Apple on Wednesday reminded developers that an upcoming change in App Store policy will require all iOS apps to include IPv6-only Networking support.
Come June 1, all submissions to Apple’s App Store must be compatible with IPv6-only standards, the latest internet protocol version for hardware identification and network routing. The company first announced iOS 9 would be transitioning to IPv6-only network services at last year’s Worldwide Developers Conference.
The announcement, posted on Apple’s developer portal, says most apps will not require any changes because IPv6 is already supported by NSURLSession and CFNetwork APIs. However, any developers using hard-coded IP addresses, or IPv4 APIs will need to modify their code to comply. Apple needs to make sure all apps are ready in advance of the shift.
IPv6 is becoming widely accepted as a replacement for the older IPv4 addressing system, which is rapidly running out of address allotments, due to the proliferation of smartphones and other internet connected devices. The 128-bit addressing scheme is expected to replace IPv4 in the near future.
IPv6 uses a 128-bit address, theoretically allowing 2128, or approximately 3.4×1038addresses. The actual number is slightly smaller, as multiple ranges are reserved for special use or completely excluded from use. The total number of possible IPv6 address is more than 7.9×1028 times as many as IPv4, which uses 32-bit addresses and provides approximately 4.3 billion addresses.
Apple offers a set of tools developers can use to test for IPv6 compliance, available via its developer program. The company also pointed developers to a technical paper, detailing how to build in support for the protocol.
If your app uses IPv4-specific APIs or hard-coded IP addresses, you will need to make some changes. Learn how to ensure compatibility by reading Supporting IPv6 DNS64/NAT64 Networksand watch Your App and Next Generation Networks.
June 1st is also the cutoff date for another new requirement for apps submitted by developers, as all Apple Watch apps submitted to the App Store on or after that date, must be native apps created with the watchOS 2 SDK or later.
This years Worldwide Developers Conference is scheduled to take place June 13 – 17. The popular conference offers developers the opportunity to meet with Apple engineers and attend hand-on lab sessions, technical presentations, and more. Likely to be unveiled at the event are new versions of iOS, OS X, tvOS, and watchOS, showing off what developers can expect to develop for in the coming year.
