14 DAY TRIAL // In a brief memo posted to its Developer portal this week, Apple reminds registrants that in less than two weeks, iOS 7 development will be obsolete. In order to sell an app on iTunes, programmers must employ the iOS 8 SDK. Furthermore, 64-bit support is also mandatory.
Since the debut of iOS 8 last year, Apple has issued this memo three times, with slightly different wording. This is the last time registrants are reminded that the iOS Developer Program no longer accepts software designed to work only on firmware versions lower than iOS 8.
iOS 8 and 64-bit are mandatory
Apple’s message states: “As a reminder, beginning February 1, 2015 new iOS apps submitted to the App Store must include 64-bit support and be built with the iOS 8 SDK. To enable 64-bit in your project, we recommend using the default Xcode build setting of ‘Standard architectures’ to build a single binary with both 32-bit and 64-bit code.”
These requirements shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. For one thing, work on iOS 9 is already underway. Secondly, 64-bit has been a standard in Apple’s A-series processors since 2013.
By implementing the Standard architectures setting, Apple also allows developers to keep supporting both 32-bit and 64-bit processors. iOS 7 and lower pieces of firmware are also allowed, so long as iOS 8 is natively supported. Non-iOS 8 apps currently selling in the App Store may be required to support the new firmware, or face extinction.