Apple showed off iOS 11 on Monday at its Worldwide Developer Conference keynote and the new operating system is loaded with features that’ll be great to try out when it ships this fall. One big under the hood change is that iOS 11 is 64-bit only, which means some iPhone and iPad models won’t be able to make the upgrade.
Dropping 32-bit support from iOS means the apps that display the “This app will not work with future versions of iOS” warning when they launch really won’t run any more. It also means iPhones and iPads that don’t have a 64-bit capable processor can’t make the move to iOS 11.
Apple introduced 64-bit computing to its mobile devices with the A7 processor, so your device needs at least that to support iOS 11. That means the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c, along with the fourth generation iPad, have dropped off the compatibility list.
If you’re rocking one of those devices it doesn’t mean it’ll stop working when iOS 11 ships. Instead, you just won’t be able to install the update and the 32-bit apps you’re still using will continue to work. You won’t get new system updates for iOS 10, either, although Apple will continue to release security updates for now.
iOS 11 is available as a beta for developers now, and a public beta is coming in July. The official release is coming this fall as a free update for the iPhone 5s and newer, iPad mini 2 and newer, 5th generation iPad, iPad Air, iPad Pro, and sixth generation iPod touch.
Help me understand how using a 5C with the App Store will work after 11. If an app is only 64bit, it won’t load, but will the App Store say “do you want to load an early version?” or maybe a new “Do you want to load the 32bit version?”