Apple recently announced that new apps and app updates must be built with Xcode 5 and optimized for iOS 7 starting February 1st, 2014.
What does this mean?
Well, even if your app was built and released on iOS 6 and currently looks fine running on iOS 7, your next app update will change all that. Building with Xcode 5 will now result in the app using the iOS 7 widgets when running on an iOS 7 device. Depending on how your app was built, this could dramatically impact its user interface. The changeover has had various levels of impact with our clients.
What should you be doing?
Build and test the application using the latest Xcode and iOS SDK. This means test it on devices too (both iOS 6 and 7 devices). Even if things look OK in interface builder, once you run it on the simulator and devices, things will start to look different.
Things to look for (just a sample):
- API changes, deprecations, etc.
- Differing control sizes and layouts (segmented controls, switches, progress views, etc.)
- Navigation bar size differences
- Edge-to-edge content (table views, content sliding under nav bars, etc.)
- Status bar colors and translucency
- Buttons
- Images and Icons
Be aware that there are numerous way to support both iOS 7 and previous iOS versions, whether it be through auto layout, offsets, or code. The best advice is to start planning as soon as possible.
If you need help, give us call.