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Apple owes iOS6 because...

Julien

Julien

macrumors G4
Original poster
Jun 30, 2007
11,875
5,454
Atlanta
...well it doesn't.

For all the iPhone 3GS and iPad 1 (and iPhone 4, iPad 2 for iOS6 "lite") owners, me included.

Does your device have more functions than when you bought it? Yes, you have received updates and Apps have been added. Can you say this for your dishwasher, TV or almost any other product (even most Android)?

Did Apple imply/offer you entitlement to lifelong (or any for that matter) updates when you bought it? No, any update (other than security) is a "gift" and not a "right".

Apple no longer "supports" my device? Not true. If a security issue came up Apple would offer an update. I bet there may even be a 5.2 with Maps. It still syncs with iTunes and new Apps will be made today, tomorrow and a year from now (which is increased functionality). Also you can have it serviced at an Apple store (supported).

Apple is doing this just to sell more devices? Yes, Apple is a business and not a social welfare department. If you walk on a car lot does the sales person say "Hope you are enjoying your 3 year old car and plan on keeping it a a few more years. Let me update the engine control firmware for free so you DON'T have to buy a new car"?
 
Apple is a company that wants to make people genuinely love their products. They want to make the best products.

Part of that is, when buying a new device from Apple, you want to know it will be able to run the latest software and get updates from quite some time. You want to buy something that'll last a reasonable while. Then, you feel good about spending more and getting the 64 GB model instead of 32 GB. That's why it's in Apple's interest to support devices as long as possible.

One of the reasons I don't want to buy an Android phone is precisely because I know (from history) that within 6~12 months or so it will no longer be getting the latest updates, which is important to me. I don't want Apple to be getting closer to that crappy standard.
 
Julien said:
Apple no longer "supports" my device? Not true. If a security issue came up Apple would offer an update.
Click to expand...

Apple have never fixed the PDF exploit on the first iPhone. If you still own one you need to jailbreak it and add the security patch in cydia.
 
Julien said:
Did Apple imply/offer you entitlement to lifelong (or any for that matter) updates when you bought it? No, any update (other than security) is a "gift" and not a "right".
Click to expand...

Very true BUT, Apple's history is of long-term support and they've done everything they could over the years of emphasizing this "go out of their way for you" image.
Comparing them to every other company just isn't fair when Apple's entire corporate image has been that "Apple is not like any other company".
 
Apple didn't promise it and we are under no illusion we har a 'right' to having slightly older devices included in new features. However unlike my dishwasher I purchased it knowing that apple will be releasing updates for it and that history shows that they are generally good at keeping older phones up to date. That's how iPhones have been, newer devices were wanted because of their brilliant hardware advancements, not software updates.

People buy top of that range (which IMHO apple is deemed as such) to ensure that it stays as up to date for as long as possible. They invest a significant amount of money in it to start with as aposes to cheaper devices you could afford to keep replacing, therefore whilst I am bound by a two year contract I would feel happier if I wasn't purposely excluded from new software features making my decide feel out dated. When I can afford to upgrade I will (which is the whole point of network contracts). It's the sort of thing I didn't like about my android phones, they were always missing out on updates after a few months... That said they were generally significantly cheaper to start with. When you buy the best you expect the best and want it to stay in the game for longer.
 
Azy said:
Apple didn't promise it and we are under no illusion we har a 'right' to having slightly older devices included in new features. However unlike my dishwasher I purchased it knowing that apple will be releasing updates for it and that history shows that they are generally good at keeping older phones up to date. That's how iPhones have been, newer devices were wanted because of their brilliant hardware advancements, not software updates.

People buy top of that range (which IMHO apple is deemed as such) to ensure that it stays as up to date for as long as possible. They invest a significant amount of money in it to start with as aposes to cheaper devices you could afford to keep replacing, therefore whilst I am bound by a two year contract I would feel happier if I wasn't purposely excluded from new software features making my decide feel out dated. When I can afford to upgrade I will (which is the whole point of network contracts). It's the sort of thing I didn't like about my android phones, they were always missing out on updates after a few months... That said they were generally significantly cheaper to start with. When you buy the best you expect the best and want it to stay in the game for longer.
Click to expand...
This.
 
