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Apple nudges developers to make taller, Retina apps

A new rule requires developers' apps to work on the newest iPhones and iPods, as well as support higher pixel displays.

Josh Lowensohn Former Senior Writer
Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and now covers Apple. Before that, Josh wrote about everything from new Web start-ups, to remote-controlled robots that watch your house. Prior to joining CNET, Josh covered breaking video game news, as well as reviewing game software. His current console favorite is the Xbox 360.
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Apple's Retina Display on the third-generation iPad.
Apple's Retina Display on the third-generation iPad. Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Alongside its decree to have developers phase out a retired device-tracking technology in their apps, Apple yesterday also set down a rule that requires developers to support its latest devices.

In a notice on its developer site, Apple set a May 1 deadline that will require all new apps and app updates to support the Retina Display and taller, 4-inch display found on the iPhone 5 and latest iPod Touch.

Apple

These devices have only been out since September and October, though developers could continue to submit apps designed only for the older, 3.5-inch displays.

The move is the latest to push developers to focus on its latest devices. A similar rule in February 2012, just ahead of the third-generation iPad with its Retina Display, required any screenshots of apps that would be shown in the App Store to be high resolution.

Apple's iPad Mini remains the only iOS device Apple sells that does not have a so-called Retina Display. That's Apple's term for a display where it's impossible to discern individual pixels when used at a normal distance. The company has put such displays in most of its iOS products, and more recently its MacBook Pro notebooks.

(Via GottaBeMobile)