My app is already available on App Store and there are users with older devices such as iPhone 4/4S and older iOS version (i.e iOS 7). But it seems that Xcode 8 only supports up to iOS 8. What would happen to those users with outdated devices and iOS versions installed if I build my app update with Xcode and send the update to iTunes? Are they simply not getting new updates?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iOS iOS app updates and unsupported devices
- Thread starter MacMan988
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Correct. If your app has an OS minimum of iOS 8 or 9 and a user has a device with iOS 7 they won't be able to install the new version. Of course they still keep the old version of your app and it should still work the same as always.
Apple recommends supporting the last two major versions. That would be iOS 10 and 9 currently. Most devices out there can update to the latest iOS version and the price is free. There are some devices of course that can only go to iOS 9. That was Apple's choice though, not yours or mine.
For many reasons it's difficult to support older OSes in new code.
Apple recommends supporting the last two major versions. That would be iOS 10 and 9 currently. Most devices out there can update to the latest iOS version and the price is free. There are some devices of course that can only go to iOS 9. That was Apple's choice though, not yours or mine.
For many reasons it's difficult to support older OSes in new code.
Xcode, including 8.x, allows you to manually set a lower target iOS version.
Select the project, select the General tab, select the Deployment Info section, select the Deployment Target, and type in the lowest iOS version that you want to target.
Keep in mind that you may be limited to what newer SDK features you can use. A big one is that Swift only supports iOS 7.0 and above. I found I required at least that extra trailing .0 to make a sample Swift project compile.
Select the project, select the General tab, select the Deployment Info section, select the Deployment Target, and type in the lowest iOS version that you want to target.
Keep in mind that you may be limited to what newer SDK features you can use. A big one is that Swift only supports iOS 7.0 and above. I found I required at least that extra trailing .0 to make a sample Swift project compile.