The development tool we use to build Sparkle, Xcode, is updated yearly by Apple, and at some point becomes required use. Supporting new macOS versions and new features in those will certainly require using the new Xcode.
We have now confirmed that Xcode 14, the new version that Apple introduced at the World Wide Developer Conference, is dropping support for macOS versions 10.9 through 10.12.
While we don’t want to disrupt our customers’ workflow, it will at some point become impractical for us to keep using older versions of Xcode.
When macOS Ventura ships, so sometime in October or November based on previous year releases, use of Xcode 14 will become mainstream, and even if we hold off a bit, switch to Xcode 14 will be required sometime in Spring 2023, again based on previous year releases.
What this means for Sparkle and Sparkle customers is that if you are running macOS prior to 10.13 you need to begin preparing for a macOS upgrade.
In consideration of:
- macOS 10.9-10.12 having trouble with certificates
- Sparkle having sub-optimal performance on 10.9-10.12
- in 2023 10.9-10.12 will be between 10 and 7 years old
- we strive to support a single version of Sparkle
when we do drop support, we do not plan to support Sparkle on those older macOS versions.