Apple forgetting the A6 devices

[George Waseem]

My iPad 4 runs an A6X chip, it's not that old and its fast and fluid, games don't lag on Apple devices except for some A5 devices, my iPhone 4 graphics are not that bad, I noticed that Apple is starting to leave those devices which kinda bothers me, most A5 devices got the longest support for iOS and games and apps, A6 devices run iOS 9 fluidly. I suddenly find some apps and games that only support a7 and later especially after iOS 9 release, so it bothers me that a small bit of apps and games are not supported on my iPad, iPads are expensive devices and they should get the right treatment at least for 6 years, my iPad still didn't make it to 3 years. They are not going to force me to buy the air and air 2 cause both of them are stupid light weight fake iPads. My iPad still works and should get the right treatment.

 

[scjr]

Fake, stupid, light weight iPad Air 2?

The iPad Air 2 is one of the most powerful devices Apple sells. It's an excellent device.

 

[lagwagon]

Welcome to the fast moving world of technology. Adapt or continue to be stubborn.

 

[Jimmy James]

A6 is now slow, 32 bit architecture. No matter how recently you purchased it.

 

[T5BRICK]

I suddenly find some apps and games that only support a7 and later especially after iOS 9 release, so it bothers me that a small bit of apps and games are not supported on my iPad, iPads are expensive devices and they should get the right treatment at least for 6 years, my iPad still didn't make it to 3 years.

Some 3rd party Apps don't work on your iPad and that is Apples fault?

They are not going to force me to buy the air and air 2 cause both of them are stupid light weight fake iPads. My iPad still works and should get the right treatment.

The iPad air 2 runs circles around your iPad 4. There is no comparison here.

 

[saudor]

it's not speed but the architecture. a lot of devs seem to be jumping on the 64 bit.

 

[kwokaaron]

I don't think it's fair to put the blame on Apple just because third-party developers aren't supporting the A6. It isn't like Apple dropped support for the A6 in iOS 9... While I do hope that the A6 gets the same support span as the A5, it's also necessary to drop older architectures such as 32-bit chips in order to keep improving iOS.

Bear in mind that the A6 (iOS 6-9) has currently got the same iOS lifespan support as your iPhone 4 (iOS 4-7) and you've managed to get a newer iPhone just fine. Also like you've said, your iPad still works fine. No ones forcing you to get a newer one.

 

[t0mat0]

The A6 is basically the wrong side of the cut off/line in the sand as it is a non 64 bit chip.
Tech has moved fast for improvements in the A series of SoC.
How much faster is the upcoming 6s compared to a iPhone 5?

If you listen to the issues of supporting older models spoken about by developers, reaching back to the A7 is in some ways quite a stretch, in part due to the range of capabilities, including GPU and CPU strength.
The flip side of devices getting faster and faster each year is that the difference in power between the current device and one from a few years ago is huge. Whilst the pace of CPU improvement is slowing a bit, the GPU currently isn't.
The A6/A7 line also lines up for the iPhones with having or not Touch ID, 64 bit CPU, and supporting Metal for example.

 

[Paddle1]

The A6 may be much more powerful than the A5 but the only way to drop A5 support is to block all 32-bit devices. Blame the A5 chip. (Which A6 gets grouped with) A6 is still quite good.

 

[George Waseem]

I don't think it's fair to put the blame on Apple just because third-party developers aren't supporting the A6. It isn't like Apple dropped support for the A6 in iOS 9... While I do hope that the A6 gets the same support span as the A5, it's also necessary to drop older architectures such as 32-bit chips in order to keep improving iOS.

Bear in mind that the A6 (iOS 6-9) has currently got the same iOS lifespan support as your iPhone 4 (iOS 4-7) and you've managed to get a newer iPhone just fine. Also like you've said, your iPad still works fine. No ones forcing you to get a newer one.

iPhone 4 was way behind in performance, apple used to support the devices 4 years back then, apple has a lot of devices now and much more users than it had 5 years ago. A6 chip is not as bad as the a5, its exactly 6 to 7 times as more fast, it lies in the middle between a5 and a7, a5 is on its way to the end, a6 is not as a bad as the a5 so it should get some more support. Apple actually forces app developers to unsupport the 32 bit devices. My ipad runs games perfectly and i think it shouldnt just be treated in a bad way just because it loads games 5 seconds slower.

