Is 64-bit a requirement for publishing to the iOS App Store?

iOS developers recently received an email from Apple stating that

Starting February 1st, new apps and app updates submitted to the App Store must be built with XCode 4 and iOS 7 SDK

The email included a link about building apps for iOS 7.

One of the item on this page, is about 64-bit compilation.

So the question is, should I deduce that 64-bit is now a REQUIREMENT, or is it still a recommendation?

Solution 1:

Apple just announced that starting 1. February 2015, apps have to support 64 bit. Source: https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=10202014a. So, it will then be a requirement.

Solution 2:

64-bit is a recommendation. Since not all devices run 64-bit, they must allow 32-bit apps on the App Store. Only when all devices run 64-bit can Apple enforce such a restriction, otherwise all new apps wouldn't work on older devices.