Air 2.7 - iPod 3rd not supported ?!?

[Luiz-BR]

1 - Air 2.7 - iPod 3rd not supported ?!?

2- Why^?

3 - anyone tested?

4 - does it work with flash cs 5.0?

5 - how do i install de sdk in flash cs 5.0 ?

THANKS!

[Colin Holgate]

This page:

http://www.adobe.com/products/air/systemreqs/

lists the iPod Touch 3rd gen, which I think is correct. The http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/906/cpsid_90612.html page doesn't list it, but I think that's a mistake.

There isn't currently an easy way to have AIR 2.7 in CS5, but you could take swfs made with CS5 and use the command line to do the packaging with AIR 2.7. There are many reasons to upgrade to CS5.5 though, so maybe that would be a good idea anyway.

[jtdodge87]

Hello,

I'm also concerned about a lack of support for older gen iOS devices.

I made an iOS app some time ago using Flash Packager for iPhone, which used to run great on my 2nd gen iPod Touch, as well as my iPhone 3G.

Today I tried recompiling the app using Air 2.7, seeing that performance has drastically improved since the days of Flash Packager.  But when I went to install it on my 2nd gen iPod Touch, I got the following error:

The app "MyAppName" was not installed on the iPod "My iPod Touch Name" because it is not compatible with this iPod.

Why is this? Is there any specific word from Adobe on the rational behind cutting support for older hardware?  I want my app to work on as many devices as possible!

[Colin Holgate]

I don't know if they have taken the time to explain why they dropped support for the older Arm chip. I don't think Apple explained why they dropped support for it either! For you, either keep CS5 around and use the old packager, and do the best you can with its abilities, or live with the fact that you have to drop support for the older devices, but enjoy the performance and new features.

[jtdodge87]

Thanks for the nice response, Colin.

I suppose that, in time, the install base of older hardware gets small enough that it's no longer worth supporting, which could explain Adobe's decision.

I might try putting out the new Air 2.7 version, and roll back to the Flash Packager one (in an "update") if I get a lot of complaints from users. 

Either way, I really appreciate the strides Adobe has made recently to support Flash / AS3 programmers who want to publish to mobile. Definitely saves me a lot of time, not having to learn new languages!

[Colin Holgate]

Alas, it won't be that simple. Apple don't let you remove devices from the list of supported ones for an app. If you tried to update an app that currently works on a 3G, but would not with the update, it will get rejected.

You could submit a new app, which is just the current one but made with AIR 2.7. If you enable it for Retina you could perhaps call it "HD", to make it seem like a new app. Unfortunately, it would mean that your old customers would have to pay again, so introduce it at a very low price.

[jtdodge87]

Hm, I really like the idea of an "HD" app.  I could explicitly state in the App description which devices are supported with HD (as in, it's not just for iPhone 4), and keep the old one in the App Store for legacy users. I'd need to upres my existing art assets, but that actually wouldn't take too long.

Thanks for the good idea!