It’s been like that for a long time. But in this one specific case the iPhone 7 is a 7 year old phone that is heading into oblivion that will work for at least 3 more years minimum.
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Apple Faces User Backlash After Dropping Support for iPhone 7 From iOS 16
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But there are examples of worse cases, such as the Apple Watch. In 2018, Apple left the OG Apple Watch out of watchOS 5. By doing that, they made it the only model deprived of the recent apple pay transaction list, a feature that should have been remotely activated on all apple watches from day one rather than wait 3 years (considering that the OG AW came out on sale most widely in sept 2015) and sell it as a new software update feature. Not that the OG AW would immediately stop working at that moment, but the move of denying it the update, along with the new design of the S4 coming out that year, made 90% of OG AW owners upgrade a device that was only 3 years old and could still be used for a while. Companies didn’t do those thing before, at least not so blatantly. Apple was ruthless.
There was probably a good technical reason that you or I are not aware of. My son had that scenario and he just bought another Apple Watch. At that time the aw og was kind of dead anyway.
Imagine you wanted to buy a camera. You go into a discount store and you see a good price on a Canon dSLR. You buy it and learn later that it's a model that was introduced 4 years ago and has an imaging sensor that's a design from 6 years ago. It works just fine and the price was good, but it wasn't what you expected.
Most every company sells older technology, when it comes to a lower price point. It's not just Apple.
Not a great example considering how little there is needed support wise in terms of software.
I can still, 100%, completely and fully use my very first DSLR from 2003..just as if it were brand new right now.
The problem here is that Apple wants to hit price points to get folks to buy something, but they are hitting those price points not by building new products that have features selectivly chosen to hit those price points...and instead they slot in an older device that is absolutely going to have a shorter functional useful life.
Apple knows that (obviously, since they are the ones mapping out the future phone lineup, years in advance and also the ones deciding when the iOS version cutoffs are coming).
It's a somewhat crappy way to hit those lower price points.
Folks are getting a lesser and older device that will also have a shorter functional life.
Talk about "getting what you pay for" (a lot less for ... a lot less)
Fundamentally, I just wish Apple would budge on the "X margin is always required" and make some more accessible products and price points. One would think they could and likely would do this at some point since they are pivoting so much to services. Just get folks onboard...but do it with new/good/great devices at each price point, not old stuff that they know they won't support as long.
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The 12" PowerBook G4 was still for sale in May 2006.
Snow Leopard was unveiled almost exactly three years later (at WWDC 2009) and did not include PowerPC support.
However, two developer builds were released before PowerPC support was axed.
I use my iPhone 3GS from 2009 more often than I use my 5D Mark III from 2012, although both still work fine.
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I use my iPhone 3GS from 2009 more often than I use my 5D Mark III from 2012, although both still work fine.
It's not a great comparison or example.
You can use EVERYthing about your 5D Mark3
That is absolutely not true of the 3GS due to the radios in it and the required iOS versions for many many Apps. They are different types of devices and the latter counts on a lot more interaction and connectivity and support.
Sure, you can power on a 3GS and do "something" with it.
You could say that about the very first iPhone still also
Exactly my point. Dead in only 3 years? what a rip off, selling a $400 disposable watch.
Only $133 per year or $0.36 per day
What a deal!
Using some of logic I see around here, we are supposed to be "happy" with that apparently.
How long do you think a lithium battery the size of a thumbnail lasts? Three years is a good amount of time. My fitbits don’t last longer than that. To each their own.
Not to mention the tech world moved on with miniaturization and circuit design. The same way a 5s running is slow by today’s standards.
Imagine, as a manufacturer, trying to tie in your new operating system to a device that was manufactured to conditions that were prevalent 6 years ago (almost an eternity in tech time). With no upgrade, keep in mind that the device will still work fine - it just won't have all the new bells and whistles.
Now that you mention it, it is absolutely is a great comparison, at least for me.
The one thing I want to use my 5D for now is to replace the absolutely horrid camera of the Studio Display. During the EOS Webcam Utility beta period the Mark III wasn't even supported. It has since been added, but it is glitchy, and I cannot get continuous autofocus to work. Does it still do what it did when I bought it? Sure! But so does my 3GS.
All the apps on it still run as far as I can tell, even if most are stuck at ancient revisions, at least those where server-side support hasn't been dropped for whatever reason.
The 3GS does exactly what I need it to do, which is to make and receive phone calls, and send and receive text messages. It connects fine to all the networks I need it to connect to.
