Apple today sent out a notice to developers letting them know that starting in April of 2018, all new apps submitted to the App Store must be built using the iOS 11 SDK, which is included in Xcode 9 or later.

Furthermore, Apple says that all new apps designed for the iPhone, including universal apps, must support the iPhone X's Super Retina display.

ios 11 app store 5

Update your version of Xcode to the latest release of Xcode 9 available on the Mac App Store, which includes the iOS 11 SDK, and build your apps. Starting April 2018, all new iOS apps submitted to the App Store must be built with the iOS 11 SDK. All new apps for iPhone, including universal apps, must support the Super Retina display of iPhone X.

With this requirement, Apple is aiming to encourage developers to adopt key features introduced in iOS 11, like Core ML, ARKit, new camera APIs, expanded SiriKit domains, and more, plus the company is making sure future apps will be fully compatible with the display of the iPhone X.

Apple will, for the time being, allow apps built using earlier SDKs to continue to be updated without switching over to the iOS 11 SDK, but at some point in the future, Apple is likely to require developers to use the iOS 11 SDK for app updates as well.

April 1, 2018 is also when Apple plans to stop accepting updates to watchOS 1 apps. All updates submitted after that date must be built using the watchOS 2 SDK or later, and all newly submitted apps must be built with the watchOS 4 SDK or later.

Top Rated Comments

keysofanxiety Avatar
90 months ago
X compatibility should be required.
It is! Second sentence on the article. :)
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mariusignorello Avatar
90 months ago
What about apps like CVS Pharmacy, literally still to this day is an iPhone 4 app!!
Meh. They refuse to take Apple Pay too.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FelixDerKater Avatar
90 months ago
X compatibility should be required.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
magicschoolbus Avatar
90 months ago
Does this mean I'll have to put that virus ios11 on my phone?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sracer Avatar
90 months ago
With this requirement, Apple is aiming to encourage developers to adopt key features introduced in iOS 11, like Core ML, ARKit, new camera APIs, expanded SiriKit domains, and more, plus the company is making sure future apps will be fully compatible with the display of the iPhone X.
...and also ensuring that every customer who actively uses apps from the app store must upgrade their device to iOS 11. That's one way to improve the iOS 11 adoption rate. ;)
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TComm Avatar
90 months ago
The apps must be compliant with the bugs in iOS 11.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

carplay next gen hero

RIP, CarPlay 2?

Sunday December 29, 2024 7:32 am PST by
Apple's website continues to state that the first vehicle models with next-generation CarPlay will "arrive in 2024." With less than three days remaining in the year, however, that timeframe is looking more and more unlikely. It would not be entirely Apple's fault if the stated 2024 target is missed, given that it is ultimately up to automakers to roll out the software in vehicles, but it is...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

Five Apple Intelligence Features Coming in 2025

Friday December 27, 2024 2:43 pm PST by
Even though iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2 added multiple Apple Intelligence features like Image Playground, Genmoji, Writing Tools, and more, there are still new Apple Intelligence capabilities that we're waiting on. Apple has at least one more major Apple Intelligence update coming in 2025, and the functionality that we're expecting is outlined below. Priority Notifications Notification summaries...
apple tv plus teaser

Apple Teases Apple TV+ Surprise on January 4 and 5

Thursday December 26, 2024 10:35 am PST by
Apple this week began teasing some kind of upcoming Apple TV+ surprise that's set to happen on January 4 and January 5, telling customers to "stay tuned" and "save the date" in social media posts. Apple's images have a tagline that says "See for yourself," but it isn't clear what Apple has planned. Some users on Reddit have speculated that Apple might be planning to launch a promotion that...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

22 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 23, 2024 6:30 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
Sudoku Apple News iOS 18

iOS 18.2 Added a New Game to Your iPhone

Saturday December 28, 2024 12:03 pm PST by
Starting with iOS 18.2, released earlier this month, Apple News+ subscribers in the U.S. have access to daily sudoku puzzles in the Apple News app. There are easy, moderate, and challenging difficulty levels for the daily puzzles. A scoreboard tracks your sudoku stats, including your total number of puzzles solved, fastest completion times per difficulty level, and more. Sudoku is the...
AirTag and Lavender iPhone

AirTag 2 Launching Next Year With These New Features

Tuesday December 24, 2024 8:35 am PST by
Apple is expected to release an AirTag 2 next year, and a few new features and changes have already been rumored for the item tracker. Below, we recap what to expect from the AirTag 2: The new AirTag is expected to be equipped with Apple's second-generation Ultra Wideband chip for longer range. The chip debuted last year in the iPhone 15 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and Apple said it...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Sunday December 22, 2024 8:09 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cites a source within Apple. The report said that iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that is capable of running iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro ...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Expected Next Year: Here's What We Know

Monday December 23, 2024 4:18 am PST by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...