Why it takes so long for apps to be optimized for x?

[tromboneaholic]

I remember when the change happened from 5 to 6 (or was it from 4 to 5) there were pretty fast updates. It’s now 2 months since the announcement yet most of my apps (nothing special) are not yet optimized. Thoughts?

Have you contacted the devs via email or twitter to ask if they are going optimize their app for iPhone X screen?

It will help if they know there is a demand.

 

[maflynn]

What could possibly be a priority to a single app developers other then taking care of this app?
Being on a phone with customers dealing with transaction details?

Maybe they're already working on the app with updates, and it would be too disruptive for them to stop the work to add a minor update that will only affect a small subset of iPhone users.

 

[BvizioN]

It costs money to have a programmer update an app. The cost/benefit for taking time to do something about a superficial thing like the notch, for a minority of users, is not worth it. Just because a bank has a gazillion money, they don't spend it on everything. That is in part why they have so many of them.

But it doesn't make sense and you make it sounds as it is some sort of mega project kind of work to do, to optimise a single app. Something that probably a 14 year old would do it with ease. App should be quite important to any serious business now days. Being on a ball with it shows how serious they are about it.
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Maybe they're already working on the app with updates, and it would be too disruptive for them to stop the work to add a minor update that will only affect a small subset of iPhone users.

I am not a developer and I am not sure how long it really takes but going by what Apple have said, few hours work should not be a big deal for a business like a bank.

 

[akash.nu]

What could possibly be a priority to a single app developers other then taking care of this app?
Being on a phone with customers dealing with transaction details?

Did you just think that app developers don’t have a plan already in place and delivery lines to hit?

Companies don’t just sit around and change their whole plan of delivery to cater for a screen size that just makes the app experience marginally worse on a specific type of device for a very limited customer base?

I think people should learn how software development industry functions in general. Things like these are generally at a very low position on the priority list.

 

[maflynn]

I am not a developer and I am not sure how long it really takes but going by what Apple have said, few hours work should not be a big deal for a business like a bank.

Actually it is, banks like any corporation has a fairly robust bureaucracy. They're not about to drop work on existing products just to roll out an update that impacts a minority or users. I work in IT and I can say in my organization (and I worked with banks), that they are not nimble in terms of addressing changes or updating apps to new technology.

 

[haruhiko]

Simple - why update an app for a minority of users? Most app developers will get around to it eventually. What about those apps that don't even work on iOS 11? Those are the ones that need attention, not those which still look fine with black borders top-and-bottom - really doesn't bother me.

They're the minority who are most willing to spend and is willing to be early adopters of new stuff. I think every company loves these customers.

 

[TrueBlou]

But it doesn't make sense and you make it sounds as it is some sort of mega project kind of work to do, to optimise a single app. Something that probably a 14 year old would do it with ease. App should be quite important to any serious business now days. Being on a ball with it shows how serious they are about it.

Have you optimised an app lately? If your app uses all standard Apple provided interface objects and has all of its auto-layout setup correctly then yeah, there’s not much to do in getting it optimised.

If however you use custom made controls, interface objects, layouts and artwork. Then it’s not a quick job. Not if you want it done properly.

iPhone X is a new aspect ratio with a new resolution, so to have your artwork looking at its best you may be remaking most of it from scratch. Your controls may need to be reprogrammed so that they aren’t obscured by and don’t interfere with the notch and the rounded corners.

For some apps it’s a nice straightforward job, for some it’s going to be weeks (or more) of redesign, reprogramming, bug testing and potentially rethinking entire aspects of how your app works. And that’s before you even start to consider what the developer may be working on already. They could have a new app in the pipeline occupying all of their time. They could be working on more important updates to the apps which makes putting out a quick fix not worth their while and of course for some, they just won’t be updated because it’s not financially viable.

If you have an app/apps you’d like updated and are wondering when/if it will. Then contact the developer of it because they’re the only ones who can give you a definitive answer.

 

[BvizioN]

Actually it is, banks like any corporation has a fairly robust bureaucracy. They're not about to drop work on existing products just to roll out an update that impacts a minority or users. I work in IT and I can say in my organization (and I worked with banks), that they are not nimble in terms of addressing changes or updating apps to new technology.

