Over the last several months, Apple has slowly been adding a handful of unlisted apps to the App Store, covering things like CarKey, GymKit, and more. Now, Apple has launched the “Accessory Developer Assistant” app as its latest unlisted offering on the App Store.
Apple says that this app is meant for accessory makers looking to “test and verify” that their new products work as intended with Apple devices. The app was added to the App Store today, according to 9to5Mac sources. It is being distributed under Apple’s developer account but is currently unlisted. This means you can only access it via a direct link, not via App Store search or Apple’s account page.
Apple explains:
Accessory Developer Assistant is a companion app to the Accessory Developer Guide. It is a comprehensive set of tools designed to help accessory makers test and verify if their new products work as intended with Apple devices.
Apple’s screenshots for the Accessory Developer Assistant app show testing options for things like camera hardware, NFC, battery management, case compatibility, and more. The app is available for both iPhone and iPad.
It’s likely that Apple was privately distributing this app, or a version of it, directly to its partners in the past. Adding the app to the App Store simplifies that process and makes it easy for the app to be distributed to testing partners.
Other recent unlisted apps that Apple has added to the App Store include:
Apple added support for distributing unlisted apps on the App Store in January 2022. These apps do not appear in search results or browse sections. This feature is aimed at allowing developers to distribute apps to a select group of users without making them publicly available on the App Store.
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