Apple Faces User Backlash After Dropping Support for iPhone 7 From iOS 16

[Abazigal]

Part of the appeal of iPhones is that Apple typically provides iOS updates for 5 years or more. If Apple were to drop that down to 4 years, they risk losing customers and would lose their "longer support than anyone" reputation. Putting something in writing should not make them feel less obligated to update as long as they have been. Their update policy should remain based on what they feel is good for business, regardless of what minimum they commit to.

I think the main reason for Apple to put something in writing is simply to better manage customer expectations. Other companies do it and I don't see why Apple couldn't do the same. They apparently seem to feel that dealing with potential backlash/disappointments is better than having to put anything in writing and that's certainly their choice. That is, unless some law comes along that requires companies to document OS and security update terms similar to how warranty terms are done. We're not there yet, though.

I am reminded of the story of the king and the poisoned well, as I was going through my reading list last night.

Parable of the King and the Poisoned Well

Today's life line has to do with trail blazing, walking the road less traveled, and doing what is right despite the difficulty. The followin...

manueljwbpsyd.blogspot.com

I can’t control what people online choose to think or believe, nor can I stop people from going onto forums and shouting “forced obsolescence” or whatever the popular anti-Apple narrative of the day is, but I think a little bit of common sense goes a long way in sifting out the valid arguments from the illogical ones.

The rest here can still carry out the rational and logical course of action - call out the nonsensical and the illogical arguments as and when I see them. I encourage more here to do the same as well.

Nothing is stopping Apple from providing 5 or more years of software updates for their products. I am simply saying that Apple is under no obligation to put this down in writing. If people wanted them to, Apple would simply under-declare said number so as to minimise the odds of being held legally liable, and it would still be miles ahead of what android handsets receive. I would.

I also maintain that much of the online furore we are seeing over this issue is being made by (again) a small group of vocal posters, whom I am not even sure actually own the iPhone 6s or 7 models they are so upset is losing support. Not to mention that to date, they will also have gotten 6 and 5 years of iOS updates respectively, which I feel has already been an excellent run.

And we are at over 800 posts now? Simply ridiculous. I think this says more about the state of Apple’s user base, than it does about the motivations Apple may have for not updating said devices.

 

[JoeShades]

I am reminded of the story of the king and the poisoned well, as I was going through my reading list last night.

Parable of the King and the Poisoned Well

Today's life line has to do with trail blazing, walking the road less traveled, and doing what is right despite the difficulty. The followin...

manueljwbpsyd.blogspot.com

I can’t control what people online choose to think or believe, nor can I stop people from going onto forums and shouting “forced obsolescence” or whatever the popular anti-Apple narrative of the day is, but I think a little bit of common sense goes a long way in sifting out the valid arguments from the illogical ones.

The rest here can still carry out the rational and logical course of action - call out the nonsensical and the illogical arguments as and when I see them. I encourage more here to do the same as well.

Nothing is stopping Apple from providing 5 or more years of software updates for their products. I am simply saying that Apple is under no obligation to put this down in writing. If people wanted them to, Apple would simply under-declare said number so as to minimise the odds of being held legally liable, and it would still be miles ahead of what android handsets receive. I would.

I also maintain that much of the online furore we are seeing over this issue is being made by (again) a small group of vocal posters, whom I am not even sure actually own the iPhone 6s or 7 models they are so upset is losing support. Not to mention that to date, they will also have gotten 6 and 5 years of iOS updates respectively, which I feel has already been an excellent run.

And we are at over 800 posts now? Simply ridiculous. I think this says more about the state of Apple’s user base, than it does about the motivations Apple may have for not updating said devices.

There are plenty of people here that are paid by pother companies to make it look like they are apple users but their job is to criticize apple, this happens all over the internet from Amazon reviews to the spread of Russian or other countries propoganda on a larger level on places like twitter or facebook. This is what companies and countries do.

I have the 7+ and yes I thouhgt one more year of software updates was coming but in no way am I being forced to upgrade, if apps stopped working then that would be an issue but everything will still work long past the time I get a new phone

 

[Joe Dohn]

There are plenty of people here that are paid by pother companies to make it look like they are apple users but their job is to criticize apple, this happens all over the internet from Amazon reviews to the spread of Russian or other countries propoganda on a larger level on places like twitter or facebook. This is what companies and countries do.

