The iOS 11 32-Bit Appocalypse Isn’t Actually That Bad

Apple's leaving 32-bit apps behind with its latest iOS update, but you shouldn't feel a void.
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The latest version of your iPhone’s operating system comes with plenty of upgrades, and also a poop emoji that can frown when you do. But iOS 11 also thins the App Store herd, obsoleting older 32-bit apps with a single update. In other words, certain classics—like Flappy Bird—won’t work anymore.

That culling has left plenty of iPhone owners anxious. Apple intentionally breaking apps, some of which you paid genuine money for, creates both uneasy feelings and potential inconvenience. But it’s also an earnest attempt to improve the App Store experience, and the fallout isn’t as dramatic as you might think.

64-Bit or Bust

While iOS 11 leaves 32-bit apps behind, the move hasn’t taken developers by surprise. The company urged 64-bit compatibility starting in October 2014, giving them nearly three years to get up to speed. And while the upgrade takes a little more effort than just flipping a switch, it’s still a pretty straightforward process. (If any truant developers are reading this, here’s Apple’s documentation for making the jump.)

That developers have had nearly three years to get in line, and that doing so wasn’t particularly taxing, matters more than you might think in gauging why Apple’s banishing 32-bit boffins in the first place. Especially when you add in that the change doesn’t actually make a whit of difference in terms of how users experience the apps, and that there’s no significant technical reason for Apple to require it.

Instead, the mandatory overhaul acts as a mechanism to purge abandoned apps from the App Store en masse. If developers can’t be bothered to go 64-bit, they likely haven’t put much TLC into their software in general.

"Apple wants to get rid of dead apps," says Eliran Sapir, CEO of app analytics company Apptopia. "By forcing developers to update their apps or face removal, they are essentially able to weed out the dead apps which are no longer relevant and are clogging the store and ruining discovery for everyone else."

With more than three million iOS apps available for download, according to Apptopia’s database, solving that discovery problem has become a clear focus for Apple in iOS 11. The App Store got its biggest redesign in years this fall, including a dedicated, editorially curated “Today” tab that highlights its best offerings, and an enhanced search that now includes developers, in-app purchases, tips and tricks, and more in its results.

Torching 32-bit apps gives Apple an easy way to cut the worst of its chaff; Apptopia estimates that 14.3 percent of the App Store hasn’t embraced 64-bit as of this week, meaning iOS 11 will leave about 527,000 apps behind. There’s a chance that you might use a few of those regularly. But you can at least take some comfort in knowing that their loss makes it more likely that the next app you download has been reasonably maintained—and that whatever 32-bit apps you still have on your phone haven’t been.

What We Lose

In fairness, some genuinely fun and useful apps won’t make the cut. As Gizmodo points out, Flappy Bird is joined by the original Tetris and Midway Arcade (which included classics like Joust and Rampage) in that great big app dumpster in the sky. Longtime iOS users will feel the pinch the most, and they have every right to be aggrieved.

But in terms of what apps people actually download today, 32-bit offerings barely register. In fact, you can see for yourself; Apptopia has crunched the numbers on the most-downloaded and highest-grossing 32-bit apps from August.

August 2017 Worldwide Downloads

  1. VIEW Magazine
  2. Watches International
  3. Snowboard Racing Games Free
  4. GT Racing 2
  5. Saddle And Stirrups Magazine
  6. Al Jazeera English Magazine
  7. Fishing Kings Free+
  8. Batman:Arkham Origins
  9. Watch out Reflex Game
  10. YouTube Capture

August 2017 Worldwide Revenue

  1. Puzzle Bubble
  2. Oxford Handbook of ENT and Head and Neck Surgery, Second Edition
  3. Appisodio de Dora: La Gran Sorpresa de Perrito
  4. The King of the Fighters
  5. SpongeBob Bikini Bottom Sports
  6. Nick Jr. Draw & Play
  7. Dora's Great Big World!
  8. Drone Control - Remote Control your AR Drone
  9. Bubble Puppy: Play and Learn
  10. Perfect Penalty 2012

All apologies to the Nickelodeon fans out there, but nothing here seems truly indispensable. And if anything on that list does jump out, your best bet is to email the publisher and yell at them for not yet boarding the 64-bit train.

Obsolescence is never fun. But saying goodbye to 32-bit apps does more good than harm—and makes your next App Store download a safer bet.