Today “at midnight PT, Apple will begin issuing an alert box when you open a 32-bit app in MacOS 10.13.4,” Brian Heater writes for TechCrunch. “It’s a one-time (per app) alert, designed to help macOS make the full transition to 64-bit. At some unspecified time in the future, the operating system will end its support for 32-bit technology… meaning those apps that haven’t been updated just won’t work.”
“That time, mind you, is not tomorrow, but the company’s hoping that this messaging will help light a fire under users and developers to upgrade before that day comes,” Heater writes.
“It’s similar to the transition the company made on the mobile side with iOS 11. Of course, making the shift is a bit messier on the desktop,” Heater writes. “While Apple does have a MacOS App Store, plenty of desktop apps are still downloaded from other channels.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: June 2018 is more than generous for requiring 64-bit support in the Mac App Store.
Apple shipped the world’s first 64-bit personal computer over 14 years ago with the release of the Power Mac G5 on June 23, 2003. Apple unveiled the world’s first 64-bit smartphone (iPhone 5s) on September 10, 2013.
Last June, at WWDC 2017, Apple provided developers with the following notice:
64-bit Requirement for Mac Apps
At WWDC 2017, we announced new apps submitted to the Mac App Store must support 64-bit starting January 2018, and Mac app updates and existing apps must support 64-bit starting June 2018. If you distribute your apps outside the Mac App Store, we highly recommend distributing 64-bit binaries to make sure your users can continue to run your apps on future versions of macOS. macOS High Sierra will be the last macOS release to support 32-bit apps without compromise.
SEE ALSO:
Apple: High Sierra will be last macOS release to support 32-bit apps ‘without compromise’ – June 29, 2017