Or rather, something more likely: being paid on an Apple site to defend Apple products, since that is far easier to do. The obvious benefit is increasing Apple's sales.

Of course, such an attempt would be short-sighted, because you risk creating an echo chamber that kills any sort of feedback, and makes it much harder for a company to listen to valid criticism and innovate.

I also maintain that much of the online furore we are seeing over this issue is being made by (again) a small group of vocal posters, whom I am not even sure actually own the iPhone 6s or 7 models they are so upset is losing support. Not to mention that to date, they will also have gotten 6 and 5 years of iOS updates respectively, which I feel has already been an excellent run.

Some people actually prefer Apple devices over Android because they are supported for longer. Guess what happens if Apple drops the extended support and decides to support their devices for the same period Android does?

That's right: it's one less differentiating feature. If there is nothing to differentiate an Apple device from an Android device, and the Apple device is more expensive, users start to buy the cheaper device. At least there will be more options of colors and formats.

 

[Abazigal]

Or rather, something more likely: being paid on an Apple site to defend Apple products, since that is far easier to do. The obvious benefit is increasing Apple's sales.

Of course, such an attempt would be short-sighted, because you risk creating an echo chamber that kills any sort of feedback, and makes it much harder for a company to listen to valid criticism and innovate.

The long running joke here is that Apple should do the opposite of whatever this forum recommends.

There’s feedback and there’s valid feedback. I feel this has long veered into the “entitled whining” category.

Some people actually prefer Apple devices over Android because they are supported for longer. Guess what happens if Apple drops the extended support and decides to support their devices for the same period Android does?

That's right: it's one less differentiating feature. If there is nothing to differentiate an Apple device from an Android device, and the Apple device is more expensive, users start to buy the cheaper device. At least there will be more options of colors and formats.

Except that’s still not what is happening here.

Two years of software support for android devices is still far from being the norm, with many android handsets not even seeing a single update at all, or only getting it way later. Google is the originator of their own OS, and even they can’t manage it for their small number of devices without issues cropping up.

Apple’s current track record is supporting their devices for 4-5 years minimum, and nothing suggests they are doing anything to renege on this (admittedly unspoken) guarantee. We are talking full proper updates, available to all users on day 1.

I fail to see how Apple electing to not support the 6s and 7 for another year is somehow analogous to android OEMs’ poor reputation for supporting their hardware.

Again, some people had the wrong expectations through no one else’s fault but their own, and rather than admit they were mistaken and recalibrate those expectations accordingly, they have instead opted to double down and insist that it is Apple instead who is greedy for trying to force handset upgrades.

I really don’t know what else there is to say.

 

[Joe Dohn]

Except that’s still not what is happening here.

Two years of software support for android devices is still far from being the norm, with many android handsets not even seeing a single update at all, or only getting it way later. Google is the originator of their own OS, and even they can’t manage it for their small number of devices without issues cropping up.

I never said Apple is shortening its support to match Android's. What I'm saying is, if they ever do that, then one of Apple's major advantages starts to disappear.

Also, what I usually see is that some Apple apologists treat buying Apple products as a privilege – and you can only take part of that privilege if you buy "the latest and greatest".

Imagine if Toyota said you can only complain if you bought this year's model, or if Samsung said you can only complain if you bought last year's television. See what I mean?

If Apple tries to force users to upgrade by cutting out support, not only they are forcing users to discard perfectly good phones just for the sake of it (since you can't install other operating systems / sideload) on otherwise perfectly good hardware, but users will start to think pragmatically. Fortunately, electronic devices are not considered as essential as food or water.

 

[webkit]

Two years of software support for android devices is still far from being the norm, with many android handsets not even seeing a single update at all, or only getting it way later. Google is the originator of their own OS, and even they can’t manage it for their small number of devices without issues cropping up.

Apple’s current track record is supporting their devices for 4-5 years minimum, and nothing suggests they are doing anything to renege on this (admittedly unspoken) guarantee. We are talking full proper updates, available to all users on day 1.

