Apple App Store appears to be widely removing "outdated" apps

[darknessblade]

Summary

Apple is wiping apps that haven’t been updated in a ‘significant amount of time’

 

Quotes

Quote

The Verge

 

Apple may be cracking down on apps that no longer receive updates. In a screenshotted email sent to affected developers, titled “App Improvement Notice,” Apple warns it will remove apps from the App Store that haven’t been “updated in a significant amount of time” and gives developers just 30 days to update them.

 

My thoughts

On 1 hand this is a good thing, that outdated apps with tons of "bugs" will be removed. but if you are a Game dev, that created the perfect game, without a single "Unintended" Bug. Then the new ruling is quite stupid, Like why would you update a app or game that works without ANY bugs at all. No matter if it is played on IOS 12 or IOS 15.4.1. This will be nothing but extra paperwork for apple, as they like to Verify every single app that gets a update from the devs, just to prevent the app from being removed, with the update not even having any extra content except changing 1 pixel on the title screen from #FF5531 to #FF5632.

 

Thus rejecting it because of some BS reason, Like LTT had with the Floatplane app, which had a bug that was fixed, but Apple Rejected the new update with the bugfix.

 

 

Sources

https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/23/23038870/apple-app-store-widely-remove-outdated-apps-developers?

https://9to5mac.com/2022/04/24/apple-now-removing-outdated-apps-from-the-app-store-developers-complain/

https://www.eurogamer.net/apple-says-apps-that-havent-been-updated-in-two-years-will-be-removed-from-sale

https://developer.apple.com/support/app-store-improvements/

[TetraSky]

I suppose this is good, since it forces devs to still work on your apps instead of leaving them abandoned.. Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if half of them just updated a single line of code that does nothing, just to say "we updated it". Unless of course the app really doesn't work anymore on newer versions on ios.

[darknessblade]

2 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

I suppose this is good, since it forces devs to still work on your apps instead of leaving them abandoned.. Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if half of them just updated a single line of code that does nothing, just to say "we updated it". Unless of course the app really doesn't work anymore on newer versions on ios.

Exactly, just see my color example. on the naked eye you barely can see ANY difference between said colors. as it is just a slight Hue change. that is only visible with a Hex code color analyzer, but for the naked eye you cannot see the difference.

[manikyath]

i suppose what this does is force devs to keep paying for dev tools, as opposed to set & forgetting a simple app with a single ad at the bottom, and then raking in cash.

 

on the flip side, i bet this will clear out A LOT of space on the app store servers.

[Arika]

59 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

I suppose this is good, since it forces devs to still work on your apps instead of leaving them abandoned.

depends on the app. some things don't need to be updated. i don't think my calculator app needs to really be updated.

[n2a newt]

It seems like all this will do is filter out apps that no longer have any form of developer support (or at least the ones that don't check their email lol).

 

If the requirements are only push out an update of any size then there are countless ways to insert trivial changes in the backend of the app, or let alone just push another app version number in the UI.

[n0stalghia]

1 hour ago, TetraSky said:

I suppose this is good, since it forces devs to still work on your apps instead of leaving them abandoned.. Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if half of them just updated a single line of code that does nothing, just to say "we updated it". Unless of course the app really doesn't work anymore on newer versions on ios.

That is good, though. They will update a single line of code and submit the app. If the app is not launching anymore, the update will get rejected. If the app is perfect and bug-free, it'll pass review and get submitted.

 

This will just cause everyone to check if their app still launches, and the ones that do not will get removed.

[GhostRoadieBL]

This seems to be a simple way to clear out old apps which are abandoned (tonnes of "free" apps are uploaded and abandoned)

 

The other potential is instead of scanning old apps for security fixes, M1 support (future iphones&current ipads) and policy compliance, it's easier putting that burden on developers to ensure that the software is properly maintained.

 

There will be a few games lost and a few abandoned apps but that also means that the leftovers have developers actively involved in their content, even if they change 1 line of code each year at least it's a contact point if there is a need for support or updates/patches.

[ebprince the computer nerd]

Now I can’t play Flappy Bird or Minecraft PE Lite anymore.

[hishnash]

This is not a new thing apple have been doing this every 3 to 4 months for the last 5 years. They do a purge, its just this time some of the devs are more upset than normal. 

 

[williamcll]

Won't be the first time ever since apple removed 32 bit support

 

Easy way is just be like valve and update your localization files.

[hishnash]

Its worth remembering that when the app is pulled from the store all this means is new users cant buy the app, people who have already purchased the app can find in in the my purchases section and download it again. 

