Swift with iOS 5 deployment target

Question

What is the minimum deployment target for Xcode 6 and the new Swift language? Specifically, can I still support iOS 5.0?

I tried as well as I could, and it works in the 8.0 and 7.1 simulators as well as on my 7.1.1 device, but I don't have an iOS 5 device anymore. — Adam Fox, Jun 03 '14 at 04:25
You shouldn't attempt to support a version of iOS you can't test with. If you don't have an iOS 5 device or you can't install an iOS 5 simulator, don't support iOS 5. What's the point anyway? — rmaddy, Jun 03 '14 at 04:26
@LeeArmstrong: Apps submitted for the app store can still target iOS 4.3 — user102008, Jun 03 '14 at 19:13

score 72 · Accepted Answer · edited Nov 11 '16 at 15:48

72

edited Nov 11 '16 at 15:48

Dielson Sales

answered Jun 03 '14 at 04:34

Oscar Swanros

2

See http://stackoverflow.com/questions/24001778/do-swift-based-apps-work-on-os-x-10-9-ios-7-and-lower?rq=1 - it conflicts with this answer. – rmaddy Jun 03 '14 at 04:51
4

I test the Swift sample code in iPad4 iOS6.0, it works. – riven Jun 03 '14 at 09:12
So does app written is Swift work in iOS 6? It would be great, because there are so many users with iOS 6. – Stan Jun 03 '14 at 12:59
2

Remember that this is Beta 1. I'm sure support for < iOS 7 on compile time is going to be dropped in future Betas. – Oscar Swanros Jun 03 '14 at 14:16
@riven it may work But that's not safe http://stackoverflow.com/a/26408879/730807 and by the way the xcode also can target from iOS 7 only. – Durai Amuthan.H Oct 16 '14 at 16:37

score 21 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 03 '14 at 04:32

21

Swift is supported on devices running iOS 7 or later.

answered Jun 03 '14 at 04:32

Dave DeLong

Is it supported on devices below iOS 7? What about iOS 5? Or did you mean "is supported *only* on devices running iOS 7? – Jun 04 '14 at 19:13
No,it's compatible with iOS 6, it uses the same compiler and outputs the same binary – Vladimir Stazhilov Jun 06 '14 at 11:46
I understand that. But it's possible that Swift is supported on devices running iOS 7 or later *and* on devices running iOS and earlier, but you haven't said anything about the latter. – Jun 06 '14 at 14:36
2

It does not output the same binaries as it requires some Objective-C runtime additions that were added by Apple engineers only starting with iOS 7. – Rivera Jul 14 '14 at 10:21
@user334856 Interpreting Dave's statement using formal logic, yes, Dave is making no statement about whether any iOS version ≤6 is or isn't supported. However, in regular human language _(which Dave is using here)_, it can be implied that the context of Dave's statement is the entire range of iOS versions supporting Swift— so Dave's statement lists all the versions that _do_ support Swift, leaving all versions not listed as unsupported. Put another way, Dave is implying iOS versions ≤6 do not support Swift by not mentioning them. _Context is everything._ – Slipp D. Thompson Mar 11 '17 at 10:13

2 Answers2