Updating Your App To Support IOS 12
Computers and mobile devices are becoming increasingly sophisticated. This allows – and is allowed by – their software becoming more sophisticated. There are two main operating systems for mobile devices, Android and iOS. Apple’s operating system, iOS, just updated to its 12th iteration.
We don’t yet know how many people have already updated, but an estimated 64% of Americans own an Apple device and there are some 1.3 Billion active Apple devices on the planet. What might this mean for your business? It may mean that your app needs to be updated. Updating apps can be expensive, but it can also mean that your app reaches far more people.
Why Did iOS Update to IOS 12?
iOS 12, as you might imagine, is the most advanced iOS yet. First announced this summer and released last month, the update changes a lot of basic features. This update follows iOS 11. iOS launched almost exactly one year before the launch of iOS 12.
After a new operating system is released, it is common for modifications to be made prior to the launch of a new operating system. Usually, these are meant to get rid of bugs. iOS 11 went through four of these minor upgrades before being replaced by iOS 12. iOS 12 has already had one minor update launched, with another currently in beta.
iOS 12 update
Fortunately for app developers, these minor updates don’t usually cause as much trouble as new versions of the operating system. To put it another way, if you designed an app for iOS 11, you probably need to update the app for iOS 12 and iOS 12.1, which was released earlier this month. However, you won’t need to update your app again for iOS 12.2, which is probably just around the corner.
These minor updates usually come out fastest just after a new operating system is launched as people uncover new problems with the upgrades. That means that you could try and wait out the minor updates. It wouldn’t be worth your time, however. As mentioned above, these minor updates don’t affect most apps the way that the new operating systems do. Plus, the longer you wait to upgrade your app, the closer you are to the release of iOS 13. It’s not worth worrying about that, however. If the trend keeps up, that’ll be a year away. Plus, we don’t know what that update will be like. Unless you have a good fortune teller, focus on iOS 12 for now.
What Did The IOS Update Do?
iOS 12 made a lot of big changes to previous versions of the operating system. Notifications changed. Augmented Reality features changed. The camera has been updated and what one can do with photos has changed. Messenger has changed. Some privacy and security features have also changed. If your business has an app on the app store that uses any of the features affected by the upgrade, your app may not work on phones with the new update.
But what are the odds that your app was affected? Nearly 30% of the 3.2 Million apps currently on the app store has issues with iOS 12.x updates.
Software updates are highly anticipated events in the tech world. Many Apple users have already upgraded their devices to iOS 12. Many older devices — those older than iPhone 5 – won’t run iOS 12 and new devices can be expensive. For these reasons, many Apple users have not yet updated. This gives you a limited window of opportunity to upgrade your app. Upgrading your app before users update their phones can be a huge benefit to your business.
How Does The Update Effect My App?
Depending on which device features your app uses, you might not need to update your app at all. For example, if your app uses augmented reality, you will probably need to upgrade it for the app to work on updated devices. If your app doesn’t use augmented reality, it might be safe unless it uses one of the other features updated by iOS 12. Like the camera. Or messenger. Or notifications…
There’s also a chance that if you don’t update your app, even if it uses features affected by the update, parts of your app will still work. Of course, it’s worth wondering how an app that is only partly functional will go over with your customers. Would they still use the app? How would a partially functioning app reflect your business?
Besides, you paid good money for your app when you developed it for the first time. It can be frustrating to need to pay extra money to update an app that was working perfectly well two months ago. That doesn’t change the fact in that time an update was launched that may affect your app. Paying to have your app updated is the only way to continue from benefiting from the investment you made in the app the first time.
The apps written in swift 2.x will work on iOS12. But, it is better to update the apps written in swift2.x. Swift 2.x will soon be deprecated and not supported. Swift 2.x has now been officially deprecated by Apple and does not compile with the latest version of X-code. So In order to make an update, we have to update the code base from swift 2.x to the latest version since we are using a newer version of X-code.
There’s also a bright side. Paying to upgrade your app to work on the new iOS will mean that your app works better than it worked on iOS 11. That’s what updates are for, after all. Just like having a partially functioning or non-functioning app reflects poorly on your company, having a well-functioning app reflects well on your company.
How Armia Systems Can Help.
The good news is that updating your app is fairly easy, provided you do not intend on adding any new features. Armia is offering a one-time only special rate to update your app to be compatible with iOS 12. For a fixed-rate fee of $750, Armia will update your app and submit the updated version to the App Store.
For larger and more complicated apps, this is a bargain. For smaller apps that use fewer features, there may be better deals out there. However, our fixed rate means that you don’t need to waste time and money getting a quote from another development company. We also save you time and stress by submitting the update for you.
We also guarantee that the app will function and will be accepted by the App Store. If there are any problems, we will fix them free of charge. Contact Armia for more details.
