Over 187,000 iOS apps could stop working, survey reveals

A recent survey has revealed that the release of the iOS 11 could cripple over 187,000 apps on the App Store. According to App analytics firm Sensor Tower, the survey was conducted on the assumption that Apple’s next major iOS update could remove 32-bit support. This would mean that nearly 200,000 apps from the App Store would be rendered obsolete.

Specifically, Sensor Tower revealed that about 8% of all applications in the App Store would be affected by the possible removal of 32-bit support in iOS 11. This move could be possible, considering that a message recently appeared in the first beta version of iOS 10.3, warning that 32-bit apps “will not work with future versions of iOS”. Previously, Apple warned that 32-bit apps could slow down a device.

The number of apps affected by this move could be higher, reason being the study is based on apps that were submitted before September 2013 when iPhone 5s was launched and haven’t been updated since.

One of the first iOS devices to include a 64-bit processor was iPhone 5s, but Apple required new apps to offer 64-bit support much later in February 2015. A few months later in June, Apple required app updates to come with 64-bit support.

If Apple were to stop the 32-bit support, iOS 11 would be the best occasion. The new iOS version is expected to be revealed during the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, while the finished 10.3 update has yet to be rolled out.

Apple also recently started removing broken or outdated apps from the Store and Sensor Tower revealed that around 47,300 applications were removed only in October last year.

Apple’s iOS 10.3 update will bring several changes to the mobile OS, including the switch to a new filesystem, as well as the addition of a Find My AirPods app. It will feature an official Reviews API, to make it easier for users to rate apps and reduce their tendency to ask for ratings.