Apple has released a new tool to find out apps which will be rendered obsolete by the next major update to its iOS operating system. The tool has been provided in the OTA and standard update to all iPhone and iPad users with the latest iOS 10.3.
A recent survey revealed that the release of the iOS 11 could cripple over 187,000 apps on the App Store. According to App analytics firm Sensor Tower, the survey was conducted on the assumption that Apple’s next major iOS update could remove 32-bit support. This would mean that nearly 200,000 apps from the App Store would be rendered obsolete.
Specifically, Sensor Tower revealed that about 8% of all applications in the App Store would be affected by the possible removal of 32-bit support in iOS 11. Technically, any app which has not been updated since 2015 is likely to be rendered obsolete when iOS 11 steps in. The latest iOS 10.3 includes a menu item (Settings>General>About>Applications) will show a list of all apps that don’t run in 64-bit mode.
The iPhone 5S, launched in September 2013, was Apple’s first foray into the 64-bit mode and every app created since then has had the option of operating in 64-bit mode. However, since 2015, apps and updates have had to run in 64-bit mode to secure from Apple.
“The apps may slow down your iPhone and will not work with future version of iOS if they are not updated,” Apple has now warned its users. “If no update is available, contact the app developer for more information.”
For the majority of iPhone users, the items in the list, are likely to be older games, particularly those without a free-to-play business model. Developers of those particular apps have a little financial incentive to continue to work on them after their initial burst of sales, even though if they have a steady stream of downloads in the longer term.
For one thing, users who are still clinging on to the older versions of apps thanks to disliked updates will invariably find themselves locked out if they do not run software updates.
Apple has however, not yet confirmed officially that the iOS 11 will be the death blow to the 32-bit apps, but the update, expected in September, would be a proper time to pull the trigger. The company is likely to show off the first beta of the new operating system at this year’s World-Wide Developer’s Conference (WWDC), the biggest event in Apple’s annual calendar.
