Among the plethora of upcoming software updates Apple announced for its mobile and desktop platforms at the WWDC 2019 Keynote event on Monday was macOS 10.15 Catalina, which promises to make Mac computers significantly more potent with literally dozens of new features.
Apple’s upcoming Mac-centric software update sounds incredibly tempting at first glance, but jailbreakers may want to pay particular attention to the update’s fine print. As it would seem, macOS Catalina drops support for outdated 32-bit apps in favor of newer and faster 64-bit alternatives, and this includes Saurik’s vital Cydia Impactor tool.
A post shared to /r/jailbreak shortly after Apple released the first developer-only macOS 10.15 Catalina beta preview reveals how the macOS Catalina installer discriminates against Cydia Impactor. Similar findings were shared by others on Twitter, and as it would appear, this is a move against 32-bit apps altogether rather than Cydia Impactor itself.
Albeit disgruntling, this news is somewhat expected, as Apple has been making the push toward 64-bit apps for quite some time now. Previous versions of macOS would warn users that 32-bit apps would slow down their Mac, but it seems that macOS Catalina officially takes the controversial step of prohibiting their use.
We seriously doubt that this will have any negative impact on the jailbreak community, and we say that for two good reasons:
- Saurik could easily recompile Cydia Impactor for 64-bit machines.
- Jailbreak tools like Chimera, Electra, and unc0ver are readily available via signing services such as Ignition and TweakBox, which circumvent Cydia Impactor entirely.
Despite Saurik’s long rant in the not-so-distant past regarding his disinterest and inability to Cydia Substrate for A12(X) devices, he did note that he was excited about working on Cydia Impactor, which insinuates that we are likely to see another update for the app in the future that will address this concern.
For what it’s worth, Cydia Impactor isn’t used only for jailbreaking. It can be used to side-load virtually any .IPA file to your handset with a valid Apple ID. The app will be usable on that handset for a full week before it must be side-loaded again. Cydia Impactor isn’t required to do this, but the app makes the process significantly more comfortable for those who aren’t using Apple’s developer apps and tools.
What are your thoughts about Apple’s decision to end 32-bit app support on macOS Catalina? Share in the comments section below!