Does it make any sense to develop for iPhone OS 3.0 instead of 3.2?

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Does it make any sense to develop for iPhone OS 3.0 instead of 3.2?

When it comes to backwards-compatibility, I want to stick to iPhone OS 3.0 so also some of the poor iPod Touch users who aren't rich enough for iPhones use my apps. But iPhone OS 3.2 has some pretty cool features that would be nice to have.

Problematic thing: Since it's just a minor upgrade, I can imagine most iPod Touch users who decided to upgrade to 3.0 probably never upgraded to 3.2. I'm not sure if Apple actually asked them to pay like 10 bucks for going from 3.0 to 3.2. However, if Apple did ask them for money, I'm sure like 90% of all iPod Touch users didn't upgrade.

So the big question is: IF you decide to go with iPhone OS 3.0, is it a stupid idea to stick to 3.2 just because of a few more features? Will this effectively kill half of your iPod Touch userbase?

+1 A:

3.2 isn't out yet (for people without the SDK) but the 3.1 upgrade for iPod Touch owners who paid for 3.0 is free, so it seems reasonable 3.2 will be free for them as well.

3.2 is what runs on the iPad currently.

Schnapple 2010-05-28 15:52:50

this does not really answer the general question

Tomen 2010-05-28 15:57:21

+1 A:

you can provide backwards compatibility by setting the "iPhone OS Deployment Target" property in the build settings to the minimal version that you like to support

keep in mind that you have to check the version at places in the source code where you like to use the new features and provide alternatives for older os versions

Tomen 2010-05-28 15:53:27

+1 A:

3.2 is only for iPad. iPod Touches and iPhones will jump strait to 4.0.

It's more a question of whether you need the features in 3.2 or want to target the iPad. If not then target 3.0/3.1.

You'd be surprised how many are still on the 2.x OS

ACBurk 2010-05-28 16:03:40

sure, I strongly believe like 90% of all iPod Touch users who got their device with 2.x still use 2.x. It's a shame for Apple charging money from them. Obviously, the iPod Touch users aren't the ones who have the big money - they should charge the iPhone folks, or even better: nobody, for these upgrades. So developers wouldn't have to think about sticking to old functionality.

dontWatchMyProfile 2010-05-28 16:11:25

I agree with the 'no charge for upgrades'. I just borrowed my sisters ipod touch to do some testing and she was still on 1.1.4. I can understand wanting to get value for an upgrade (it still requires work on their part after all), but, like you said, it just serves to fragment the install base.

ACBurk 2010-05-28 18:23:07

sure they deserve some kind of money for their work. but lets face it: they're making already so incredible much, that this is absolutely not needed. And: they probably have to thank the developers for that big success and income. because with no apps, no customers. It should be more like an infrastructure investment. Like companies also don't charge their employees for using the office.

dontWatchMyProfile 2010-05-30 11:54:37

ansaurus

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Does it make any sense to develop for iPhone OS 3.0 instead of 3.2?

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