 

[George Waseem]

Fake, stupid, light weight iPad Air 2?

The iPad Air 2 is one of the most powerful devices Apple sells. It's an excellent device.

Cant disagree with you, its super powerful, but im not a big fan of thin ipads, i think it makes the ipad way less premium. Alot of people agree, if u have an ipad air 2 ur lucky. What i mean is that a6 devices capable of running graphic intensive games but its just apple that is trying to force developers to leave those devices away

 

[Tony Danger]

Cant disagree with you, its super powerful, but im not a big fan of thin ipads, i think it makes the ipad way less premium. Alot of people agree, if u have an ipad air 2 ur lucky. What i mean is that a6 devices capable of running graphic intensive games but its just apple that is trying to force developers to leave those devices away

Hahaha I think you need to have your head looking at mate. I had an iPad 4, and now I have an air 2. Being more powerful, in a much slimmer and lighter body makes it less premium than the iPad 4? Come on now. It's a fantastic machine, and you can't deny it. I think you are just making excuses so you don't feel bad about the machine you have.

 

[oldmacs]

Hahaha I think you need to have your head looking at mate. I had an iPad 4, and now I have an air 2. Being more powerful, in a much slimmer and lighter body makes it less premium than the iPad 4? Come on now. It's a fantastic machine, and you can't deny it. I think you are just making excuses so you don't feel bad about the machine you have.

No I agree with the OP - I have always felt my iPad 2 feels better than the iPad Air - solid and tapping the screen feels better. Just a matter of opinion. I'd personally prefer to be able to continue using my iPad 2 for years as none of the iPads after have felt as nice to use (again my personal opinion).

 

[GrumpyTrucker]

I'll agree with the OP in a way, but first to get the main point out of the way. As others above have said, the difference is the 64bit architecture they're using now. My uneducated guess is that (RAM limitations aside) the Air will be supported a little longer.

The bit I do agree with though, even though it wasn't really the OP's point, is Apple leaving older devices behind with new features that can and in some cases do work just fine seemingly for no reason. For example, my Mum has an iPad 2 and an iPhone 5. I've now got to try to explain to her that she can swipe past the first home screen on the phone to get some search options and the like but can't do it on the iPad. For the life of me I can't figure out why the proactive Siri stuff requires 64bit

 

[powerbook911]

It could be worse. You could have "the new iPad," aka 3rd generation like myself.

 

[canesalato]

No I agree with the OP - I have always felt my iPad 2 feels better than the iPad Air - solid and tapping the screen feels better. Just a matter of opinion. I'd personally prefer to be able to continue using my iPad 2 for years as none of the iPads after have felt as nice to use (again my personal opinion).

iPad Air...yes!But Air 2 is a completely different story

 

[lockerc18]

It could be worse. You could have "the new iPad," aka 3rd generation like myself.

That's what I have, too. I really like the Air 2 and was hoping that the Air 3 would be launched this last go around. But given the speed at which Apple obsolesces it older devices, I'm beginning to wonder if investing so much into a new iPad is worth it. Heck, it may only have a life span of two years, if Apple has its way.

My rMBP better be good for lots more years. After what I paid for that, if Apple obsolesces that, too, to heck with Apple.

 

[oldmacs]

iPad Air...yes!But Air 2 is a completely different story

I feel the same about th iPad Air 2 - prefer the feel of the iPad 2, I use the physical mute switch all the time and my iPad 2 doesn't vibrate when the sound is long. I also prefer the wide bezel.

Again down to my humble opinion.

 

[Risco]

Welcome to the fast moving world of technology. Adapt or continue to be stubborn.

This, your are not forced to update. iDevices are usually good for 2 iOS versions with most features and performance intact. After that you either upgrade your hardware, accept that it works as is on your current iOS version or be prepared to sacrifice performance.

