Apple Starts the App War, Will Remove Outdated Titles from the Store

September 7 isn’t only the day when Apple is launching the new iPhone 7, but also when the company starts a thorough cleaning process that will have apps that don’t comply with updated guidelines removed completely.

Specifically, what Apple wants is for all apps to be functional and up to date, so a review team will evaluate all of them and remove the ones that do not follow the guidelines.

Absolutely all apps in all categories will get through this reviewing process, and Apple says that those that crash on launch will be removed immediately.

Developers will be notified via email that their apps need to be updated and will have 30 days to release an update before getting back in the store. Also, devs who need to make certain changes to their apps to comply with guidelines will have a month to implement them before they receive a removal notice too.

“To make it easier for customers to find great apps that fit their needs, we want to ensure that apps available on the App Store are functional and up-to-date. We are implementing an ongoing process of evaluating apps, removing apps that no longer function as intended, don’t follow current review guidelines, or are outdated,” Apple explains.

Installed apps will continue to work even if removed

Apple guarantees that app names will be saved, and existing customers will continue running installed apps even if they are removed from the store because developers can always release an update that could make their apps available for download once again.

Cupertino hasn’t mentioned how long it’s going to take to review all apps but expect the first removals to take place shortly after September 7 because there still are plenty of items that seem to be optimized for older versions of iOS.

Apple’s new iPhone will come with iOS 10 from the very beginning, and it’s critical to the company to have all apps updated for the new operating system version. Of course, the top titles in the store are already fully up to date, but there’s no doubt there’ll be a lot of apps going dark in the coming weeks.