IPhone. When does an obsolete method usually become obsolete?

Question

I use some methods in some applications that are now marked as deprecated with iOS5. I would like to know when these updates become urgent.

So, usually when an obsolete method becomes obsolete? Is it likely that this will be with iOS 5.1? Or is it always with a major version such as iOS 6.0?

Answer 1

It depends and varies from method to method and property to property. If you look at something like

cell.textColor 

It has been deprecated since iOS 3.0 and can still be used. So, unfortunately, there is no concrete answer to the general thing that things are out of date.

Answer 2

As far as I know, not a single published API has actually been removed from iOS, but it has no reason to be complacent. There is no reason to continue to use obsolete methods if replacement is available in all versions of iOS that you need to support.

As for when they really will be removed, this is entirely an assumption. Stay tuned for new releases as they become available. I assume that they would only delete them in the main release, but there are no guarantees ...

Answer 3

For the most part, Apple prefers to maintain backward compatibility with older applications.

So, when they finally cut out something, it will be because maintaining it has become too expensive, or because maintaining it will add some new function is difficult or impossible. (And this reasoning may include reducing obsolete code due to the system becoming too large to fit into the device.)

The best reason for not using legacy methods is the application approval process. Apple may require new submissions to avoid legacy code long before that code is actually cut.