For different reasons, I'm thinking of making the next version of an app iOS 13 only. If current iOS 12 users will need an update later on, do you see a problem (other than making sure the app works on iOS 12) with adding back support for iOS 12?
Add back support for older iOS version?
If an update does not support the iOS on the device then that device will not be able to load that update and will continue to use the older version.
You can use this line in your code to handle older versions:
if (@available(iOS 13.0, *)){
// code only for iOS13 and later
}
Be careful...stranding existing users, in some examples, is not recommended. Only App Review knows if your case is ok. Perhaps you know, but configuring for it is as simple as matching the Deployment OS to base SDK as provided by Xcode.
My opinion is you can do that just via iOS version, where 12.x users would just not be able to update, but If you expect to support them later, I'd find a way to provide continuity now. It all depends on when 'later' is, and if those users are vocal about not having latest features, assuming they are not 13.x dependant, of course, so the details may lie in those 'different reasons' 😉
Hello cmj,
I agree with KMT that it might be a good idea to reach out to the App Review team and confirm that what you are looking to do is not going to run into any issues during the review process if you do indeed drop support for older versions of iOS and then try to re-enable it.
It is not the same, but I know that when you deploy an application for iPhone and iPad, the App Review team will reject your application if at a later point in time in a new version try to remove support for iPhone or iPad and only want to support one. Their response is to remove your current listing and create a new one. I know this is not the same scenerio, but Apple strives to have everyone on new versions of iOS so I would say it is better to be safe than sorry in the long run and reach out to them.
Hopefully this helps!
If their device does not support iOS 13, they will continue to use the older version and won't be able to upgrade. Will they also still be able to download the older version from the App Store if it is deleted from their device?