How long does the new Testflight Beta review process usually take?

iOS app reviews generally take around a week or so. Since Apple now requires that new TestFlight beta apps go through the beta review process as well before we can send it to external testers, I have been wondering how long this process will take.

I have just submitted an app for a beta review. What is the timeframe that I should expect the approval (or denial, for that matter) of the beta app to take?

Solution 1:

Yesterday at 6 pm I uploaded my beta build for review and it's status was waiting for review. This morning the status had changes to "In review" but now, 13h later it's still "In review". I will update this post if my app build had been approved.

EDIT: A day later in the morning it was approved. The total proces from uploading to being reviewed took 1 and a half days.

Solution 2:

We just submitted our first Beta Review request and were approved in 50 minutes. The app is fairly large and complex. It appears that the Apple testing was very minimal.

Edit to add: We just release a second version for external beta testing and it was instantly approved; no review required.

Solution 3:

It does seem to be shorter than the full review process on average, and actually -- from personal experience -- it seems to be less than 24 hours (don't count on reviews over a weekend or holiday however). There is a tool for seeing how long a regular review might take Average App Store Review Times which is based on voluntarily submitted review time data. Haven't ever seen it take longer than that though.