Sure, there's "planned obsolescence" and there's "our new update, by its nature, makes older devices slower than they were and it's physically impossible to downgrade back, but hey updates are great!".
It's not that Apple is writing code that goes like "If (iPhone_age > 3 years) {low_performance_mode.activate};". It's that they're releasing new software that has more features, and therefore bogs down older devices. New features are great, but if your phone is so slow you can't even type on it anymore without waiting 1 second for each keystroke, and scrolling becomes choppy and a webpage takes 5 times longer to load than yesterday, then who cares about new features?
I think that the primary functions of a smartphone — such as typing, scrolling opening the default apps, loading webpages — should not become slower just because there are new emojis available, or that there's a new menu somewhere in preferences, or that there's a new version of ARkit available. The basic, everyday tasks that you *need* should have priority over the fancy new features that you didn't even know existed yesterday.
Also, how do they explain the active inability to downgrade back to the previous version of iOS? Why can't we do that? What if for whatever reason I preferred the previous version, why punish people and force them to use something they don't like?
I'd be happy to try out every new version of iOS, but I'm aware that one day, it will make my device slower than I'd like. At that point, I'll want to go back but can't. So as a precaution, I don't install them and have to read about it on forums and see what other people are experiencing. I should just be able to restore from a backup without any questions asked.
And then people will tell you to "just buy a new device" — why? If it worked perfectly fine yesterday, and should still work today had it not been for a bad software update, why discard the good hardware? There's a reason we're generating so much trash.
Also, let's say I don't have much money. I'd still rather buy an iPhone every 5 years, than buy an Android phone every 2 years. It comes out to the same price, and at least I have a phone that I like more. Apple should reward that and not punish it.
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Oh and let's also talk about hardware.
- Replace the battery? Nope. Buy a new one.
- Add more RAM? Nope, buy a new one. Oh, the new one costs twice as much as the previous one did.
- Something broke, out of warranty because you've been using it for a *whole year* (gasp)? Looks like it's time to buy a new one!
- Power adapter cable frayed? Buy a new one.
And this isn't just for phones, but for super expensive computers, like the iMac Pro or the MacBook Pro. You know, with "pro" in the name, meaning you're *meant* to be using them in a professional, money-making environment, where you'll be using the hell out of them.
