Apple Gives App Developers until July to Update to iOS 11, Add iPhone X

Apple has sent out a note to developers of iOS apps stating that they need to quickly upgrade to iOS 11. The company is also adding a mandatory requirement for all apps on its App Store to be compatible with the iPhone X’s display.

The requirements are concerning any new apps that are submitted to Apple’s App Store. The company has not elaborated on any deadline for the current versions of the apps to support iOS 11 and iPhone X’s display.

Back in February, the company mandated that all new apps must support the same features, so this week’s announcement is adding a new requirement to existing apps.

Software Updates from Brokers

Brokers and technology providers which have not been actively updating their applications will need to rush to develop updated versions of their products. According to Apple, any new versions will need to take advantage of the extended software developer kit (SDK) of iOS 11.

The set of tools includes the Core ML, ARKit for augmented reality, new camera APIs, new SiriKit domains for the integration of Apple's voice assistant, drag and drop for iPad, and other features. In addition to the notch on the iPhone X, the resolution of the screen is bumped up to 1125 x 2436 pixels.

According to developers with knowledge of the matter, as long as the firms have been adhering to Apple's design guidelines, the transition is not very difficult or time-consuming. According to the engineers, the main challenge for them is adding support for the new almost-always-on-screen home indicator. With the introduction of iOS 11, a small thin bar on the screen is the main way to access multitasking and some other features.

Apple has been updating developers with a vast set of materials explaining how to add support for the new features with most popular apps on the App Store already supporting the new features.

Later in 2018, Apple is set to update its line up of iPhones and therefore increase the number of devices that have a screen shape which resembles that of the iPhone X.