14 DAY TRIAL // Apple announced iOS 11 at WWDC earlier this month, and in addition to new features and app updates, the company is also making a big change in terms of supported architectures: starting with the new OS version, only 64-bit apps would be supported.
In other words, 32-bit apps that are already in the App Store will no longer work on iOS 11 and will eventually be removed completely until the developer ships an update – Apple has already started a major cleaning process in the App Store, and 32-bit apps are likely to be pulled too.
High Sierra, latest version to support 32-bit apps
In a blog post published today, Apple tells developers that updating apps to 64-bit support is mandatory for both macOS and iOS, and starting with the next updates coming in the fall, 32-bit apps would no longer work on the new versions.
“As a reminder, new iOS apps and updates submitted to the App Store must support 64-bit. Support for 32-bit apps is not available in iOS 11 and all 32-bit apps previously installed on a user’s device will not launch. If you haven’t updated your app on the App Store to support 64-bit, we recommend submitting an update so your users can continue to run your apps on iOS 11, which will be in the hands of hundreds of millions of customers this fall,” Apple explains.
In the case of macOS, the new High Sierra will be the last version to support 32-bit apps, but Apple’s paving the road for the complete transition to 64-bit by recommending developers to update apps as soon as possible.
As far as iOS is concerned, however, this new change shouldn’t cause too many problems to developers who are updating their apps regularly anyway. 64-bit app support became mandatory for apps published in Apple’s App Store in mid-2015, and this means that only applications that haven’t received an update in the last two years are very likely to be impacted by this decision.