Apple Tells iPhone Devs to Carefully Specify Device Compatibility

In December 2009, Softpedia revealed how some applications’ descriptions didn’t include the necessary information regarding the respective supported devices. Moreover, apps that aren’t supported on a certain device for their main functions were still allowed to run on unsupported devices, wasting our time, and our patience. Apple now seems to be putting an end to this, advising developers to specify the devices their app runs on, by using the Info.plist File.

Via the News and Announcements section of its iPhone Dev Center, Apple is now telling developers that it’s polite to include all the necessary information customers are expecting to get when browsing the App Store. New rules have been set in place for developers whose applications use certain key features of a device model, such as the compass employed by the iPhone 3GS.

“The App Store requires that you provide metadata about your application before submitting it,” the latest App Store tip from Apple reads. “While most of this metadata is specified using the iPhone Developer Program Portal, the process for selecting device-related dependencies in iTunes Connect is no longer available,” the company reveals. “Instead, if your app relies on features that are specific to a device, such as the compass on iPhone 3GS, add the UIRequiredDeviceCapabilities key to your app's Info.plist file to indicate the specific hardware feature required.”

The Mac maker goes to mention that, “The UIRequiredDeviceCapabilities key in your app's Info.plist file tells iPhone OS that your app can only be launched on a device with specific features.” It is still unclear whether this means that apps like Bluetooth Photo Share, which don’t work to the benefit of the iPhone 2G user, will not be installed on the device altogether, as the user attempts to download it.

Apple adds that, “[The UIRequiredDeviceCapabilities] also provides the App Store with a list of device requirements so users don’t download applications that they cannot run.”