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So Apple is forcing out 32bit apps...

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fyun89

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 3, 2014
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This means my iPad 3 is going to be completely useless. I bought it in 2012, and admittedly it is quite an old device in today's standards. However, the original battery in it still works for more than 9 hours (I only use this for extremely basic stuffs, so I only charge once a month).

Whatever I'm using it for, it is still working perfectly fine and I want to keep this device.

However, if Apple forces out 32 bit apps, this iPad will become completely useless. What do you guys think about this? Should Apple be doing this?? I understand that they want progress, but I dont want my devices to be completely useless because of it.

I actually think 5 year of service isn't even that long for $600 I've paid for.
 
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I do agree that it seems somewhat early for the iPad 3 to be discontinued with certain applications. However, it's likely a tactic for Apple to encourage those to upgrade their iPad where necessary.

Also, I think it's an infortunate part of technology and its day-to-day basis, is it's never guaranteed to be supported in the future.
 
2012 was a bad year to purchase an iPad.

If Apple does phaseout 32bit apps, this iPad only had 5-6 years of service AND it was succeeded by iPad 4 in just few months. It even had some performance issue due to it being the first Retina display sporting iPad.
 
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spook said:
You say what you are using it for it works perfectly fine so why would it suddenly stop working
Click to expand...

Apple is said to be removing 32bit apps from App Store this year with the launch of iOS 11. If I ever have to reset my iPad or if theres a problem with the app, I will not be able to reinstall them from App Store.

Also it concerns me that Apple is no longer updating security side of iOS9. Meaning my iPad is sitting duck waiting for vulnerability.
 
fyun89 said:
Apple is said to be removing 32bit apps from App Store this year with the launch of iOS 11. If I ever have to reset my iPad or if theres a problem with the app, I will not be able to reinstall them from App Store.

Also it concerns me that Apple is no longer updating security side of iOS9. Meaning my iPad is sitting duck waiting for vulnerability.
Click to expand...

Sync your iPad with your computer, make sure the apps are on your computer, don't update them on your computer. Reset iPad and sync them back over. You could also backup on your computer and then use things like ibackupbot to restore certain things.

+ 5 Years is incredibly long when you look at mobile devices. These aren't computers, they haven't improved 20% over five years, they've improved 700% over five. However the improvements are starting to slow. That device is extremely outdated because of the current fast pace evolution of mobile devices. Once they become more like computers (which they have - look at the iPad Air 2, thing still runs amazingly and probably will for a long time) and start evolving more slower they'll have a longer life.
 
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So your iPad and apps will magically stop working because Apple is cutting 32-bit support?

It will stop receiving updates and most likely work just fine. Unless you find a way to update your 32-bit apps to the 64-bit version. Then it WILL stop working.
 
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fyun89 said:
Apple is said to be removing 32bit apps from App Store this year with the launch of iOS 11. If I ever have to reset my iPad or if theres a problem with the app, I will not be able to reinstall them from App Store.

Also it concerns me that Apple is no longer updating security side of iOS9. Meaning my iPad is sitting duck waiting for vulnerability.
Click to expand...
There is nothing I read that says you will NOT be able to redownload your 32 bits to your iPad after Apple kills off 32 support. The only two things that will happen is that no one will be able to buy them or receive future updates.

As far as vulnerabilities go, most of those are to address jailbreaking. I own several iPads and Android devices and know of other such like owners and not once have any of us had our banking or credit card accounts hacked or compromised in any way. Stay away from dodgy websites, turn off JavaScript unless necessary, don't download dodgy apps or outside of Apples app store and you'll be fine.
 
I see it as a good thing. The underlying architecture is 64-bit so every time a 32-bit app runs, it has to emulate 32-bit. That's not the best thing for everyone else who has bought 64-bit devices over the past 4/5 years.

If you think the $600 is a lot to have to replace after 5 years consider the recommended replacement for laptops is 3 years and desktops 5. I'd say you got your use out of it. And if apps continue to work for you on your device, keep using it until you can't. No big deal. As for security updates, just be careful how you use it. And contrary to what another said, the security updates are not just for the prevention of jailbreaking.
 
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I don't think what Apple is doing is blocking 32bit apps, it is removing apps that are ONLY 32bit and offer no 64bit version - at least this is my understanding.

I do think iPads should be supported longer. Apple can claim that it is environmentally friendly but if it truly wanted to be so it would ensure that devices had the best support possible to maximise usable lifespan.
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OriginalAppleGuy said:
If you think the $600 is a lot to have to replace after 5 years consider the recommended replacement for laptops is 3 years and desktops 5
Click to expand...

By who's standards?

My 2008 Compaq laptop cost less than half what my iPad 2 did and it still runs the latest version of Windows and has full security patches.
 
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So I will not be able to download iOS 6-compatible apps anymore? Goodbye iPod Touch 5G with iOS 6 for apps then. I'll keep using it for music then.
 
OriginalAppleGuy said:
Enterprise standards. Technology moves fast. Parts fail. You may be able to keep a personal device longer as most people just do email and some web browsing. But that doesn't mean they should be supported forever.
Click to expand...

