NICEVILLE, Fla. — If you’re still getting good use out of an older iPhone, you might have noticed that some newer apps are no longer compatible with your device. This week in It’s Geek to Me, Jeff Werner explains why Apple’s latest requirements are leaving older iPhones behind — and what it means for users trying to keep up without upgrading.
QUESTION:
Is it possible for an app developer to downgrade an app that requires iOS 16 or above? Does Apple require all new apps to be only compatible with iOS 16 or higher? I’m using an older model iPhone 7 Plus that works perfectly well, except that my iPhone’s compatibility stops at iOS 15.8.3.
– Ronnie C.
Austin, Texas
ANSWER:
Greetings, Ronnie! I’m very happy to see that I still have readers over in the great state of Texas! Nice to hear from you.
I’m afraid that you’re probably not going to like my answer to your question, but in the interest of providing useful information, I’m going to do my best to answer it. Except I’m going to change it around a little, since what you’re asking is not possible.
I believe what you mean to ask is, “Is it possible for an app developer to change the requirements of an app so that it doesn’t require iOS 16 or higher?” or maybe even, “Why does an app that was working perfectly fine suddenly quit working after an iOS update?” Let’s take it from here, along with the rest of your question.
First of all, yes, Apple does require new apps to be compatible with the latest iOS. But it’s a little more complicated than that, and the precepts are rooted in security, and Apple’s desire to not have to continue to support every version of iOS ever released in perpetuity.
The primary tool that developers use to create iPhone apps is called Xcode. It is a free integrated development environment, or IDE specially made for developing software for iOS, iPadOS, MacOS, and other, more obscure Apple environments.
There is another component called the Software Developer’s Kit, or SDK. A version of the SDK appropriate for the version of Xcode must be used for everything to work together. When Apple updates iOS, they update the SDK along with it.
As previously said, Apple requires new apps to be compatible with the latest iOS. To accomplish that, Apple requires new apps to be written using the latest version of Xcode and the SDK for the latest iOS.
Having said all of that, app developers can choose to support older iOS versions – to a point. This decision must be made carefully since the minimum iOS version that an app can target has a significant impact on the features of iOS that it can utilize. Because of that, Apple places some restrictions that prevent app vendors from supporting versions that go back too far.
For example, apps submitted for consideration to the Apple store after April 2023 must be built with Xcode 14.1 and the SDK for iOS 16.1.
So, you may be wondering why then, does Apple stop allowing hardware to be updated to the latest iOS? It may seem like this is all a big ploy to force you to regularly re-purchase new hardware to replace your aging but still serviceable stuff.
If they would just support their newest iOS version, the problem of having the latest stuff would seem to solve itself. Well, there are several reasons for that.
First, the older hardware might not have enough computing power to run the latest release. Imagine how angry you’d be if you upgraded to stay compatible, only to find your phone running so slow as to be virtually unusable. Second, it’s possible some of the new iOS features require hardware that’s not present in the older model phones. Third and finally, maybe they really are trying to force you to buy new stuff.
I am not in a position to confirm or deny that last one, but speaking strictly as a very experienced Geek, a very experienced software developer, and someone who has been working with cybersecurity issues for a long time, I can tell you that there are constantly new threats emerging that you never even hear about and that not all the changes Apple (or Microsoft for that matter) make to their operating system are about bringing you cool new features.
A good portion of the changes – arguably the lion’s share of them – are designed to patch security holes, to prevent your neighborhood Internet bad guy from stealing your data, which leads to stealing your identity or your money.
To view additional content, comment on articles, or submit a question, visit my website at ItsGeekToMe.co (not .com!)
Jeff Werner, a software engineer based in Niceville, Florida, has been writing his popular “It’s Geek to Me” tech column since 2007. He shares his expertise to help readers solve everyday tech challenges.
