[wrs]

This is just how iOS works. Sometimes you have to update your app. If it takes you a month, maybe you get a pass. If it’s been 162 days and you don’t even have a definite answer for whether you’re ever going to fix it, then you just shouldn’t be making apps.

[DarkmSparks]

This is the best advert for not buying an IOS device I've heard in a while....

never had any such problem on android, I still have working apps that target android 6...

[lm411]

Google is worse, in my opinion.

"Currently, existing apps (across mobile, Android Auto, Android TV) must target API level 31 or above by August 31, 2023 (target API 30 or up API level 33 for Wear OS). Otherwise, they will stop being discoverable to all Google Play users whose devices run Android OS versions newer than your app’s target API level"

https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answ...

It is now a yearly requirement to target the latest API version.

You might have "working apps that target Android 6" but no one with a phone built after 2017 can find them. I often run into incompatibilities between API versions.

[DarkmSparks]

Thats only new listings. And while old ones dont get listed for new installs.

They dont stop working if you installed them before the minimum requirements for new apps came into force, and you can still install them on new phones from the list of applications attached to your account.

[lm411]

Right.

But there have been changes in the Android API that have been non-backwards compatible and if your app is using those API's, they will break when run on newer versions. Same as for iOS.

Many simple apps targeting very old versions of their respective API/SDK will still work on both platforms.

Ultimately, keeping an app active and functional does require maintenance.

[DarkmSparks]

> keeping an app active and functional does require maintenance.

Only for _acquiring_ new customers on _very new_ devices.

Old customers on new devices are just fine.

https://developer.android.com/topic/libraries/support-librar...

Goes all the way back to Android 4.

[lelanthran]

> Otherwise, they will stop being discoverable to all Google Play users

Sounds like they still work though. GP's Android 6 application won't stop working, would it?

[Lammy]

Starting in Android 14 you will have to use ADB to install any APK targeting lower than API Level 23 (Android 6): https://developer.android.com/about/versions/14/behavior-cha...

Obviously expect that boundary to ratchet up with time, plus the single point of failure if they ever decide to remove `--bypass-low-target-sdk-block` from the dev tools.

[DarkmSparks]

android 6 runs on phones dating back to 2013.

Thats 10 years ago, and only 5 years after the very first iPhone (2007)

6 was a milestone, because it was the first to actually feature restricted app access to contacts/microphone/camera.

facebook, twitter, linkedin and a load of others (especially facebook games) got where they are from stealing everyones contacts via that method and then spamming them with adverts. TF those days are behind us.

[Lammy]

Justify your e-waste any way you want. I still use my old Kitkat phone offline for MP3+OBD in my car, and it still gets brand-new versions of the apps I like: https://krosbits.in/musicolet/