That should be judged by the owners of the product. My point is that the brand is "forcing" the phase out of the old products.
They can easily maintain old iOS apps for the sake of old device users.

And by your definition, I must change $2700 Macbook Pro + $600 iPad + $800 iPhone + $600 Apple Watch every 4 years?

That definitely does not seem fair to consumers in my opinion.
 
fyun89 said:
That should be judged by the owners of the product. My point is that the brand is "forcing" the phase out of the old products.
They can easily maintain old iOS apps for the sake of old device users.

And by your definition, I must change $2700 Macbook Pro + $600 iPad + $800 iPhone + $600 Apple Watch every 4 years?

That definitely does not seem fair to consumers in my opinion.
Click to expand...


Didn't Apple state a couple of years ago that their anticipated product life cycle was 3 years? I'm not saying I'm a fan either but I don't think that's entirely unreasonable. I tend to keep my products much longer than three years but at the same time I'm not a 'Pro' by the forum standards :rolleyes: either.

I have an iPhone 4s that's being used as a camera right now. I don't even know what iOS version it's running, but I suppose sooner or later the camrea software will be phased out too. For now though it's not going to suddenly stop working, it's just not going to get updates. I'm sure I'll still get another year or two out of it before the camera software provider (not Apple) forces the update.
 
W
fyun89 said:
That should be judged by the owners of the product. My point is that the brand is "forcing" the phase out of the old products.
They can easily maintain old iOS apps for the sake of old device users.

And by your definition, I must change $2700 Macbook Pro + $600 iPad + $800 iPhone + $600 Apple Watch every 4 years?

That definitely does not seem fair to consumers in my opinion.
Click to expand...


Welcome to the world of technology. You should really compare Apple to others. If you did, you would see they pretty much only support what they currently offer. You are lucky to have support for a year after purchase.

For the record, I still have and use a MBP late 2008 because it meets my purposes. I've also waited for Apple to sell a MBP I feel comfortable buying. Still waiting. There are things I'm not able to do with it but I have other products that meet the need.

You can do what you want. Even if that means keeping your stuff longer than 4 years. But that's a LONG time for silicone. To say "it's not fair to consumers" is not correct. In fact, reality is it's not fair to consumers who want to take advantage of the current technology they have in their hands.
 
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joeblow7777 said:
I'd say that 5 years is pretty good! Try to find an Android device that is supported for that long.
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In fact they are. I have an Android MP3 player with Kit-Kat and it's still supported. All app updates are via the Google Play Store.

Apple and Google offer pretty much the same support in terms of device support. They just go about it in different ways. Core apps on an iDevice are done via an iOS firmware update, Google supports and updates it's core apps via their Play Store and 3rd party apps are not as restrictive to an Android FW version.
 
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This is a non-issue, unless you expect to use the newest apps, which I assume you don't. Your iPad will not "become useless". It still does the same things it always does. Even if you need to re-download something that's fine; older versions of apps are generally still available and not physically deleted from Apple's servers. Don't get worked up over nothing.

--Eric
 
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OriginalAppleGuy said:
Enterprise standards. Technology moves fast. Parts fail. You may be able to keep a personal device longer as most people just do email and some web browsing. But that doesn't mean they should be supported forever.
Click to expand...

Who said 'enterprise standards'...whatever that means, applies to usage cases where the user is using their iPad at home and not the workplace?
 
sorcery said:
It will not be useless. Do not upgrade the IOS and stay with old apps. Some, like Kindle and Bloomberg, force upgrade. If these are important, it may be advisable to stay off the internet and use the device as a reader/ gamer. Unfortunate but it happens.
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That's easy. iOS 9.3.5 is the last firmware released for the iPad 3.

Ultimately, this seems a non-issue. Apple is forcing developers to include 64-bit versions of apps. They're not blocking 32-bit apps per se. They want apps to have both 32-bit and 64-bit versions instead of being 32-bit only. And they seem to have had that policy in place since June 2015.

I doubt Apple will remove older 32-bit only apps. They're just gonna require apps running on 64-bit devices to be 64-bit, too. Even now, I can still download apps for my iPad 4 running iOS 6 although most apps haven't been updated in forever. Heck, I believe even on iOS 4 and iOS 5, you can still download legacy versions of apps.

Really, this seems only a problem for people with 64-bit devices who use legacy 32-bit apps and run iOS 10.3.2 or later.
 
Last edited:
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fyun89 said:
This means my iPad 3 is going to be completely useless. I bought it in 2012, and admittedly it is quite an old device in today's standards. However, the original battery in it still works for more than 9 hours (I only use this for extremely basic stuffs, so I only charge once a month).

Whatever I'm using it for, it is still working perfectly fine and I want to keep this device.

However, if Apple forces out 32 bit apps, this iPad will become completely useless. What do you guys think about this? Should Apple be doing this?? I understand that they want progress, but I dont want my devices to be completely useless because of it.

I actually think 5 year of service isn't even that long for $600 I've paid for.
Click to expand...

Wait a second there are still 32-bit Apps have not used a. 32-bit device or software in 10 years +
 
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