This is about new users buying able to buy it and apple (and google do this as well) wanting the apps to be updated (and thus tested) on recent hardware.  Another solution for this would be if apple let devs put flags on there apps so that they could only be download by people on older os versions but on iOS since almost everyone updates this is basicly the same as pulling it from the store front. 

[Kisai]

On 4/25/2022 at 5:06 AM, manikyath said:

i suppose what this does is force devs to keep paying for dev tools, as opposed to set & forgetting a simple app with a single ad at the bottom, and then raking in cash.

 

on the flip side, i bet this will clear out A LOT of space on the app store servers.

Nah.

 

Most apps have no reason to be updated if the underlying libraries haven't changed, or the app is small enough that all you're doing is recompiling it with a new compiler. Which you know, this threat probably has more to do with apps on the Mac that aren't M1-compatible, than iOS which threaten any remaining apps that aren't 64-bit (like nearly every Unity game made on a version before 2017. In fact many developers of Unity games can not/will-not update to a newer version of Unity because Unity itself changes or depreciates functionality.)

 

Likewise things made with gamemaker or rpg maker mv/mz (which can both target "html5") where core functionality is broken if the underlying webview changes too much.

 

[manikyath]

41 minutes ago, Kisai said:

Nah.

 

Most apps have no reason to be updated if the underlying libraries haven't changed, or the app is small enough that all you're doing is recompiling it with a new compiler. Which you know, this threat probably has more to do with apps on the Mac that aren't M1-compatible, than iOS which threaten any remaining apps that aren't 64-bit (like nearly every Unity game made on a version before 2017. In fact many developers of Unity games can not/will-not update to a newer version of Unity because Unity itself changes or depreciates functionality.)

 

Likewise things made with gamemaker or rpg maker mv/mz (which can both target "html5") where core functionality is broken if the underlying webview changes too much.

 

none of what you said has any implication to what i said.

 

i'm saying i assume apple is doing this to force devs to keep paying for a dev license, and/or to clear space on their servers.

[Kisai]

1 hour ago, manikyath said:

none of what you said has any implication to what i said.

 

i'm saying i assume apple is doing this to force devs to keep paying for a dev license, and/or to clear space on their servers.

Because that's a tinfoil hat assumption that Apple cares about either of those. Which they do not. Apple has 30 million registered developers, not all of those are paying $100/yr.

https://www.apple.com/ca/newsroom/2021/08/apple-us-developers-agree-to-app-store-updates/

Quote

Already, Apple provides more than 30 million registered developers with all the tools, resources, and support they need to create and deliver software to over a billion customers around the world on Apple platforms.

Where as other data sources say that there are only around 500,000 active app developers.

 

As for "disk space", that's a non-issue for a company like Apple. Hell it's a non-issue for pretty much everyone except bulk hosting. It's not the space used that matters, it's the bandwidth. People are not downloading the software every time they launch it, so even then the bandwidth is a non-issue.

 

Ads in apps do not generate any reasonable level of revenue to be worth having, especially when it adds 100-200MB to the application's memory footprint just to display an ad via a webview. Most of the ads you see on things like Spotify can only be pushed because the application itself utilizes the webview, and the actual "functionality" is on spotify's servers, the application does not work without internet, or has limited functionality to what it's already downloaded. 

 

 

 

 

 

[manikyath]

50 minutes ago, Kisai said:

Because that's a tinfoil hat assumption that Apple cares about either of those. Which they do not. Apple has 30 million registered developers, not all of those are paying $100/yr.

apple cares about figures, if 10% of apps on the app store (and i take that as a LOW estimate..) are abandoned projects by inactive developers, that's 10% money they could save on app store storage costs.

 

its not about amounts, it's about percentages.

[Commodus]

59 minutes ago, manikyath said:

apple cares about figures, if 10% of apps on the app store (and i take that as a LOW estimate..) are abandoned projects by inactive developers, that's 10% money they could save on app store storage costs.

 

its not about amounts, it's about percentages.

Apple does watch its pennies, but I don't think storage is really the concern here. The handful of old apps that would get cut wouldn't significantly offset the growth in new or larger apps. Besides, if storage were that much of a concern, Apple wouldn't make it so easy to pass muster. Shuffling a line or two of code will only take a few minutes.

