patching solution to deploy new features safer and faster.<\/p>\n

The idea of selectively rolling out features to a portion of an app\u2019s users is something larger companies like Facebook and Twitter do all the time. Often, these are staged rollouts that give the company time to fix issues before a wider release, though other times they are more like A\/B tests where the company can see how the subset of the user base responds to a\u00a0new feature.<\/p>\n

With Rox, mobile app developers have a similar option.<\/p>\n

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    Screen Shot 2017-04-03 at 20.02.12<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
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    Screen Shot 2017-04-03 at 20.02.59<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol><\/div>\n

    \u201cRox uses\u00a0continuous feature deployment, which does not inject new code, but rather turns on\/off existing code,\u201d explains Rusovsky. \u201cRox not only solves the production bugs issue, but addresses the entire software deployment cycle including development, internal testing, QA, user acceptance testing, and full rollouts,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

    Because it doesn\u2019t allow developers to change their apps on the fly \u2013 the code it selectively enables is already there to be scrutinized during\u00a0the app review process \u2013 Apple should permit the solution to continue.<\/p>\n

    However, Rox stops short of being a full A\/B testing platform. Instead, Rox lets mobile developers control over the deployment of new features from a centralized dashboard. From here, developers can target their rollouts to specific groups of users or devices, and can either manually control or automate deployment by allowing the system to determine when it\u2019s safe to push the new feature out to everyone.<\/p>\n

    While Rox could help developers\u00a0build the infrastructure needed for A\/B testing, it doesn\u2019t provide the analytics that accompanies that sort of solution. However, it does integrate with existing development tools and workflows, the company says.<\/p>\n

    The pricing<\/a> for the new solution starts at $500 per month, but discounts for startups are available. Rox is currently iOS-only, but Android support is pending.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \"\" Rollout.io, a company that had developed technology that allowed mobile app developers to update their apps without having to go through the App Store approval process, is now entering a new business after Apple cracked down on apps using its software. Today, the former TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield finalist\u00a0has transitioned to a new product that\u00a0allows developers to selectively roll out… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

    \n<\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n

    \"\"\/ <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5817,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[59,66,26],"class_list":["post-339595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology","tag-media","tag-techcrunch","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5817"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339595\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}