iOS 11 Might No Longer Support 32-Bit Apps

Apple’s App Store has millions of apps , and now as the iOS 10.3 beta hints, some changes introduced into iOS 11 are likely to end support for non-64-bit apps. Additionally, in-app ratings and Find My AirPods feature seem to be on the way.

The devices running the iOS 10.3 beta are get warning message when trying to run 32-bit applications. The message pops up saying “This app will not work with future versions of iOS. The developer of this app needs to update it to improve its compatibility”. That means Apple will probably stop supporting 32-bit apps in iOS 11, which is the next generation for the mobile OS expected to release early this fall.

It is not surprise that Apple will drop support for 32-bit apps, and the day seems to be coming soon. Apple once warmed app developers in 2015 that all apps submitted to App Store must support 64-bit architecture. For the past years numerous non-64-bit apps are still running, though you will be informed that using 32-bit apps on a 64-bit device may affect system performance. Here are the previous prompt: “This app has not been updated to 64-bit. Using it may affect overall system performance”.

The system on a 64-bit device uses 64-bit versions of kernel, libraries and drives, so when a 32-bit app is running on that device, the system memory and resources are consumed as the separate 32-bit versions of system frameworks are also loaded.

Apple has worked out to remove bulks of outdated or incompatible apps for the past few months. If iOS 11 really ends support for non-64-bit apps as predicted, 32-bit app developers may be driven to re-code or convert apps to a 64-bit binary, except for outdated apps that cannot produce attractive profits (and they may vanish eventually).

Some classic apps like Ocarina or Ridiculous Fishing are 32-bit. What’s your favorite app that has not been updated to 64-bit? Let us know in the article comments.