Apple today announced that it is extending several deadlines that will eventually require apps to be built on SDKs designed for the most recent iOS and watchOS updates and incorporate iOS 13 features.
Apple will not require developers to meet the below requirements until June 30, 2020.
- Apps for iPhone or iPad must be built with the iOS 13 SDK or later and use an Xcode storyboard to provide the app's launch screen.
- iPhone apps must support all iPhone screens and all iPad apps must support all iPad screens.
- Apps for Apple Watch must be built with the watchOS 6 SDK or later.
- Apps that authenticate or set up user accounts must support Sign in with Apple if required by guideline 4.8 of the App Store Review Guidelines.
- Apps in the Kids category must be in full compliance with guideline 1.3 and guideline 5.1.4. of the App Store Review Guidelines.
- Apps using HTML 5 must be in full compliance with guideline 4.7 sections 4, 5, and 6 of the App Store Review Guidelines.
Notably, apps will not be required to adopt Sign in with Apple or comply with new guidelines for apps designed for children until the end of June.
Apple says the deadlines are being extended to accommodate developers who may need additional time to update their apps on the App Store. Apple was previously requiring developers to meet these deadlines in April 2020.
Top Rated Comments
Not only do you have to pay an annual premium in addition to 30% of your profits, but you'd better keep investing in Apple's new hardware and software (no matter how crummy it is), otherwise you're cut off. How is this much different from sharecropping (which is only marginally better than slavery)?
And don't pigeonhole me as an Apple-hater. Apple's done a lot of good in their history, but their present track record of corporate greed (PR stunts notwithstanding) has got to stop.
Further, even those apps that have been taken down from sale are still available in your purchase history. I have apps I bought when the App Store opened in 2008 that are still there, some of which never got updated, and while many of them can't be downloaded to my iOS 13 device due to simple compatibility issues, they actually still download and work fine on my original iPhone that's of course still running "iOS" 3. For example, a couple of weeks ago I came across the original Missile Command for iPhone, which was so short-lived that most people have forgotten that Atari ever released an earlier one.
In short, Apple almost never removes an app from the App Store permanently unless it's actually violating App Store Review Guidelines or there's some kind of official take-down request (e.g. DMCA, Chinese government, etc). There are a handful that have disappeared from my purchase history for reasons like those, but they're few and far between (and even then, Apple doesn't throw its "kill switch" to take them off your device).
I think for most developers that ship already sailed a long time ago. Other than those that simply haven't been updated in years, I can't think of too many apps that still support even iOS 8, and even iOS 9 compatibility has gotten pretty rare. My mom had an iPhone 4S until recently, and she was always stuck with apps that were about three or four versions behind, although I'm sure those older versions will still continue to be available.
If I were a indie I think I'd be supporting only back to 12 right now, iPhone 6 has been quite popular so you want to have those customers.
Keeping compatibility can be a burden sometimes, so I don't blame devs who want to drop support as soon as possibile.