I'm a little confused as to whether TestFlight is a mandatory step to publish an application to the store. If my build in TestFlight is waiting for Review, does this mean that I can't publish the application in the store either?
Is it possible to publish an application in App Store without TestFlight?
Hello vladconq. Using TestFlight isn't required to submit and publish to the App Store (though it's highly recommended!).
When you submit your app to TestFlight for external testers, it does have to go through App Review before being made available to your testers.
For details, see Do I need to get approval to start testing beta builds? in the TestFlight beta testing overview section of App Store Connect help.
TestFlight builds and App Store "release" builds are also two independent paths. You can have one build submitted to TestFlight for testing, and another submitted to the App Store for release.
For details on uploading new versions of your app, see Create a new version in the Manage apps and versions section of App Store Connect help.
—jasonag.