How do App Store pre-orders work?

App Store pre-orders let people order your app before it's released – it then downloads automatically on launch day. Your product page goes live early with a pre-order button in place of Get.

The strategic value is momentum: interest gathered over weeks converts into a single day's spike of downloads, which helps you rank in charts and hopefully attract even more users. In short, pre-orders give your marketing runway somewhere to point before the app exists.

Kickstart records pre-order status and timing inside editorial nominations and launch planning, so it becomes part of the story and checklist rather than a disconnected App Store setting.