When iOS 10.3 finally is rolled out to the masses, app compatibility problems will be a thing of the past. Apple is adding a feature that will make it easier to tell which apps on your device are outdated and which will no longer work when iOS 11 is rolled out.
App compatibility will be important for iOS 11
The timing of this feature is apt because we’re hearing that iOS 11 will no longer support 32-bit apps. It means Apple is moving entirely into the 64-bit world, and developers that don’t comply by updating their apps from 32-bit to 64-bit will find themselves left behind.
Because of how often mobile operating systems are updated these days, app developers need to stay on top of things to keep their apps from becoming obsolete. However, not all of them do, which means you may have found problems with an app already installed on your phone. Simply put, when your phone is updated to the newest version of iOS, extremely outdated apps might start acting strangely because their developers never updated them to work with the next version.
How App Compatibility will work on iOS 10.3
So wWith iOS 10.3, you’ll get a much clearer picture of which apps will still work with iOS 11 and which won’t with a new feature called App Compatibility. It’s found in the Settings by tapping General, and then About, and then Applications, reports Redmond Pie.
Tapping on the feature will show you a list of apps that are outdated and might slow down your device. The feature also warns that these apps won’t work with future versions of iOS without an update. Tapping on each of the apps in the list will check for updates, and if there is one, it will prompt you to download it. If there is no update or if the app is no longer available in the App Store, it tells you to contact the developer.
That bit about not working with future iOS versions seems like a major hint that iOS 11 will no longer support 32-bit apps because the apps that are being flagged this way are probably still only 32-bit. Apple hasn’t confirmed that it will end support for 32-bit apps with iOS 11, but most are seeing this as a guarantee.
Seventh beta for iOS 10.3 rolls out
The App Compatibility feature was added in the third beta of iOS 10.3, but today, Apple made the seventh beta of iOS 10.3 available to developers for testing, reports 9to5 Mac. The company is clearly moving fast with this version as we’re already on the seventh beta when the fourth one was pushed out less than three weeks ago.
The newest beta includes support for Find My AirPods, improvements to CarPlay, the new filesystem, Wi-Fi Calling for Connected devices for Verizon subscribers, and more. Other additions to iOS 10.3 beta seven include Siri support for International Cricket Council and Indian Premier League games, a new Podcasts app, a 3D Touch forecast in the Maps weather data, and a more prominent security section in the Settings app.