Google guarantees (in writing) at least three years of Android version updates on various Pixel models and Samsung guarantees (in writing) 4 years of their Android-based One UI updates on various models. The gap between Android and iOS is narrowing.

 

[Abazigal]

If Apple tries to force users to upgrade by cutting out support, not only they are forcing users to discard perfectly good phones just for the sake of it (since you can't install other operating systems / sideload) on otherwise perfectly good hardware, but users will start to think pragmatically. Fortunately, electronic devices are not considered as essential as food or water.

Apple is going to have to stop supporting their devices one day, and consumers will still have to replace their hardware eventually. There is also the option of trading those phones in, or turning them in to Apple for recycling.

The 6s and 7 have had a good run. They still work, and I certainly don’t see android users throw out their phones when they don’t get software updates either. This does nothing to change the value proposition of getting an apple device, and I doubt we will see an exodus of iphone users to the android side because again, I still suspect the people complaining here are not the ones still actively using those devices, and those hypothetical doomsday scenarios are not going to manifest). Not in a million years.

They will still get 4-5 years of software updates, which I feel is fair, and in line with how long I see myself holding on to my devices (I used an 8+ for 4 years before upgrading to the 13 pro max).

And life goes on.

 

[jav6454]

This is why people still jail break their iPhone.

I remember when multi tasking was enabled on older iPhones that were supposedly incapable of multitasking through jailbreaking.

There was already multitasking on the iPhone long before Apple introduced it. It wasn't as polished and used almost the exact same methodology Apple used when introduced.

 

[lartola]

Nobody is forced to upgrade though. It’s such hyperbole. People maybe be encouraged to upgrade but nobody is holding a gun to anyones head and the phone is still going to work.

Oh Apple does a lot more than just encourage, they push people to upgrade. And they push hard. A good example of that was the Apple Watch: when it first came out in 2014-15 Apple did not enable the option to see a list of recent Apple Pay transactions in the watch app on the paired iphone. A few years later, Apple sold the feature as a watchOS 5 improvement, but denied the update to OG Apple Watch owners. There was no technical reason why the OG Apple Watch couldn’t support showing a list of recent Apple Pay transactions, and Apple could have enabled it from day one, but no. They waited 4 years and sold it as part of the yearly update the OG Apple Watch wasn’t getting. What other purpose could that move possibly have other than get OG Apple Watch owners to buy a newer model? none. That was the only reason they did it.

 

[danny842003]

Oh Apple does a lot more than just encourage, they push people to upgrade. And they push hard. A good example of that was the Apple Watch: when it first came out in 2014-15 Apple did not enable the option to see a list of recent Apple Pay transactions in the watch app on the paired iphone. A few years later, Apple sold the feature as a watchOS 5 improvement, but denied the update to OG Apple Watch owners. There was no technical reason why the OG Apple Watch couldn’t support showing a list of recent Apple Pay transactions, and Apple could have enabled it from day one, but no. They waited 4 years and sold it as part of the yearly update the OG Apple Watch wasn’t getting. What other purpose could that move possibly have other than get OG Apple Watch owners to buy a newer model? none. That was the only reason they did it.

This doesn’t force anyone to upgrade. You do have free will you know.

 

[Abazigal]

This doesn’t force anyone to upgrade. You do have free will you know.

That and I doubt people were upgrading their apple watches solely due to said feature alone. I wasn't even aware of said feature!

The more people try to cite examples of Apple's so-called "forced obsolescence", the more they come across as anything but.

 

[paas]

It is all strange. Blind fans or blind critics. I have an iPhone 7 and a MacBook Air 2017. Both devices have lost support. The only thing that upset me was that the iPhone 6s had a year longer support than the iPhone 7. Believe it or not, if I had known that, I would have bought a much cheaper 6s. Apple Watch 3 is being sold on the Apple website, it is being sold at the moment !!! He just lost his support. If it's not unfair to criticize this, I don't know anymore. The deception of people around the world to the end of support for the iPhone 7, not at all old macbooks and other devices, does not come out of nowhere. Apple is a company with many advantages and disadvantages. The role of consumers is to look at the corporation's hands because this is the only way to influence their unfair behavior.

