User backlash? Pffft! They’ll get over it. Depending on individual usage many users of old iPhones don't need or want new features anyway. I’m still using my late 2013 iMac 14,2 running Catalina and it does what I need it to. I don't feel like Apple is trying to ‘force’ me to upgrade. Whiners gonna whine.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Faces User Backlash After Dropping Support for iPhone 7 From iOS 16
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Macs are completely different as the software distribution channel is not locked down and support of old OSes is exceptionally common
Really not a comparison that's relevant vs iOS/iPadOS devices
Please don't devolve to commentary like this
It's really just inflammatory
You pay for the hardware of the device as it is, you are not guaranteed any specific amount of software support to follow, however.
Love how some people here act as if come iOS 16 their devices will simply cut off and no longer be usable.
Love how some people here act as if come iOS 16 their devices will simply cut off and no longer be usable.
The app support cut off that comes after changes like this is the main issue
It's been addressed many times in this thread
Sorry, but no. The lock screen is privileged functionality in the iOS. Leaving out the lock screen changes from one device’s release means a lot more potential for random bugs and instability to pop up. Plus, it would be a lot like creating a whole separate fork of the windowing system and home screen just for one phone (a six year old phone, at that). It’s not really a feature you can just disable because of where the lock screen sits in the iOS privilege hierarchy. It’s not like Apple disabling AirDrop on hardware that couldn’t support it.
Your question has been directly discussed and answered many times over, right here in the thread.
Hey they’re still selling the Apple Watch 3 which will cease getting updates this year. Guess we should hardly be surprised by this move.
Still selling the AW3 new is just an outrageous move by Apple.
It is nearly criminal to take money from users for those right now given what we know will happen to that dog of a device.
Yes, but where do you draw the line? What if I wanted Apple to maintain support for the OG iPhone? And what gives your use case and phone any priority over my use case and phone?
Even though I suspect it wont' do much, it never hurts to shoot emails to tcook@apple.com and to fill out the Apple feedback form about all this.
It all gets reviewed and culled over by computers and humans
(I say that, as I have received a reply before)
Never know
Never hurts
Feedback - iPhone
Apple wants to hear from you. Send us your comments and feedback about iPhone.
www.apple.com
It all gets reviewed and culled over by computers and humans
(I say that, as I have received a reply before)
Never know
Never hurts
Sounds like entitlement to software support to me, regardless of if it's for Apple's software or third party apps.
iPhone 7 is a 6 year old device; those who want to make the argument that it was still being sold in 2019 are making a foolishly weak argument because even if you bought it new in 2019, you did so KNOWING it was a three year old device at the time. Your window of software support was, understandably, smaller as a result of buying it as late into the device's lifespan as you did.
Obviously there are some exceptions, but App compatibility is based on the OS version not the hardware.
Can you cite some examples of apps that dropped iOS14 support right after iOS15 was released? What about dropping iOS13 after iOS15 was released? It's going to be years before the iOS15 isn't supported by apps in any meaningful way because most develoeprs know that there is another app in the App Store that does almost the same thing as their app. So barring any new hardware features, iPhone7s should be fine regarding apps for a while.
I perhaps this is an argument of semantics. If by "obsolete" you mean that the phone is "out-dated" of "discontinued" then yes, iPhones 7 are going to be obsolete. Most people on this thread seem to use obsolete to mean "rendered unusable" or "forced to upgrade", which is in no way happening.
The iPhone 7 doesn't have the necessary hardware required for the lock screen part of iOS16, and maybe even some other parts, which is why it isn't supported.
Then they shouldn't have been selling them brand new to folks in 2019
Anyone who buys tech that is older, especially 3 years after its launch, has to understand that support timeframes aren’t ever going to be the same as when the product was new. That discount for buying older tech comes at a cost. Now it’s time to pay it.
As for “consumers count on Apple sells it new to mean something”, come on. People know when they are purchasing an iPhone 11 today, alongside the various models of iPhone 12 and 13, that they aren’t purchasing “new” (in the sense of current and modern) tech. They can clearly see two years worth of improvements and upgrades that due to cost, need, or both, had them choose the cheaper model. That old model is already missing features. Already had 2 years of its lifetime support pass. And those are all things you accepted to save money.
No one is being forced to upgrade. Apple is not sending out an Order 66 to the SE to stop the phones. My car does not have Car Play but newer models do - is that forcing me to buy a new car or even a stereo? Of course not.
No no no
We don't get to do this kind of both sides arguing on Apple's behalf
A huge reason a lot of folks choose Apple is to specifically not have to think about this kind of stuff.
They count on Apple to not be pulling the rug out like this.
Ancient yet they sell a brand new one that looks the same and works the same. A lot of people couldn’t tell the difference really.
This is a great point
The same cadre that likes to blast the EU for trying to tackle waste via USB-C standards across the board is happy to applaud Apple in the other direction here.
There's a mega faction who simply backs whatever Apple does, irrespective of how much cognitive dissonance is required.
Maybe people should understand what they are buying before they buy it.