Julien said:
...well it doesn't.

For all the iPhone 3GS and iPad 1 (and iPhone 4, iPad 2 for iOS6 "lite") owners, me included.

Does your device have more functions than when you bought it? Yes, you have received updates and Apps have been added. Can you say this for your dishwasher, TV or almost any other product (even most Android)?
Click to expand...

Actually No.

When I bought my iPad I bought it with unlimited data, LOL that I could drop or add on a month to month bases, that function didn't last long at all...

When I bought it I could add a USB mike to the camera connection, that function along with many other USB functions was removed by Apple. My memory sticks that did work, no longer work.

Did Apple imply/offer you entitlement to lifelong (or any for that matter) updates when you bought it? No, any update (other than security) is a "gift" and not a "right".
Click to expand...

Again at the time I bought my iPad, yes Apple promised an update in the future that would bring the iPad more functions and bring it's OS more inline with the iPhone. What was never hinted at was, features would be removed in the future that make my device less desirable. Using your car dealer example, it would be the equilvent of taking my SUV in for a required oil change and after having the oil changed being shown a sub compact, and informed it's my **new and improved** more fuel effecient model because the maker couldn't meet it's CAFE standards...

I'm willing to accept that for some people, an iPad (1) running IOS 5.1.1 is a better device than with 3.x software, are you willing to also accept that for a number of reasons, IOS 5.1.1 might not be the best choice for other people's needs? When I bough my iPad, one could at will move between versions, another feature removed by Apple :mad:
 
Your phone's software will only feel outdated if you decide it is. You bought a phone knowing its features and finding it worth its price for those features. Apple has never made a promise to add features to your phone for free. If they do, it's just a bonus, a "gift" like OP said. Apple's programmers don't work for free and supporting multiple hardware configurations is more complicated for them. If Apple removed features on your phone, you'd have the right to complain, but as it is you get what you pay for and Apple doesn't owe you any free new features for a product you already paid for months/years ago.

It's up to Apple to decide how much they want to invest to keep getting the users of older hardware new features for free. If they don't, you have the right to not be satisfied as a customer and stop buying their products, but as it is, they know you won't make the "switch" to competing smartphones because competitors are much worse in that regard:

- Most Android smartphones can't be upgraded to version 4 (ICS), including some that are sold right now. Android 4 has been out for 8 months and of the 7% of the Android phones that run it right now, the majority of them are phones that had it preinstalled when they were bought. Maybe around 2% of Android users have made an upgrade from the Android they had preinstalled on their phones to the newest version (ICS) in the last 8 months. By the time all new phones sold come with ICS preinstalled, Android 5 (Jelly Bean) will be out and all those phones will be outdated with no upgrade path to JB as well.

- There's no way to upgrade Windows Mobile 6.x phones to Windows Phone 7. It's also known that current Windows Phone 7/7.5 hardware won't support Windows Phone 8 when it will be released in a couple of months, that includes flagship devices like the Nokia Lumia 800/900 that are sold right now.

- BlackBerry OS 7 was released 10 months ago and couldn't support older hardware. It was limited to the new series that launched with it (Bold 99x0, Torch 98x0, Curve 93x0). BlackBerry OS 10 is coming in a few months and also won't support hardware sold before its release. You will have to buy a new BlackBerry that has it preinstalled.

It's obvious that Apple has no pressure at all from competitors to update their older hardware. It's one of those times that prove that competition is a good thing, and Apple should have more right now in regard to compatibility of new software on older hardware.
 
Last edited:
I completely agree, well said. It changed my views!

Sorry to be completely off topic as well but your blog is great, especially the fitness section. Well worth a read with great info so it's bookmarked, cheers :)
 
Julien said:
...well it doesn't.

For all the iPhone 3GS and iPad 1 (and iPhone 4, iPad 2 for iOS6 "lite") owners, me included.

Does your device have more functions than when you bought it? Yes, you have received updates and Apps have been added. Can you say this for your dishwasher, TV or almost any other product (even most Android)?