Fair enough. Just find it fascinating that for some is a dead easy stuff to do and they are spot on with rapid updates and for some takes forever. Would have thought that the scale of optimisation work would be sort of similar.

 

[akash.nu]

Have you optimised an app lately? If your app uses all standard Apple provided interface objects and has all of its auto-layout setup correctly then yeah, there’s not much to do in getting it optimised.

If however you use custom made controls, interface objects, layouts and artwork. Then it’s not a quick job. Not if you want it done properly.

iPhone X is a new aspect ratio with a new resolution, so to have your artwork looking at its best you may be remaking most of it from scratch. Your controls may need to be reprogrammed so that they aren’t obscured by and don’t interfere with the notch and the rounded corners.

For some apps it’s a nice straightforward job, for some it’s going to be weeks (or more) of redesign, reprogramming, bug testing and potentially rethinking entire aspects of how your app works. And that’s before you even start to consider what the developer may be working on already. They could have a new app in the pipeline occupying all of their time. They could be working on more important updates to the apps which makes putting out a quick fix not worth their while and of course for some, they just won’t be updated because it’s not financially viable.

If you have an app/apps you’d like updated and are wondering when/if it will. Then contact the developer of it because they’re the only ones who can give you a definitive answer.

Well said.!! Nailed it.!

 

[laptech]

If some of you are seriously defending app developers for not being quick enough to optimize their apps for the new iphone X then it is clear you have no understanding of time based management roll outs of products or services, and if you do, shame on you for defending app developers.

Many of today's companies require us to carry out our daily business with them via the use of their official apps, banks, utility companies, phone companies, supermarkets, online betting, cinema ticket booking, plus many more but yet people cannot because the developers of these apps have not bothered to update them because the company involved has not instructed the developer to update the app.

Businesses have known for months that a new iphone was to be released and as such every business should have had a time based management plan in place to update their apps as soon as the phone is released. The fact it take months for these companies to get their app's updated shows how bad their focus is towards their customers.

If they expect their customers to use their apps then update the app within a reasonable time frame of the phone being released, not months later. Especially when you consider Apple are saying they've made it easier for app developers to update their apps for iphone X within a few hours.

 

[akash.nu]

Fair enough. Just find it fascinating that for some is a dead easy stuff to do and they are spot on with rapid updates and for some takes forever. Would have thought that the scale of optimisation work would be sort of similar.

This is precisely why engineers are in constant battle with the business side of the organisation to try and make them understand that it is NOT - just a copy paste - job, as they put it more often.

 

[upandown]

I remember when the change happened from 5 to 6 (or was it from 4 to 5) there were pretty fast updates. It’s now 2 months since the announcement yet most of my apps (nothing special) are not yet optimized. Thoughts?

Actually I disagree. The change from 5 to 6 especially with the plus took a long time for apps to adapt. The X has been relatively quick. It hasn't been that long anyway

 

[cardfan]

It's on Apple to speed things up. This is their baby even if devs carry the burden of updating. Apple could offer incentives for them to do so. Drop the 30% to 25% if they optimize? Obviously it benefits Apple to have devs updating quickly as possible. So if you have issues with it, complain away to Apple..

 

[Technarchy]

Time, planning, money, priorities, aptitude.

Some combination of the above is your answer.

 

[mattopotamus]

What could possibly be a priority to a single app developers other then taking care of this app?
Being on a phone with customers dealing with transaction details?

I do have a paid app that is not updated, and it is blowing my mind.

 

[mickeydean]

Apple could ensure the majority of the big apps are ready pre-release... They do announce their iOS and hardware before release.... They could influence the developers if not control them... Disappointing and it does lessen the gloss of a new iPhone. But given Apple keep a format for a few years, it's just a nuisance in the beginning so whatever.

 

[evorc]

Because updating an application is a lot more involved than what end users assume. It’s not as easy as you think. Anytime you introduce a change you risk breaking other functionalities so after development there’s always extensive testing that needs to happen prior to release. All of this takes time. Some companies or developers may have other priorities (enhancements, defect fixes) they are currently working on and may not have the resources available at the moment. Other developers that are not part of a big company may be doing this as part of their spare time and have full time jobs to worry about. It will eventually happen, respect the process. I’m a software engineer and I’m just trying to give you another perspective.

