S supports 64-bit applications for several years now. Developers were even forced to do so, forced by the App Store. In iOS 10.1, currently in beta, Apple warns the user that an application, if it is in 32 bits, can slow down its device.
The push of the 64 bits originally dates from the arrival of the iPhone 5s, which was then the first device of the manufacturer to propose a suitable SoC. As of 2013, Apple therefore asked that the new binaries contain what was needed for both architectures, even if the obligation was not there yet.
Hail to the 64 bits
Things got tougher in the course of last year. On February 1, Apple imposed the 64-bit for any new app offered on the App Store. On June 1, it was the turn of all updates for existing applications, which in some cases required a significant amount of work. Apple did not ask that the code be fully optimized, which in many cases would have made no sense. The 64 bits does not cause a magic rise in performance in all areas.
But what happens to applications that have never been updated since the summer of 2015? They are still 32-bit, and Apple is now chasing them. During the beta of iOS 10, launching such an application warned that it was not optimized for iOS 10 and that it could affect overall performance.
This application "may slow down your iPhone"
In the current beta of iOS 10.1; A message appears, for example, at the launch of Peggle Classic. It says that the game "risks slowing down your iPhone" and that the "developer of this app needs to update it to improve compatibility". The game file in the App Store displays a message from the editor: the game is compatible with versions 5.1.1 to 7.1 of iOS. However, launching it on iOS 10 or 10.1 does not pose any particular problem. The warning is very vague, the user not really knowing what awaits him.
Why then give such a warning to the players? Undoubtedly so that they bring back queries with the publisher concerned. And "warning" comes at a convenient time, Apple having warned last month that a cleanup would start at the Apple Store.
Cleaning the App Store starts
On September 7, the firm began a process of analyzing all applications, to check if all the criteria are met. Among these is the 64 bits. Experienced developers have 30 days to submit an update, otherwise the application will be removed until a new version is submitted for approval. As the audit began just a month ago, the first withdrawals should start today.
Note that this strict 64-bit requirement and the removal of old 32-bit applications does not mean that the 32-bit itself will disappear. Developers who want to target older devices like the iPhone 5 have no choice: they must continue to offer universal binaries supporting both architectures.
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