Trivial question I know, but I need to figure out this before I actually try it on iTunes Connect.
I have an application on the App Store, I would like that next version of the app is only available to users of iOS7 or greater.
I wonder if simply updating my app info.plist to support > iOS7 is enough to leave existing users running iOS6 with the latest version I released (1.9) before changing info.plist, and instead have iOS7 users prompted (or automatically updated) to the new 2.0 iOS7-only version?
Or maybe there is something else I have to specify under iTunes Connect?
I can't see anything actually there...
Yes, this is how it works. If you update your app's Deployment Target to iOS 7 then existing iOS 6 users will not be told of an update (and won't be able to update). iOS 7 users will be able to update.
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I think this is not required, at my personal experience only new iOS specific features in my application will require a new release, but a personal client is asking me to confirm this.
With every new XCode release, do I have to rebuild and publish my application in order to make it available at the AppStore of new iOS Release?
If there is any official documentation that proves this will be appreciated!
You do not need to re-publish. Apps remain in the App Store until the developer pulls it (or very rarely, Apple pulls it due to policy violations).
There is likely not any documentation that explicitly states this, but consider a scenario where somebody gets the new iPhone 13 and opts to restore it from iCloud. Data is pulled from iCloud, but apps are restored by re-installing them from the App Store. If apps disappeared from the App Store because they haven't been re-compiled, then anybody who upgraded their phone would discover that a large number of their apps had disappeared.
Anecdotally, my company has apps in the App Store that haven't seen a new submission in over 2 years (since iOS 12). Those apps are still in the store.
You can test your iOS app using the new Xcode 13 and if you got some bug using the new iOS SDK, you can fix it and submit a new version to App Store using the new Xcode.
Its prudent to test your apps on each new OS (preferably before the public release) but in most cases no new release is necessary. Over time you may want to update your app to take advantage of new features or to better support new devices. No app will never last forever but you will likely be able to go some time before having to update.
Is there a way to remove the iOS version of the app and just leave the tvOS version? We are reusing an app name, but the iOS version which is 3 years old is still there and we can't find a way to remove it. We also don't want to delete the app since we loose the name.
You wouldn't delete it anyway. You'd go to Pricing and Availability and "Remove from sale". This is per app though, not per platform. You'll need to contact Apple.
We released few versions of our app with universal support ( i.e. app is supported both on iPhone and iPad). Now with new version of our app (1.14) we want that this version should be available to iPad only. This means 1.14 should be available only on iPad and iPhone user may not able to install it. But when we change setting in Xcode from Universal to iPad only it gives error while uploading ipa to app store that if previous version of app supported iPhone then in updated version of app we cannot remove iPhone support. Now we are looking for solution to this problem. Please guide us what are way to over come this issue. Due to this issue we have to delay our app release so kindly give us possible suggestions as soon as possible.
There is no good way of doing what you want. Apple deliberately don't want you removing functionality for existing users.
Maybe the only way forward is to remove your current app from sale and submit a new, iPad-only version. You'll lose your reviews, sales rank, etc.
What exactly happens if you release a version of your app that removes support of an older version of iOS? (e.g. removing iOS 7 support)
Will users that already bought the app still be able to download the old version?
Will users on that iOS version still be able to discover and install the old version of my app?
I just managed to discover the answer to the question myself. I used an old iPhone 4 running iOS 7.1.1 and found an app that used to support iOS 7 but no longer does.
Yes, users that bought/installed the app in the past will be able to restore it by using the "Purchased" section from within the "Updates" tab of the "App Store" app.
No, users will be able to find the app, but actually won't be able to install it:
The app still appears when searching on the app store.
The app states "requires iOS 8 or newer".
The "Get" button is clickable, but they won't actually be able to install the app. Instead (after they've entered their password) they will be presented with an alert view explaining to them that they'll have to upgrade to iOS 8 (even though this is not actually possible on an iPhone 7)
Is there a way to send a user to the iPhone settings screen - the page where he can update the iOS version. Is this possible?
I want to notify users of old versions of my app the this version is no longer supported and that an iOS update is required to see new versions.
You can't send user to any other part of the settings screen other then your apps part.
As mentioned by madmik3 might/will actually reject your app because of this.
You might want to present the user with a alert telling them they should update there iOS version. But be aware that some device can not longer update and Apple will offer them an older version of you if you allowed it.
This version should then not give the message of be unavailable.