iPhone Backward Compatibility

Following up my recent post on Android Backward Compatibility, the same problem seems to strike back to iPhone developers now. As Ars Technica reports, many iPhone developers seems to struggle with Apple’s latest changes of the App Store review policy, forcing applications to both run on iPhone OS 2.2.1 as well as the upcoming iPhone OS 3.0:

Apple also disclosed that any application currently in App Store that did not run properly under 3.0 would be removed from the store.

Many developers have expressed concern over this move. Although Apple stated in the e-mail that “[e]xisting apps in the App Store should already run on iPhone OS 3.0 without modification,” some developers have told Ars that they’ve found otherwise. Apple has always stood behind its public APIs, guaranteeing that bug-free programs that ran under earlier firmware would continue to run in later releases. Developers worry, though, that solid 2.x applications may not run properly under 3.0, causing them to lose their place in App Store.

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This introduces a brand new puzzle into the iPhone development equation. Business plans that were predicated on getting applications ready for the 3.0 launch, whenever that should happen, must now start building 3.0 compatibility into their 2.x products. If a company wants to release a bug fix or offer any updated features over the next few months, they’ll need to task their engineers with a whole new development effort. There’s no way to keep programming for 2.x until 3.0 debuts.

This actually changes the situation a lot.