Survey: 95% of developers working to support iOS 7, over half will require it

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
App Store developers overwhelmingly see iOS 7 as important to support, with 95 percent saying they are actively updating their existing apps to support Apple's new software, and 52 percent likely to require iOS 7 in order to work.

iOS 7 developer intent
Source: Furbo.org


The findings are based on a survey of 575 iOS developers by Twitterrific developer Craig Hockenberry of The Iconfactory.

Hockenberry noted his own plans to Twitterrific, working with designer David Lanham. While he described the shipping version of the app as "feeling old and clunky," the results of overhauling the interface to reflect Apple's new design for iOS 7 are "stunning."

He added, "as you?d expect, it?s a lot more work than previous versions of iOS" for developers to both support and fit in with the new appearance of iOS 7.

Additionally, Hockenberry noted that "the depth and breadth of the changes in iOS 7 makes it difficult to support older versions of the OS," resulting in the just over half of those replying stating that their updates would require iOS 7 in order to work."Now?s the time to start thinking about upgrading. Many apps will require a device capable of running iOS 7" - Craig Hockenberry

"If you?re a consumer of apps, this is great news: it?s likely that your favorite apps will be ready for action come this fall," he stated.

"If you?re someone who has a device that?s a couple of years old, now?s the time to start thinking about upgrading. Many apps will require a device capable of running iOS 7."

Because most of the work required to feel native on iOS 7 relates to aspects of the user interface that need to be updated, games that portray their own interface full screen are among those least likely to need any significant updating, and therefore most likely to remain compatible with iOS 6.

94 percent adoption of iOS 6 suggests rapid transition to iOS 7

In early June, Apple began promoting the overwhelming proportion of iOS users on the most recent version of iOS, citing 93 percent adoption. That figure has since inched up another percentage point on Apple's site, although Apple hasn't updated its figures again since the end of June.

Apple aggressively pushed developers to support its latest hardware and technologies in iOS 6 last year, including the taller Retina Display introduced on iPhone 5 last year and new features in frameworks related to features such as Passbook, Maps, Game Kit, iCloud, video stabilization and face detection, as well as development features such as auto layout, collection views and state preservation.

iOS 7


This year, in addition to the new appearance, iOS 7 offers developers features including AirDrop and expanded sharing, new Multitasking support for background updates, Sprite Kit and new Game Center features, iBeacon support for Bluetooth LE, Inter-App Audio for streaming audio between music apps, new Map Kit features for navigation and overlays, high frame rate video capture, custom video composition and barcode scanning.

Apple plans to publicly release iOS 7 this fall, in conjunction with new iPhones and iPads, and as a free update to existing users dating back to 2010's iPhone 4 and 2011's iPad 2.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 77
    jpdlvmhjpdlvmh Posts: 72member


    That means : only just over 50% !   How disappointing.


    From what I have seen, and having used it on a spare iPHONE4, it is very clean and user friendly.  


    The new app to enable a phone to be locked properly - not possible to wipe & re-set without the additional security input only known to owner - it is absolutely great.   I would have thought that, since there's only about month to go, more devs would be having their apps ready to go on IOS7.

  • Reply 2 of 77
    blackbookblackbook Posts: 1,361member
    I'm excited for the fall!

    iOS 7 GM version is going to be a bombshell, and I know all of the quirks are being polished and worked out.

    This will probably be Apple's biggest fall/holiday season ever....
  • Reply 3 of 77
    patsupatsu Posts: 430member


    Xcellent !

  • Reply 4 of 77
    drblankdrblank Posts: 3,385member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by JPDLVMH View Post


    That means : only just over 50% !   How disappointing.


    From what I have seen, and having used it on a spare iPHONE4, it is very clean and user friendly.  


    The new app to enable a phone to be locked properly - not possible to wipe & re-set without the additional security input only known to owner - it is absolutely great.   I would have thought that, since there's only about month to go, more devs would be having their apps ready to go on IOS7.



    That's 50% will require iOS 7.  The rest of the apps won't require it.  I don't know if you read that properly.

  • Reply 5 of 77
    drblankdrblank Posts: 3,385member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by blackbook View Post



    I'm excited for the fall!



    iOS 7 GM version is going to be a bombshell, and I know all of the quirks are being polished and worked out.



    This will probably be Apple's biggest fall/holiday season ever....


    If they release a large screen iPhone, then it will definitely be a big holiday season, I hope they do, but I don't know if they will or not.  I still think it's going to be a good Holiday.

  • Reply 6 of 77
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by JPDLVMH View Post


    That means : only just over 50% !   How disappointing.


    ...



    Why are you complaining about only 52% requiring iOS7? This is a small sampling of developers and on one hand, 95% are adding support for iOS7, which means these apps will run once someone updates to iOS7. When asked if their apps require iOS7 to be installed, a little more than half said it would. This means their apps will still run on iOS6, which means pre-iPhone4 and pre-iPad2. There is a market for these devices and I'm glad there are developers still writing apps that will run on them. 


     


    glass half full or half empty????

  • Reply 7 of 77
    cyniccynic Posts: 124member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by drblank View Post


    If they release a large screen iPhone, then it will definitely be a big holiday season, I hope they do, but I don't know if they will or not.  I still think it's going to be a good Holiday.



