Consequences of dropping iOS 7 support for a live iOS app

Question

I have a couple of questions about an app that is currently compatible for iOS7 and above that I am looking to cut iOS 7 support for. I would like to know:

• What happens to our users that already have the app installed on their iOS 7 device? Will they just not be able to update the app or will it update and stop working for them? If so will they see an annoying red notification number above the App Store icon that they will not be able to get rid of?
• For new users what message will an iOS 7 user get when they try and download our app? Or will they just not see the app on the app store when they search for it?

Is the community cutting iOS 7 support yet? Apple says only 8% of App Store users have an operating system earlier than iOS 8 (https://developer.apple.com/support/app-store/) but I would like to know the general communities current thoughts on this.

Answer 1

Installed apps will still run, but not update.

As XCode 7 doesn't support iOS 7 simulators anymore, really testing for iOS 7 is getting increasingly difficult - and releasing a version that does not work correct for iOS 7 is worse than just letting people use their (still working) old version.

I would look at your own user base, some apps tend to have users with more older iOS versions than others. My apps have < 5% iOS 7, so I'll be dropping iOS 7 from now on.