iTunes *could* be smarter re: App updates :(

[CubaMark]

Seriously.

I know this likely affects a diminishing number of users at the moment, but iOS 7 or 8 may make this an issue down the road...

I have a nice little Scrabble game on my iPod Touch. It's a great little time killer when I'm stuck somewhere waiting or can't sleep.

Problem: my iTunes is set to download & install updates to the apps as they are available - but since mine is a 1st-generation iPod Touch, it's limited to iOS 3.1.3. The new Scrabble update requires 4.0+.

I suspect it would not be terribly difficult to put in a little IF...THEN routine in iTunes to prevent users of older devices from updating apps beyond the device's capacity.

Now I'm wondering how to downgrade a single App...

Maybe it's Jailbreak time?

[raydar]

Hmmm... can you just disable iTunes auto-updates or updates altogether?

Not just because of your current issue, but also because it's a waste of space and bandwidth anyway. You most likely have plenty of apps/games in iTunes that you don't have on your iPod any more. If it's left to iTunes it will constantly keep everything updated whether your need/want them or not.

[Dr_AL]

I hate having the little number next to the apps with the number of updates that are available. Granted that's just me, but why not just have iTunes keep older copies of apps when an update looses support for an older iOS? How much room does an old copy of scrabble really take? That way a new device can have the new version installed while an older device can have the version that supports iOS 3.1.3. Best of both worlds, leave auto update on and keep support for older devices.


Sent from my iPhone

[raydar]

	Quote:			Originally Posted by Dr_AL
	I hate having the little number next to the apps with the number of updates that are available. Granted that's just me, but why not just have iTunes keep older copies of apps when an update looses support for an older iOS? How much room does an old copy of scrabble really take? That way a new device can have the new version installed while an older device can have the version that supports iOS 3.1.3. Best of both worlds, leave auto update on and keep support for older devices. Sent from my iPhone

Quite a bit of trouble actually.

Firstly, iTunes works with multiple devices. Maybe not in your particular case, but I have three devices that sync with iTunes. "versioning problem" now becomes losing "versioning and platform problem".

Secondly, apps could be quite large. I have apps on iPad like Art Expert which is 2.4GB. Imagine keeping a couple of copies of an app that size for backwards support as well as multi-device support.

Point is, it's "slightly" more complicated than an extra "if-else".

[WestWeb]

I don't think it would need to be that complicated.

My Pseudo Code:
if(app supports this devices version of iOS)
{
   then make update available for download
}
else
{
   update is not available for download
}

The device already knows which version of iOS it has on it, so the device itself wouldn't need to be considered really. Even if it is a whole heck of a lot more complicated than that(which I'm sure it is to some degree) it's not like Apple doesn't have the human resources to make it happen. It's a very common bit of functionality to see on the web, so from a technical perspective I really think they should already have this type of functionality built in to their ecosystem.

OTOH I've noticed a number of things in Apple's ecosystem, in recent years, that are geared towards pushing people to upgrade their hardware and software. Like Marks current situation: if he wants this app to run, Apple apparently thinks he should buy a newer iPod so the latest version of the app will run. They stand to lose out on profits if they didn't push you away from running older versions of the app on your old device. They are like any other corporation that made it big.