Apple has started working on dropping support for 32-bit apps on iOS; the drastic change is expected to happen this fall when the company introduces iOS 11 operating system. This means that legacy apps will no longer work or function at all. According to prominent developer Steven Troughton-Smith, Apple is firm about the move, and it shouldn’t come too big of a surprise for developers or users.
With iOS 10.3 update, the company has already started alerting when they open 32-bit apps; The pop-up notification says that app must be updated by the developer or else it may not work with future versions of iOS. Apple’s 64-bit app support was started with the launch of the iPhone 5s in September of 2013 and later in 2015; Apple has asked developers to submit new apps with 64-bit support since February 2015.
Devs: I’m hearing very clearly iOS 11 won’t have 32bit app support at all. Update legacy apps now if you want them to survive past September
— Steve T-S (@stroughtonsmith) April 8, 2017
Not just iOS 11, future processors of Apple also won’t support 32-bit which could free up performance/die space for users and developers. The initial phase will alert developers ensure that their apps are updated before support ends completely. This move also comes from the fact that Apple’s plan to remove the apps that are dead or problematic apps from the App Store and focus on app quality over catalog quantity.
