Apple will begin rolling out iOS 11, the newest version of
its mobile operating system, on Tuesday to a range of iPhone and iPad models.
iOS 11 brings with it a host of new features and improvements such as a new
Dock for the iPad and support for augmented reality. But before you go ahead
with downloading the new software update - which will show up on your iPhone
and iPad in a few hours - you should take into consideration one big thing.
Many apps that you have installed on your iPhone and iPad
might stop working altogether as soon as you have updated your device to iOS
11. This is because iOS 11 supports 64-bit apps only. Over the months Apple has
given developers ample of time to update their apps, but there is a good chance
that not all of the apps on the App Store have been optimised for iOS 11.
From early this year, users started to see warnings when
they opened select apps such as popular title Flappy Bird that were designed
with 32-bit architecture. When a user tried opening any such 32-bit app, they
saw an error which said the developer of that particular app must update it to
improve compatibility with future version of iOS.
This might appear as a trivial issue to consumers like you
and me, but consider this: As of early this year, there were more than 180,000
32-bit apps that failed to match iOS 11's guidelines, according to app
analytics firm Sensor Tower. Some of these apps included Flappy Bird, YouTube Capture,
and iSpadez. Apple has already stopped showing these apps on the App Store when
a user searches for it, and it has been confirmed that customers won't be able
to restore these incompatible apps from the Purchased tab.
So before you hit the update button on your iPhone or iPad,
you should probably ensure that all the apps you rely on for music,
entertainment, travelling and work will continue to function once you have
updated your iPhone and iPad to iOS 11. You can check whether apps installed on
your iPhone or iPad will work with iOS 11 by performing the following steps.
Head over to Settings
> General > About > Applications on your iPhone or iPad.
Tap the Applications
section.
If there is any app that is incompatible with iOS 11, it
will appear when you tap the Applications section. If all the apps on your iOS
10-powered iPad or iPhone will work with iOS 11, tapping the Applications
section will not prompt any window or changes.
If there is any app - or more than one app - that you rely
on for work that won't be compatible with iOS 11, you should consider not
updating to iOS 11 for a few days. In the meantime, do check out the app
developer's website (you can find it through an app's App Store listing) and
their social media profiles on Twitter and Facebook to see whether they have
any plans to update their app. You can also consider reaching out to the
developer directly by emailing them or making a phone call, if they have shared
such contact information on their website. If the developer hasn't shared any
intention of updating their app to support iOS 11, perhaps you should start
looking for alternative apps that offer the same features.
In a brief test, we found several of popular apps in India
including Flipkart, Amazon India, Snapdeal, Fasos, Swiggy, Foodpanda, Zomato,
Saavn, and Gaana were compatible with iOS 11.