 

Occam's Razor likely applies here: Apple is doing this to both minimize gripes about outdated apps and to make sure the App Store selection reflects well on its products. So that you don't buy the latest iPhone and find out the app you want will never properly support it (like screen resolution changes or new hardware features). This helps sell hardware, and might help the App Store shine compared to Google Play (which still has a rep for allowing dodgier apps than Apple does).

[Tsar_Maple]

A lot of people are missing a couple of key things.

 

1) Apps already installed on your device will not be affected.

2) If an app is truly bug-free and doesn't need to be updated, then it can simply be recompiled for whatever the new SDK is.

[GamerDude]

IF this were being done on Android, there'd be a whole bunch of negative comments from Android users, even me IF I use the affected apps. But hey, since it's Apple, it has to be a good thing.....the iSheep philosophy at work here. Yes, I'm aware I'd be trolled or flamed for saying this, but it is what it is.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

44 minutes ago, GamerDude said:

IF this were being done on Android, there'd be a whole bunch of negative comments from Android users, even me IF I use the affected apps. But hey, since it's Apple, it has to be a good thing.....the iSheep philosophy at work here. Yes, I'm aware I'd be trolled or flamed for saying this, but it is what it is.

Well, there are a few things.

on android, there are a large number of people who are stuck on an older version because most phones only get 2 years of support.

on iOS, even there are several phones with 6 years

on android most old apps will still run on newer versions. On newer iOS versions, some apps just don’t work at all. They won’t install due to os incompatibilities.

 

while this is a bad move by apple, I assure you that this will affect a minimal number of people, otherwise apple wouldn’t do it.

[darknessblade]

5 hours ago, GamerDude said:

IF this were being done on Android, there'd be a whole bunch of negative comments from Android users, even me IF I use the affected apps. But hey, since it's Apple, it has to be a good thing.....the iSheep philosophy at work here. Yes, I'm aware I'd be trolled or flamed for saying this, but it is what it is.

Not really, if it is a popular app then I can sideload it with ease, even smaller ones are easy to find.

 

Have done this multiple times for apps that where removed, but worked better than any alternative, as I still had the APK file/app installed on my rooted android phone. so I just ported the APK without any AD support. and installed it on a newer phone, without ANY ISSUE

[suicidalfranco]

4 hours ago, Helpful Tech Wiard said:

Well, there are a few things.

on android, there are a large number of people who are stuck on an older version because most phones only get 2 years of support.

on iOS, even there are several phones with 6 years

on android most old apps will still run on newer versions. On newer iOS versions, some apps just don’t work at all. They won’t install due to os incompatibilities.

 

while this is a bad move by apple, I assure you that this will affect a minimal number of people, otherwise apple wouldn’t do it.

no. android simply doesnt lock new api to android version unlike apple

[hishnash]

2 hours ago, suicidalfranco said:

no. android simply doesnt lock new api to android version unlike apple

Depends on the api a LOT,  the lower level you go (more meaty and app) the more likly your going to hit an api that has been dropped or decayed to the point were its useless and full of bugs on a newer os version. apps that are pushing the hardware to its limits tend to notice this (like games) more than your food ordering app.

and Apple mostly keep deprecated apis around for quite a long time 5 to 7 years in the os. But what they do is if you want to use any new apis/new Xcode (as you are required to do to continue to ship updates after a time) then you tend to only be able to use apis depicted within the last 3 ish years.  As a develop that has worked in the industry this is in fact a very good move as it means all the third party packages we all depend on tend to be updated quite quickly as the people building these want to play with the new toys! compared this to packages you use in the windows dev space were many of them will use 20 years worth of different deprecated apis and no-one bothers to put in the effort to clean them up.. much be an utter hell scape for MS devs and QA as now they are in this position they just cant drop any of these apis even apis that were depricteat in the windows 95 days are not just used by old apps but also new apps your shipping today since that random third party utility for some reason opted to use that fileIO api rather than any of the other 3 different apis released since then that would have done the job just as well if not better. 

[mr moose]

Is this why my older ipad which is no longer supported by apple also can't download any of the apps it used to be able to run?  

[hishnash]

14 minutes ago, mr moose said:

Is this why my older ipad which is no longer supported by apple also can't download any of the apps it used to be able to run?  

nope, if you go to the purchases view in the App Store (not sure how to get there in the older os) you should be able to find these apps there and you should be able to download them the App Store will let you download the most recent version that was compatible with the os your running.  When apple says removing from the apps store what they mean is removing from sale to new user accounts. It is basicly impossible to remove and app from being accessible to someone who has already purchased it, even fortnight is still accessible to be downloaded by people who had already downloaded in the past.