Apple Makes A Move
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is a stock in many investors’ portfolios. One thing we have been adamant about in our coverage is Apple’s ability to protect its brand, and incorporate its newest technologies into future designs and iterations of its product. With the Apple iPhone X, a number of important changes were made to the technology. In this column, we discuss a change that is being mandated by Apple which suggests it is getting more aggressive in requiring developers to incorporate the newest technology. What this means is that Apple could indirectly be forcing consumers to update phones sooner, not only protecting its brand but boosting sales.
Starting April 1, 2018, Apple will require all new iPhone and universal apps to natively support the iPhone X Super Retina display, as well as requiring new iOS apps to be built with iOS 11 SDK or later and new Apple Watch apps to be built with the watchOS 4 SDK or later. Apple’s Developer Program notified developers about the new requirements in an email.
Apple’s push for Super Retina display support could be taken either as obvious or as suggestive of future development trends. The company has historically used similar developer requirements to guarantee support for larger iPhone screen sizes, so it’s no surprise that Apple will require developers to include higher-resolution Super Retina assets and notch-abiding UI layouts roughly six months after the iPhone X’s release.
On the other hand, some may take the requirement as a hint that more Super Retina devices — or similarly proportioned iPhones — are coming later this year.
In previous years, Apple mandated that new apps include 64-bit support after the release of iOS 8 and comply with a new “flat” visual style after the debut of iOS 7, heralding widespread changes across its devices.
But more than two years after its release, Apple has not imposed a similar screen support requirement for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which didn’t represent any major directional shift for iPads or other Apple products.
Apple’s new developer requirements differentiate between new apps and ones already in the App Store: Existing apps can continue to be built with some older versions of the iOS and watchOS SDKs, but Apple said today that it will stop accepting apps built with the watchOS 1 SDK on April 1. Roughly 65 percent of iOS devices are currently running iOS 11, 28 percent are on iOS 10, and 7 percent are on earlier versions of iOS; similar numbers are not available for watchOS.
The new requirements are designed to push all developers to more quickly adopt improvements found in the latest operating system releases. Apple has frequently cited security and other under-the-hood enhancements as reasons for customers to keep their devices up to date with the latest OS releases; a guarantee of continued compatibility with popular apps can also give users reasons to update.
Quad 7 Capital has been a leading contributor with various financial outlets since early 2012. If you like the material and want to see more, scroll to the top of the article and hit ...
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Yes it really is something. Nothing surprises us anymore with Apple. And not much users can do, other than vote with their dollars, yet so many are loyal to the brand
Interesting article @[Quad 7 Capital](user:61213), but I wonder... How much of this is #Apple trying to leverage its superior technology to really make their products shine? As opposed to simply being another way to force users to upgrade to their latest gadgets. If everyone using older devices suddenly have all their apps stop working, and the only way to get them to work is to upgrade, well then that reeks of desperation to me and could end up being the straw that finally breaks the famed loyalty of its users. $AAPL
Agreed. If I understand correctly, it does sound like apps will no longer work unless users upgrade to the latest specs. To me this stinks of Apple trying to pull a fast one again. I think its time I switched to Android.
As an #iPhone user I do not like the forced updates. However, this is part and parcel of #Apple's business model. It is a dynamic innovator in a cutting-edge industry where technologies are always emerging and improving. Apple has to be able to keep up and also to keep its existing users up-to-date with new trends. $AAPL
Sorry @[Abe Jouejati](user:32712), but you are buying into Apple's excuses. I and countless others had older iPad devices that worked JUST FINE until they forced them to process slower to produce a negative lag. There was no benefit for this - my battery life and processing speed was superb. The real reason for this was #Apple's slowing sales for it's devices. By crippling their older devices, they are increasing demand for new products. $AAPL
What #Apple should have done is find ways to make their new devices stand out. Differentiate them enough to entice people to upgrade. I think the company is losing it's innovative edge. Bearish on $AAPL