For my use cases it is definitely the 5D Mark III that is in the most dire need of a firmware/software update.
Frontend and backend are starkly different things though, might look the same but that is no guarantee that it functions the same
It was such a long time ago so I don't remember exactly how multitasking worked at the time but I know there were sever other "pro" features that were enabled on older phones by jailbreaking them.
Even the notification system was different if you jailbroke. In fact, you could have today's notifications back then a full 2 years before Apple added them.
More than one thing can be true. My point is just because apple says an older iPhone isn't capable of having a specific functionality that isn't necessarily true especially if it's software-based.
That's kind of the whole point of this thread right? If you want to install any version of ios 16 you need to have at least an iPhone 8. It seems there are a lot of people using phones older than an iPhone 8. Still very capable but not invited to the party.
Honestly, if the battery wasn't so bad on my series 3 I probably would've never upgraded. At the time, with workouts, it would barely make it to lunchtime.
There really isn't a huge difference in functionality and improved UX on the newest watches aside from some niche features.
Oh, the newest watches have a keyboard which I think is very on-brand for apple to only have such a useful feature on the newest product.
It's true today and feels like it was true back then that it was mostly tech nerds that jailbreak. The only reason why I know there still is a community of jailbreakers is that I still have email subscriptions and social media accounts that are still consistently sending out updates.
Well the one on my OG AW lasted around 5 years working fine. When Apple made the OG AW obsolete in 2018 it was only 3 years old. Besides, a bad battery doesn’t force a hardware update: Apple does replace faulty batteries for a fee (or the devices with those, as they do with iPad and AW).
No wonder at all that Apple is dropping support for IOS 16 for Iphones 7 and 7+…
Because these phones series are a pain for Apple and this for a couple of years now. Let’s not forget that some Apple US users are NOW still in court against Apple (joined a “Class Action”) because of the famous “Loop Disease”, the audio chip failure that Apple does not want to want to cover/fix.
It’s for at least 1,5 or even 2 years that I have to put bluetooth earplugs (happily not from Apple!) to be heard on the phone. Without it nobody can hear me.
My first computer was a (beige) Power Mac 3G… I was then a true believer of the brand… but years after years I am not so sure about it anymore.
PS: If someone knows how I (from Europe) can joined that Class Action, LMK. Thanks!
Because these phones series are a pain for Apple and this for a couple of years now. Let’s not forget that some Apple US users are NOW still in court against Apple (joined a “Class Action”) because of the famous “Loop Disease”, the audio chip failure that Apple does not want to want to cover/fix.
It’s for at least 1,5 or even 2 years that I have to put bluetooth earplugs (happily not from Apple!) to be heard on the phone. Without it nobody can hear me.
My first computer was a (beige) Power Mac 3G… I was then a true believer of the brand… but years after years I am not so sure about it anymore.
PS: If someone knows how I (from Europe) can joined that Class Action, LMK. Thanks!
So it looks the same and works the same, and you’re pissed off about it.
Got it.
Hahah what an embarrassing post. Took you a week to come up with that response? Pathetic. I simply pointed out some facts and you can’t even accept that and move on.
No, you still haven’t got it, you’re still shoved deep in there. 🤦♂️
Yes, it took me a week to think about the answer, that’s exactly what happened.
Please take that back!
Your sympathy is all that matters to me. It’s all that matters to anyone. Please reconsider. I’ll give uo smoking crack and buy a new phone every 3 weeks if it means I can keep your sympathy.
I mean, probably. See …
It’s just that, well, you have a superior job to the rest of us. You were responsible, and you made all the right moves, and did all of the things you were suposed to, did what the corporations told you without all that thinky-thinlk stuff and life rewarded you as you so well deserved. I don’t want to say that you’re a hero, but, well, you’re a hero. The rest of us are imperfect, flawed, and have low-paying jobs shoveling horse excrement. We cannot afford new iStuff like you. Cause you are better than us in every conceivable able way. Everyday you watch a movie through your own eyes, and it’s starring you. Well, the rest of us see that movie too, and we all think that you’re just so awesome!
Please return your sympathy to us. Without it, we have nothing. Nothing set all. Nothing by 6 year-old phones that is, and let’s face it … only evil monsters and people who genuinely care about the environment have 6 year-old phones. In other words, nobody.
But we need your sympathy or all hope is lost.
Thank you for considering my humble request.