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Apple now prompts owners of early-gen iPhones to download legacy apps for older versions of iOS

Don't smash your 3GS yet

Apple now prompts owners of early-gen iPhones to download legacy apps for older versions of iOS
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iOS

It must be awful living in the past. Here at Pocket Gamer's sleek glass-fronted office complex in the sky, we're all super up to date.

All of our technology lives in the cloud, and I'm pretty sure the editor has an iPhone 4S.

But we can't all afford such ostentatious gadgets and gizmos, of course.

Well, it looks like Apple has the solution for you. And surprisingly it's not 'buy a new one'.

Live in the now

The App Store now supports legacy versions of apps, you see.

So, if you've got an iPhone 3G and the app you want has been upgraded past the OS you can legitimately install, you'll be able to grab the last version that was compatible with your device.

It's especially good news for 3GS users, whose phones are getting left behind in today's update to iOS 7. So, there's no need to stomp on your phone in anguished frustration - just use older versions of apps and you'll be fine.

Obviously, you won't be able to grab apps that were never designed to work on your creaking OS, but it's a nice touch all the same. This should mean users with jailbroken devices won't be quite as stuffed as they sometimes are after an iOS update.

The iPhone FAQ
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.