Apple support their ecosystem far better than any other phone developer out there.

 

[George Waseem]

Hahaha I think you need to have your head looking at mate. I had an iPad 4, and now I have an air 2. Being more powerful, in a much slimmer and lighter body makes it less premium than the iPad 4? Come on now. It's a fantastic machine, and you can't deny it. I think you are just making excuses so you don't feel bad about the machine you have.

I'm not pretending to feel good with the iPad 4, it's just amazing, just by looking at it, it looks better than that air 2, the air 2 is powerful but the design is not that good, I actually feel good that I can't bend my own iPad. A 12 year old could bend the air / air 2 and fold it like a laptop, every device has its advantages and disadvantages. So don't just try to prove to every one that the iPad Air 2 is the best in every thing, not because u unnecessarily buy iPads every year doesn't mean every one does, an iPad is a machine that can live for a long time, iPads are so similar unlike iPhones which u must upgrade each year to feel a difference.

 

[George Waseem]

I'll agree with the OP in a way, but first to get the main point out of the way. As others above have said, the difference is the 64bit architecture they're using now. My uneducated guess is that (RAM limitations aside) the Air will be supported a little longer.

The bit I do agree with though, even though it wasn't really the OP's point, is Apple leaving older devices behind with new features that can and in some cases do work just fine seemingly for no reason. For example, my Mum has an iPad 2 and an iPhone 5. I've now got to try to explain to her that she can swipe past the first home screen on the phone to get some search options and the like but can't do it on the iPad. For the life of me I can't figure out why the proactive Siri stuff requires 64bit

You are right but pro activity doesn't require 64 bit, my 4 th gen iPad has the feature, I believe if the iPad 2 was in the place of the iPad 4, it would have ran it just fine, it's just apple that tries to make people feel that ur device is old when u see the new devices being released every single year.

 

[C DM]

I'm not pretending to feel good with the iPad 4, it's just amazing, just by looking at it, it looks better than that air 2, the air 2 is powerful but the design is not that good, I actually feel good that I can't bend my own iPad. A 12 year old could bend the air / air 2 and fold it like a laptop, every device has its advantages and disadvantages. So don't just try to prove to every one that the iPad Air 2 is the best in every thing, not because u unnecessarily buy iPads every year doesn't mean every one does, an iPad is a machine that can live for a long time, iPads are so similar unlike iPhones which u must upgrade each year to feel a difference.

Well, there are certainly people that might might not like them, but it doesn't make them bad devices in general, just ones that are not good for those particular people.

And while people tend to hold on to an iPad longer it doesn't mean that technology doesn't advance just as rapidly in new versions and that they are pretty much the same. Just like iPhones they push ahead with essentially every release. There's no need to get something new every year for either one, but in today's world after a couple of years or so they are dated devices (that's not to say they won't work or anything even close to that, but certainly will be more noticeably behind compared to the latest).

 

[George Waseem]

It could be worse. You could have "the new iPad," aka 3rd generation like myself.

I don't have the iPad 3, but I feel that it was forgotten too, people call it a mistake but it's kinda ok, I've tried it before and it works just fine, newer features are not that wow but I know that iPad 3 was totally forgotten, there is a list of features that are missing while only one feature is missing from the iPad 4 which is multitasking. You should be the one writing this post cause your iPad is not that old. It performs better than what geek bench says.

 

[canesalato]

I feel the same about th iPad Air 2 - prefer the feel of the iPad 2, I use the physical mute switch all the time and my iPad 2 doesn't vibrate when the sound is long. I also prefer the wide bezel.

Again down to my humble opinion.

Well...De gustibus non disputandum est.

 

[T5BRICK]

it's just apple that tries to make people feel that ur device is old when u see the new devices being released every single year.

Technology moves quickly, this isn't just Apple. If you feel like your device is old, then it probably is. You need to move on or be comfortable being left behind. If you choose the latter, you're going to have to deal with lack of support and missing features.