San Francisco, Nov 24 (IANS): Apple closes its App Store Connect for a week around the holidays each year and like previous years, the iPhone maker will shut down App Store Connect during the week of Christmas.

Apple has alerted developers to ensure there is enough time for their releases to be "scheduled, submitted, and approved" in advance of this period, or leave themselves waiting until after December 27 for updates to take place.

"Make sure your apps are up to date and ready for the holidays, as new apps and app updates will not be accepted December 23 through 27 (Pacific Time). Please ensure time for your releases to be scheduled, submitted, and approved in advance," the company said in a statement on Monday.

Though ?the App Store? submissions will be unavailable, other ?App Store? Connect tools will remain accessible to developers throughout the holiday period.

Given the number of apps that are in the App Store and the subsequent number of updates, it is quite probable that the period is to give staff working on related teams some time off.