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Apple has always treated their customers very, very well: especially if the customer buys their newest products.

This is only a feeling, and one example is when going to an Apple Store with iphone problem and employees suggesting that I can "always buy the new iPhone it's really cool."

I'm not knocking their approach.... But I would wager that Steve Jobs had this mindset: that if a customer buys his products, he treats them very well. And if they don't or they leave, then that person is "dead to him."

Old phones don't make Apple money, so why should they care? (And it certainly doesn't sound warm and fuzzy to lay bare this approach. hah. It sounds much better to spin/sell it the way that Apple does. It's a really good company for Consumerists)
It never in my experience happened. Not a single time. I never had a genius suggesting a new device when I was asking for support.
 



Benchmarking company Futuremark recently set out to debunk long-running speculation that Apple intentionally slows down older iPhones when it releases new software updates as a way to encourage its customers to buy new devices.

Starting in 2016, Futuremark collected over 100,000 benchmark results for seven different iPhone models across three versions of iOS, using that data to create performance comparison charts to determine whether there have been performance drops in iOS 9, iOS 10, and iOS 11.

The first device tested was the iPhone 5s, as it's the oldest device capable of running iOS 11. iPhone 5s, released in 2013, was the first iPhone to get a 64-bit A7 chip, and iOS 11 is limited to 64-bit devices. Futuremark used the 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme Graphics test and calculated all benchmark scores from the iPhone 5s across a given month to make its comparison.

iphone5sgpuperformance.jpg

The higher the bar, the better the performance, and based on the testing, GPU performance on the iPhone 5s has remained constant from iOS 9 to iOS 11 with just minor variations that Futuremark says "fall well within normal levels."

iPhone 5s CPU performance over time was measured using the 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme Physics test, and again, results were largely consistent.

iphone5scpuperformance.jpg

Charts for other devices, including the iPhone 6, 6s, and 7, show some mild dips and increases when it comes to GPU performance. In the iPhone 6 and 7, GPU performance is up compared to previous-generation versions of iOS.

cpugpuperformanceiphone67-800x821.jpg

CPU performance across those three devices has dropped slightly, something Futuremark attributes to "minor iOS updates or other factors." "A user would be unlikely to notice this small difference in everyday use," says the site. Based on its benchmarking comparisons, Futuremark claims "there are no signs of a conspiracy."Raw CPU and GPU power across devices does not offer a complete picture of performance on an older device that's updated to a new operating system, however, nor are benchmarks an accurate measure of real world performance. Apple may not be deliberately slowing down older devices with its software updates, as some have speculated, but there are other factors to take into account.

New features that eat up more system resources can make a device feel slower, as can more system intensive design elements and other tweaks and changes designed for newer devices that are more powerful.

Apple's operating system updates also introduce more advanced APIs and technology for its newest devices, leading to built-in and third-party apps that are aimed at more powerful devices and may not be optimized on older devices, resulting in an older device feeling more sluggish than a newer device following an iOS update.

Sometimes, there are also early bugs in the software that need to be worked out through additional updates. For example, we've seen complaints of app slowdowns and performance drops from users who have installed iOS 11, issues that may be resolved as Apple tweaks and updates the iOS 11 operating system.

Article Link: Apple Doesn't Deliberately Slow Down Older Devices According to Benchmark Analysis
Lots of words. I have one word for this “research”: irrelevant.
 
This is crap. I want head to head comparisons with video showing the slow down in actual performance with opening apps and using the phone with normal tasks.
Not some generated performance analysis.
My 7+ was super fast when I had ios10 for the last year. Ios11 it’s laggy. No way around this.
Is it ios11? It’s very noticeable
 
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Lauching messages takes 5 sec of white screen
Launchin phone to check messages takes 5 sec of white screen before the touchpad for dialing appears
This is with nothing running and the phone being unlocked to check messages orvmake call on iphone 6
Utter ****ing ********
 
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So we just forget how Apple crippled that iPhone 3G with iOS 4 update? Maybe they don’t do that anymore they found a way to just drain older iPhones battery, then immediately lock down the older version. My iPad mini is a slow as hell after iOS 9 update. Just accessing the music app is ridiculously slow.
 
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iOS 10 completely nerfed my iphone 5. It went from fine in 9 to nigh-unusable in 10. Got a 5S, everything went back to normal.

I'm scared 11 is going to nerf my 5S, though.
 
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Additionally, Apple doesn't simply announce a new major iOS update, they actively encourage you to install it, even though it's gonna snail your device.

That's why I have a little red 1 on my settings app and the occasional pop up saying "do it." They don't warn of the consequences.
 
The fact this is even a thing is laughable. Of course Apple isn't slowing down devices intentionally. As new devices come out they add software features that take advantage of the new devices power. These features may not run as well on older devices. Welcome to computing since...the beginning.
 
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The fact this is even a thing is laughable. Of course Apple isn't slowing down devices intentionally. As new devices come out they add software features that take advantage of the new devices power. These features may not run as well on older devices. Welcome to computing since...the beginning.
Fine, then they should either warn people of the probable consequences of upgrading and/or make it easier for people to remain on, or go back to, whatever version worked best for them.

EDIT: ...and/or limit devices to 2 - 3 upgrades.
 
Well its obvious that Apple can build a lite version of iOS that can run on older phones smoothly but of course they don't want to.

Then people would complain, they got just some “stupid lite version” and not a proper full one

People on Macrumour will ALWAYS find a reason to complain.

I read Macrumours mostly for my own entertainment from comments, more than for the actual posts :)
 
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Android users may have to wait longer for updates but when they do get them, the devices actually improve in performance. Android updates ensure that even the lowest denominator will have smoother performance with updates when they do come. The artificial slowdowns of iPhones/ipads has been going on for years and the GPU and CPU has always been so-called ahead of everyone else yet it doesn't stop the slowdowns and stutters.
 
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I've been wondering if flash memory fragmentation is an issue?
So, yes, CPU/GPU performance doesn't explain why my iPhone6 Plus is slower than a week in jail since I put 11 on it.
But it had been slowing down noticeably before I updated.
It makes me wonder if I was to erase and re-install from iCloud backup would I see any performance gains?
 
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Fine, then they should either warn people of the probable consequences of upgrading and/or make it easier for people to remain on, or go back to, whatever version worked best for them.

EDIT: ...and/or limit devices to 2 - 3 upgrades.

I would love if there would be a restore to the version the phone originally came with.

If you look and the GPU and CPU yearly increases, then 3 years old device is almost a relic :) and they always put new technologies to take advantage of the new hardware.
Older hardware cannot keep up.

With all honestly, slap a control center and a few newer features on iOS6 and I would take any day over any other iOS
 
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I don't care what anyone says. They slow these phones down. My iPhone 6+ is slow as hell now. It lags on everything. My wife 6s+ does just fine after the update. You need at least a 6+ to run the new OS.
 
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This story won't play well in the MacRumors.com community--it completely invalidates all the conspiracy theories and complaining.
Doesn't invalidate anything, or really say anything other than that the hardware itself hasn't gotten slower. The theory is that they intentionally make the newer OSs take more resources. It's pretty obvious that the new OSs take more resources, and this doesn't test that. IDK if Apple does it on purpose, nor do I care, so I'm not going to point fingers.
 
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Google is way more guilty of pushing heavier and heavier software (on their websites), and they're actually disincentivized from doing that. I'll bet it's just getting slower because they're adding more features, and maybe their quality is slipping. Doubt it's intentional.
 
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