Mac Catalyst: original_application_version app receipt value

I want to use the original_application_version value from the app receipt to grandfather some features for users who are first-time users vs existing users. In the Receipt Validation Programming Guide, the field's notes are as follows:

This corresponds to the value of CFBundleVersion (in iOS) or CFBundleShortVersionString (in macOS) in the Info.plist file when the purchase was originally made.

In the sandbox environment, the value of this field is always “1.0”.

I'm unsure which value to expect in Mac Catalyst, since it's a UIKit (and thus iOS)-based app being distributed through the Mac App Store and run on a Mac. My instinct is that the store is determinative, and thus to expect the macOS CFBundleShortVersionString on the Mac. Unfortunately, since the value is always "1.0" in the sandbox (including TestFlight) I don't have a good way to test this.

Does anyone have any real-world experience that can shed light on what format I can expect?

Replies

This is a universal app with the same version being distributed on Mac and iOS, correct?

Yes, exactly - the version in the Mac App Store uses the same codebase as the iOS app (with a few Mac-specific tweaks) via Mac Catalyst.

Hi Did you ever get to the bottom of this? I am just about to release an upgrade to a catalyst+iOS app and I am running with the idea that the the CFBundleVersion is the value to use for both Catalyst and iOS. Can you confirm?