In a rather aggressive push for embracing its most visually divergent updates till date, Apple has now made it mandatory for developers to make apps and updates iOS 7 compliant. The deadline is February 1, after which only apps built with the latest version of Xcode 5 will be reviewed for approval.

"Starting February 1, new apps and app updates submitted to the App Store must be built with the latest version of Xcode 5 and must be optimized for iOS 7," reads the message in the post on Apple's developer's site. For more information about iOS 7's general aesthetic, readers can refer to "iOS Human Interface Guidelines" too.

The latest version of Xcode 5 is able to handle 64-bit processes. In addition, it also provides developers a slew of new APIs that includes the one that handles the backgrounding. It lets developers create interfaces that are more in-tune with the overall iOS 7 design aesthetics.

Three key themes that iOS 7 embodies are:

• Deference. The UI helps users understand and interact with the content, but never competes with it.
• Clarity. Text is legible at every size, icons are precise and lucid, adornments are subtle and appropriate, and a sharpened focus on functionality motivates the design.
• Depth. Visual layers and realistic motion impart vitality and heighten users' delight and understanding.

The move to make such a compulsion clearly states that Cupertino based company is aiming for a unified ecosystem that will also work flawlessly with its latest devices that sports the desktop class architecture.