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I read on Engadget this morning that Apple is now letting users who can’t or won’t upgrade their version of iOS to download older versions of apps – versions that have been replaced. This is a real game-changer for app developers. Let’s talk about the implications.

First, it means that requiring support for newer versions of iOS is a lot easier to justify. If users can download older versions of your app to suit their needs, you can focus your attention on the latest-and-great iOS version.

A subtle implication here is that your app’s latest version is not necessarily always going to be the fastest-growing market segment. If your app is really popular with oldsters running iOS 4, then you might have a problem. If your backend web servers aren’t expecting API calls to be made from that version of your app anymore, then you’re not prepared to serve the appropriate responses. Uh oh.

What kind of irks me is that this announcement wasn’t made to developers at all – let alone at WWDC where it should have been made. It was just done. No announcement at all. It’s actions like this that make members of other developer communities weary of jumping on board the iOS bandwagon – it’s disrespectful.

All in all, I think that this is a positive move that will help developers make better applications, faster by removing “legacy” support earlier.