Apple has extended the life of legacy iPhone and iPod touch models by adding the ability to download older versions of apps from the App Store. The new feature gives users the option of downloading apps that are compatible with the version of iOS that's running on their device, instead of facing alerts that say the apps they want aren't compatible.
Old iPod touch? No problem. Now you can download compatible app versions.
Instead of hunting to try to find apps that are compatible with the version of iOS that's installed on your older iPhone or iPod touch, just find the apps you want and start the download. If it's compatible, it'll install as usual, but if it isn't -- and an older app version that is compatible is available -- you'll see an alert giving you the option of downloading the older version that will run.
News of the feature first appeared on Reddit, and we tested it on an iPod touch running iOS 4.2.1. For anyone that's tried to restore an old iPod touch only to find they couldn't redownload their apps, this will be a very welcome feature.