Sorry for linguistic mistakes, English is not my language.

 

[Joe Dohn]

Apple is going to have to stop supporting their devices one day, and consumers will still have to replace their hardware eventually. There is also the option of trading those phones in, or turning them in to Apple for recycling.

Apple doesn't have to support their devices forever, I'm not saying that. What I said is clear and described in my previous post.

However, if their devices are not supported, they should allow us to jailbreak our devices. Does it make sense to you that someone should throw away a device with perfectly good storage and camera just to "stay current"?

And no, Apple is not pointing a gun to our heads. But the moment the only way to access an essential app is through your cell phone, and you can only install a newer version of that app on a newer cell phone, you are being coaxed to upgrade. Essentially, what happens today is that your perfectly good old device is slowly software-bricked, until not even making calls is possible.

 

[Abazigal]

Essentially, what happens today is that your perfectly good old device is slowly software-bricked, until not even making calls is possible.

I believe you can still call someone from a 2007 1st gen iPhone. Just saying.

 

[rui no onna]

I believe you can still call someone from a 2007 1st gen iPhone. Just saying.

Not in the US unless you’re using VoIP. Even 3G networks are shutting down so bye bye iPhone 5s and older.

 

[schuhlelewis]

Will the iPhone 7 stop working this fall?

Did I say I think it will?

 

[Joe Dohn]

Not in the US unless you’re using VoIP. Even 3G networks are shutting down so bye bye iPhone 5s and older.

In theory, you could buy a portable modem and connect it to your old phone.
But good luck finding one, and the result will be clumsy.

 

[lartola]

This doesn’t force anyone to upgrade. You do have free will you know.

I didn’t say it does, but it still gets more people to upgrade. Many who otherwise don’t need to.

 

[lartola]

Not in the US unless you’re using VoIP. Even 3G networks are shutting down so bye bye iPhone 5s and older.

The 5 and 5s do support LTE for data, though. They could still be useable to a certain degree.

 

[lartola]

I believe you can still call someone from a 2007 1st gen iPhone. Just saying.

Not anymore. 2G networks were shut down years ago. Even 3G is being shut down now, so all the way up to the iphone 5s can’t make calls anymore (though the iphone 5, 5C and 5S do support LTE for data).

 

[I7guy]

I didn’t say it does, but it still gets more people to upgrade. Many who otherwise don’t need to.

At some point in time tech stuff gets obsoleted and at some point in time tech has to be replaced. Ask owners of Betamax or videodisc.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I didn’t say it does, but it still gets more people to upgrade. Many who otherwise don’t need to.

Agreed - which is tremendously wasteful, especially coming from the "we care about the environment so much that we quote all the recycle-able material we use"

Such a shame to not just do some software work to enable hardware that works just fine, to keep on working great for longer and longer.

Once you get booted off the latest iOS, the clock to "functionally useless device" starts ticking

 

[I7guy]

Agreed - which is tremendously wasteful, especially coming from the "we care about the environment so much that we quote all the recycle-able material we use"

Disagree. All tech comes to an end. If one wants tech products that are not subject to planned obsolescence the average person will not be able to afford them.

Such a shame to not just do some software work to enable hardware that works just fine, to keep on working great for longer and longer.

What company does that? Can you name one?

Once you get booted off the latest iOS, the clock to "functionally useless device" starts ticking

Tell that to my 9 year old 5s that still functions.

 

[turbineseaplane]

And no, Apple is not pointing a gun to our heads. But the moment the only way to access an essential app is through your cell phone, and you can only install a newer version of that app on a newer cell phone, you are being coaxed to upgrade. Essentially, what happens today is that your perfectly good old device is slowly software-bricked, until not even making calls is possible.

Very well said -- a perfect summary

 

[lartola]

At some point in time tech stuff gets obsoleted and at some point in time tech has to be replaced. Ask owners of Betamax or videodisc.

Yeah, but nowadays companies artificially shorten that time even more to boost sales. It wasn’t like that before.