new iPhone apps

[vixducis]

Maybe it's info you can find online, but I sure didn't find it. Will devs be able to create apps for the iPhone 5 only, or is it mandatory for them to include the older phones? If they don't require it, it'll only be a matter of time (i admit, at least a year) before the axe app support for the 4S and older.

Also, if it's possible to only build for the new iPhone 5, how will they support the 2x mode on the iPad? You can't find 1136x2 on the iPad, and I doubt they'll build a 1.78x button.

 

[SteppingStone]

Oversimplifying a little, but when you submit an app, you basically get to specify two things:

1. The minimum iOS version the app requires
2. Any device features you require (e.g. camera, gyroscope, etc).

These two choices are typically what defines your device compatibility: older devices won't run the newer iOS and might lack certain hardware features.

In fact, you can't actually say "this app needs iPhone 5" when you submit to the app store. You have to work pretty hard at runtime to identify the exact make and model of device your software is running on -- that's more of a collection of tricks and voodoo which is highly discouraged. Supporting only iPhone 5 would be an unreliable hack and would almost certainly get an app rejected.