@wwfan - I just want to reiterate what Ian has already mentioned, but all Thunkable users can publish their apps to the App Store if they have an Apple Developer account.
@Dean_Artis, just to clarify in relation to your screenshot above, free users can no publish apps with PRO components to Android or iOS, but there is no restriction on App Store publishing in general.
Again, just to clarify here we do not (i.e. are not permitted to) send you a .ipa file. The email that you get allows you to install you app on your own device and is for testing only. The publishing wizard takes the necessary mobile provisioning profiles and digital certificates and sends everything directly to Apple where you then go through the same review process as anyone else who tries to publish to the App Store.
Again @wwfan , and I think Dean may have lead you astray somewhat here, there is no “paywall” on our side preventing any user from sending their app to the App Store. As others have mentioned, the app marketplaces themselves are walled-gardens so Google, Amazon, Apple etc ultimately have complete control over what gets published and how much it costs to access their market place.
One main advantage of paying for a Thunkable PRO subscription is that you can publish your project as a web app, instantly and without review. The app link can be shared to anyone you like and will work on both Android and iOS devices, no developer accounts needed!
Nope, we don’t have any prevent users with an Apple Developer account from publishing their projects. Let me know if you ever want a demo of Thunkable PRO @Dean_Artis - I’d be happy to arrange this for you.