     


    Naturally, I have no idea whether this will happen and whether this might or might not happen this year already, however judging from what is known about iOS 7 so far, there are quite a few indications that suggest more different screen sizes and resolutions opening up in the future, along with new technologies to encourage developers to cater for such cases.

  • Reply 8 of 77
    drblank wrote: »
    If they release a large screen iPhone, then it will definitely be a big holiday season, I hope they do, but I don't know if they will or not.  I still think it's going to be a good Holiday.
    Going to have to get McCain ask Tim Cook for a big iPhone for us
  • Reply 9 of 77
    tribalogicaltribalogical Posts: 1,182member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by JPDLVMH View Post


    That means : only just over 50% !   How disappointing.


    I would have thought that, since there's only about month to go, more devs would be having their apps ready to go on IOS7.



     


    I'm pretty sure you misunderstood the article. Look at the headline again. 


     


    NINETY FIVE PERCENT of developers are adding iOS 7 support. 95%, NOT 'just over 50%'.


     


    The 52% number is for those that will REQUIRE iOS 7 (meaning, iOS 7 will be a mandatory upgrade if you want to run those apps. Meaning, their apps will not run on anything less than iOS 7).


     


    Get it?

  • Reply 10 of 77
    Might have to replace the kids (my old) iPad 1...
  • Reply 11 of 77
    drblankdrblank Posts: 3,385member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Everett Ruess View Post





    Going to have to get McCain ask Tim Cook for a big iPhone for us


    I don't think McCain was the only person requesting the automatic updates because Apple had already decided to do it before McCain asked about it, but Cook couldn't say anything before the announcement date, but you could tell he already knew it was pre-planned.




    I can see an upside to having automatic downloads and having it updated manually.  if they set it so the user can choose, that might be OK too.  I haven't played with iOS 7, so I don't know if it's user selectable. Some may want to hold off on downloading an app at a particular time due to the app size and they might doing something else that requires internet access without being bogged down by an app update.

  • Reply 12 of 77
    solomansoloman Posts: 228member
    I'm pretty sure you misunderstood the article. Look at the headline again. 

    NINETY FIVE PERCENT of developers are adding iOS 7 support. 95%, NOT 'just over 50%'.

    The 52% number is for those that will REQUIRE iOS 7 (meaning, iOS 7 will be a mandatory upgrade if you want to run those apps. Meaning, their apps will not run on anything less than iOS 7).

    Get it?

    That what would mean a complete rewrite and many will charge again for their app.
  • Reply 13 of 77
    abazigalabazigal Posts: 114member


    Did they have a choice?

  • Reply 14 of 77
    I'm pretty sure you misunderstood the article. Look at the headline again. 

    NINETY FIVE PERCENT of developers are adding iOS 7 support. 95%, NOT 'just over 50%'.

    The 52% number is for those that will REQUIRE iOS 7 (meaning, iOS 7 will be a mandatory upgrade if you want to run those apps. Meaning, their apps will not run on anything less than iOS 7).

    Get it?
    Remind me what devices will be iOS 7 update-able?
    No fourth generation iTouches, anything else?
  • Reply 15 of 77
    solomansoloman Posts: 228member
    Remind me what devices will be iOS 7 update-able?
    No fourth generation iTouches, anything else?

    Full iOS 7 will only be supported by iPhone 5, iPod Touch 5th gen, iPad 4 gen, and iPad mini. So much for support of older devices and fragmentation.
  • Reply 16 of 77
    pt123pt123 Posts: 696member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by JPDLVMH View Post


    The new app to enable a phone to be locked properly - not possible to wipe & re-set without the additional security input only known to owner - it is absolutely great.



    Can the lock be overrided by putting the iPhone in DFU mode? Doesn't DFU bypass the OS?

  • Reply 17 of 77
    patsupatsu Posts: 430member
    soloman wrote: »


    Full iOS 7 will only be supported by iPhone 5, iPod Touch 5th gen, iPad 4 gen, and iPad mini. So much for support of older devices and fragmentation.

    Wrong ! It's also supported on even older iPhones and iPads.

    Yes, no fragmentation. :-)


    Apple take good care of their customers.

    EDIT: Now imagine the potential market of the new apps. Practically all of them, not just the newer models.
  • Reply 18 of 77

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Soloman View Post





    That what would mean a complete rewrite and many will charge again for their app.


    *cough* bullshit *cough*

  • Reply 19 of 77

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Soloman View Post









    Full iOS 7 will only be supported by iPhone 5, iPod Touch 5th gen, iPad 4 gen, and iPad mini. So much for support of older devices and fragmentation.


     


    iOS 7 will run on iPhone 4 and 4S as well as iPad 3rd gen. Some features of iOS7 may not function on the older products but that was true of iOS 6 when it came out too. 


     


    There is not another company on the planet that supports as old of phones and tablets with current updates as Apple. I am typing this on a 2006 vintage MBP so I certainly am not disadvantaged by Apple's forward progress. My iPhone and iPad are the latest models, but I don't expect to need to replace them next year or the year after that. 


     


    Quit your whining! Jeez!!!

  • Reply 20 of 77

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by abazigal View Post


    Did they have a choice?



    Of course. Half the apps won't need to be upgraded to run on iOS7. The other half will be upgraded in appearance or to add the new features of iOS7. 

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