14 DAY TRIAL // Only four days after publishing a warning on their developer news site that app slicing was unavailable for iOS 9 applications, Apple has launched Xcode 7.0.1, a bug fix release that repairs a number of app thinning issues.
According to Apple's developer library website, app thinning is the process of optimizing iOS and watchOS applications by making sure that the end-user always gets a version of the app specifically tailored for his device, with all other assets not pertaining to his device not being downloaded.
This makes it possible for higher download speeds and allows for more apps to be installed on the same device because of the overall reduction in disk space for each of the apps the user installs on his iOS or watchOS device.
Given that app slicing is one of the components of app thinning for iOS apps, next to bitcode and on-demand resources, it might be possible for developers to once again take advantage of the app slicing feature again to create and distribute multiple versions of their iOS 9 apps for multiple target devices.
Unfortunately, Apple doesn't say anything more regarding what actual bugs have been fixed; therefore, until we receive confirmation that the app slicing feature for iOS 9 is also back, we should just expect to download bigger versions of apps, containing assets for all devices that can run Apple's latest iOS release.
Xcode 7.0.1 might also provide a fix for some of the iTunes Connect issues
For some time now, iOS developers have been experiencing issues uploading their applications via the iTunes Connect portal, but after Apple released a revamped layout some developers reported that some of the problems were fixed.
Unfortunately, iTunes Connect's issues are back, with developers being unable to upload screenshots for their apps and with a number of apps reportedly stuck in processing again for more than 70 hours.
Hopefully, downloading and installing the new Xcode 7.0.1 release will also fix some of the bugs affecting the iOS app submission process, even though Apple has not yet issued any statement regarding their iTunes Connect portal's ongoing problems.