 

[mickeydean]

Because updating an application is a lot more involved than what end users assume. It’s not as easy as you think. Some developers may have other priorities (enhancements, defect fixes) they are currently working on or may not have the resources available at the moment. Other developers that are not part of a big company may be doing this as part of their spare time and have full time jobs and may not have the time at the moment. It will eventually happen, respect the process. I’m a software engineer and I’m just trying to give you another perspective.

Fair point and interesting perspective. I just think the more popular apps should be updated by release. For example I don't expect the QXMD app to be updated but Spotify... They would have the resources I'd assume but maybe I'm wrong and what you've said applies.

 

[Lobwedgephil]

It took a year for most apps to be updated for the 6 Plus. I am about 50-50 with my apps, about half are updated, the other half are very ugly, but realize it takes time.

 

[evorc]

Fair point and interesting perspective. I just think the more popular apps should be updated by release. For example I don't expect the QXMD app to be updated but Spotify... They would have the resources I'd assume but maybe I'm wrong and what you've said applies.

Funny you mentioned. I was just thinking about Spotify this morning after updating to the latest. I’m surprised they are not updated yet lol. I guess we just need to be more patient. I would rather they do it right then rush it out with issues.

 

[D.T.]

Yeah, it's a mix of time, motivation, complexity.

For apps that are interfaces for doing business with a company (for example, a bank), they're mired down in bureaucratic nonsense, meetings to schedule meetings to discuss the allocation of resources - at the end of the day it's seen as an "inconvenience" for the user, it's not disruptive to their business.

For apps where the business _is_ the app, there will be way more motivation, small, agile shops put time into this in advance, went to WWDC, etc., or large companies that at least are concerned with new users, retention, companies of "the tech age", they at least _get_ why this needs to be done quickly (even if they're actual response is slow ...)

"DT, what about the apps you support? Are they updated?"

Well no, I am actually, just really lazy ...



😀

 

[sdwaltz]

Lol...Facebook STILL hasn't updated their app for the 12.9 iPad Pro and it's been two years.

 

[baller1308]

I remember when the change happened from 5 to 6 (or was it from 4 to 5) there were pretty fast updates. It’s now 2 months since the announcement yet most of my apps (nothing special) are not yet optimized. Thoughts?

There are still apps that haven't been optimized for the retina displays. It really depends on the developers and how willing they are to satisfy their iPhone x users.

 

[yanki01]

i remember the apps for the iPhone 6 taking a while to update. my Tivo and GHIN were never optimized for the iPhone 6.

 

[Shirasaki]

If some of you are seriously defending app developers for not being quick enough to optimize their apps for the new iphone X then it is clear you have no understanding of time based management roll outs of products or services, and if you do, shame on you for defending app developers.

Many of today's companies require us to carry out our daily business with them via the use of their official apps, banks, utility companies, phone companies, supermarkets, online betting, cinema ticket booking, plus many more but yet people cannot because the developers of these apps have not bothered to update them because the company involved has not instructed the developer to update the app.

Businesses have known for months that a new iphone was to be released and as such every business should have had a time based management plan in place to update their apps as soon as the phone is released. The fact it take months for these companies to get their app's updated shows how bad their focus is towards their customers.

If they expect their customers to use their apps then update the app within a reasonable time frame of the phone being released, not months later. Especially when you consider Apple are saying they've made it easier for app developers to update their apps for iphone X within a few hours.

Priority matters. They tend to serve the majority, not minority. All iPhone X users are minority of iPhone users up until maybe one year. As stated by so many people in this thread, it is bad for developers to support the user base that is not large enough, unless their targets are those customers.

Also, “timely manner” aside, we also have something called “cutoff time” which everything is sealed in a state for a period. Each company may have its own app update timetable and cutoff time. You, as a customer, cannot expect all app developers to update their own apps right from the get go. This is just unrealistic.
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Funny you mentioned. I was just thinking about Spotify this morning after updating to the latest. I’m surprised they are not updated yet lol. I guess we just need to be more patient. I would rather they do it right then rush it out with issues.

I just can’t help myself bragging iPhone ex is a rushed release. Well. Heaven save me.

Seriously though, I don’t use Spotify but iPhone ex user base is still not really large enough. And Spotify is not as wealthy as Apple Music I assume. Maybe this will factor the matter a bit.