iOS 10.3 Beta Says 32-Bit Legacy Apps Will Not Work With Future Versions of iOS

[MacRumors]

Since iOS 10.1, when a user opens an old 32-bit app on a newer iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Apple has reinstated a warning that the app may slow down the device until the developer updates it to improve its compatibility. The apps are still fully usable, however, despite the possible performance issues.

On iOS 10.3 beta, Apple has tweaked the wording of that warning to note that 32-bit apps "will not work with future versions of iOS," suggesting that iOS 11 could be the first software update to support 64-bit apps only. "Future versions" is unsurprisingly vague, however, so the exact timeline remains unclear.

Apple has supported 64-bit apps since the iPhone 5s launched in September 2013. The company required that all new apps support 64-bit architecture as of February 2015, and all updated apps since June 2015, but a number of older 32-bit apps that have not been updated in years remain available on the App Store.

iOS devices with a 64-bit chip include the iPhone 5s and newer, iPad Air and newer, iPad mini 2 and newer, and sixth-generation iPod touch.

In September, Apple said it would begin removing problematic and abandoned apps from the App Store, including those that no longer function as intended or follow current review guidelines, and others lacking compatibility updates for a long time. By October, it was reported some 50,000 apps had already been removed.

Article Link: iOS 10.3 Beta Says 32-Bit Legacy Apps Will Not Work With Future Versions of iOS

 

[Vashetti]

Looking forward to seeing millions of 32-bit apps disappear from the store because the developers don't see it as worth the cost to update

 

[Munky]

PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE. APPLE IS DOOMED. FIRE TIM COOK.

 

[WilliamTM]

That kinda sucks...I've got a really old game that I enjoy playing to pass the time but it's not been updated since the days of the iPhone 5.

 

[KPOM]

Looking forward to seeing millions of 32-bit apps disappear from the store because the developers don't see it as worth the cost to update

This is probably intentional. If an app isn't worth a recompile, it probably isn't worth staying on the app store.

 

[Mlrollin91]

This is both good and bad. It will clean out the App Store, but I will lose my legacy tether "Easter egg" apps. I have a few apps that will never be updated, so they will just die.

 

[IvanX]

I hope that this will lead to Apple purging apps from the App Store that do not conform to this requirement. Too many obsolete apps continue to generate revenue for developers despite them not having any inclination to update them to newer standards. Developers either need to get with the times or get off the train.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE. APPLE IS DOOMED. FIRE TIM COOK.

 

[Vashetti]

This is probably intentional. If an app isn't worth a recompile, it probably isn't worth staying on the app store.

I play several games that haven't been updated. They're 'worth' it to me.

 

[djcerla]

That's how your ecosystem thrives.

All 64 bit and no turning back, on Android screens in 2021.

 

[KPOM]

If history is any guide, iOS 11 will require an iPhone 5s or newer (i.e. 64-bit).
[doublepost=1485879838][/doublepost]

I play several games that haven't been updated. They're 'worth' it to me.

If they are commercially viable they'll be updated.

 

[User 6502]

I completely agree with this decision. It's gonna push the app worth updating to more modern standards, and get rid of the rest which is probably of very little value.

 

[IvanX]

I play several games that haven't been updated. They're 'worth' it to me.

It's possible that they will remain in the Purchased section of App Store app, but removed for the general audience.

 

[dannyyankou]

Before people are too critical of Apple-

https://www.macrumors.com/2014/12/17/apple-64-bit-support-reminder/

They're being generous for letting 32 bit apps work 2 years after the deadline.

 

[jayducharme]

This sucks for me. I have quite a few 32-bit apps that still work fine but that simply haven't been updated. The developers are either no longer around or have moved on to other things. But I paid for those apps. I've already lost a few due to obsolescence. I'll either have to re-think how I spend money on the App Store or just realize that I'll get only a couple of years out of the apps I buy.

 

[arggg14]

I play several games that haven't been updated. They're 'worth' it to me.

Then don't update.

 

[pat500000]

Let the purging commence.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

About time...and thank you.

 

[d5aqoëp]

To think of it from a DRM perspective, all those 32 bit apps you purchased... you will have no access to them because Apple axed 32 bit all together. That's DRM. Your purchases are not yours after all. You are at the mercy of the company who enforces the DRM.

Developers being lazy is not a valid reason. Not everyone has to be like Facebook to routinely update their app with junk lines of code and keep on bloating it till it explodes.

I will have to upgrade my 5 year old CCTV camera system which will cost me $1000 because their remote app is 32bit and very old. It may stop working in iOS 11.

Now I will lose $1000 because of DRM.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

Crap. I've got a half dozen apps that I still use that haven't been updated since pretty much their initial launch. And I haven't found replacements for.

 

[coolfactor]

That kinda sucks...I've got a really old game that I enjoy playing to pass the time but it's not been updated since the days of the iPhone 5.

Well, your older device(s) will not stop working all of a sudden. Keep playing the game on them.

 

[LordQ]

Perhaps iOS 11 will be rewritten with Swift and 64-bit-only?

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

I hope that this will lead to Apple purging apps from the App Store that do not conform to this requirement. Too many obsolete apps continue to generate revenue for developers despite them not having any inclination to update them to newer standards. Developers either need to get with the times or get off the train.

Uh, what? I used to distribute through the app stores. Pretty much every app cost me more money than I ever made from it, thus why I stopped. The financial performance of my apps were pretty typical, from my understanding. Most developers make next to nothing. The best most people get is they get their $100 annual developer fee that Apple charges back. Divide the income over the hours they work and you find they were effectively paid $0/hour.

----

Is there any way for me to find out which apps installed on my iPhone are still 32 bit?

 

[longofest]

There are a decent amount of iPhone 5 and iPhone 5Cs out there... those are 32 bit platforms...

 

[smacrumon]

450,000 still need to be removed. There are some real terrible "apps" out there.