iOS update spells end for 32-bit apps

Apple’s latest iOS firmware update comes complete with a warning that certain games will need to be updated by their developers, or they’ll not work in the future. This update could be the anticipated iOS 11, which many expect will see Apple ceasing support for 32-bit apps altogether.

Several games could be affected, including FTL, Baldur’s Gate, Doom, Ridiculous Fishing and Super Crate Boy. It’s not uncommon for an iOS update to end up with several games and apps not working, but if 32-bit apps are no longer supported this update will impact a large number of titles.

When selecting a 32-bit app while using the most recent iOS update, which rolled out worldwide yesterday, you’ll see the following message: "This app will not work with future versions of iOS. The developer of this app needs to update it to improve its compatibility."

I personally got the message on my iPhoneSE, and we’ve confirmed it in the office on several other iPhones too. Apple has required 64-bit apps for submission ever since February 2015, and a change in policy in 2015 meant that each update had to be done in 64-bit too, meaning that the only games to be affected here are the ones that haven’t been updated in two years. That’s still plenty of classics, however.

A large number of older iDevices won’t be able to upgrade to iOS 11, and so the 32-bit apps will still work on those, and luckily it doesn’t seem like Apple are planning to remove 32-bit apps from the App Store just yet.