Did Apple imply/offer you entitlement to lifelong (or any for that matter) updates when you bought it? No, any update (other than security) is a "gift" and not a "right".

Apple no longer "supports" my device? Not true. If a security issue came up Apple would offer an update. I bet there may even be a 5.2 with Maps. It still syncs with iTunes and new Apps will be made today, tomorrow and a year from now (which is increased functionality). Also you can have it serviced at an Apple store (supported).

Apple is doing this just to sell more devices? Yes, Apple is a business and not a social welfare department. If you walk on a car lot does the sales person say "Hope you are enjoying your 3 year old car and plan on keeping it a a few more years. Let me update the engine control firmware for free so you DON'T have to buy a new car"?
Click to expand...

I agree that apple doesn't HAVE to give updates but if the machine is capable and apple choose not to then its not playing fair. Even if they were to charge a nominal fee via the app store.

Apple are touting iPads as PC replacements. PCs and Macs get updates for far longer than 2 years.

I have all 3 generations of iPads and my first was was bought less than 2 years ago. It's not old and it wasn't cheap. It does hurt when apple dump something that they were telling you was magical not so long ago.

A paid update for any features that feasably can be implemented would be the fairest way forward IMHO.
 
Anyone expecting their 3 year old phone to support an OS designed for a dual-core phone is an idiot.
 
the fact that they are allowing iOS6 on the 3GS says to me that Apple is trying the best they can to support old devices. The 3GS is a dinosaur in smartphone years and I think it's cool they are trying to do what they can to make iOS6 run smooth on it.

If you want the latest and greatest features you have to upgrade often. This is true of most products. I can't tell you how bummed I was when a year after I bought my car all of the unavailable features for that model were now all available. Look at cars, phones, printers, even large appliances like washers and refrigerators- they all get better every year or two. The difference is we can upgrade our phones every year or two for a lot less money if we desire.
 
So true. Not sure why iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPad 1 users are complaining. Your device came out in 2009 and 2010. Its 2 and 3 years old. Get over yourself and upgrade. Pretty sure its difficult trying to manage all of those older devices + keep up with the new ones.
 
To further elaborate on what I said in my last post- the Mac Mini I bought in 2007 could not run Lion (unless I tear it apart and upgrade the RAM which is not an easy task on the older minis). I'm not complaining, it's an older, less expensive machine, I wasn't expecting every future version of OSX to run on it.
 
The two for me are Turn by Turn (ignoring 3D maps/Flyover) and FaceTime over 3G, both left out of the iPhone 4 update.

FaceTime was the iPhone 4's "One More Thing", and at the keynote Steve said that it would be WiFi only for now, due to the carrier, but the capabilities were in place for when carriers supported it. The argument that the 4S has 4G and makes FaceTime over cellular finally possible is not true, because in the UK there are no 4G networks, so FaceTime will be conducted over 3G here in the UK anyway.

Turn by Turn, whilst very basic compared to the likes of the TomTom app, has been present in a numerous number of GPS/Sat Nav apps ranging from free to £50 dating back to the iPhone 3G.

People don't mind not getting features when their device does not support it due to spec, like the iPhone 3G and wallpapers/icon drop shadows (the 3G didn't have the VRAM to run the home screen smoothly, and I tried it, trust me).

Those two are the only ones that made me ask, "Why"?

The other points made by the OP about Apple being a business, etc and that we have no real entitlement to new features and should appreciate that Apple support our device with free updates for years after we buy the device, are valid.
 
b166er said:
the fact that they are allowing iOS6 on the 3GS says to me that Apple is trying the best they can to support old devices. The 3GS is a dinosaur in smartphone years and I think it's cool they are trying to do what they can to make iOS6 run smooth on it.
Click to expand...

Not, The only thing that apple wants in upgrading the 3gs, is so they can continue selling it as the low end phone, if they drop support to 3gs, they could not continue selling the phone. Their interest is to keep having a low end phone to compete with other brands.

Not the case for the iPad, in that market they don't have the competition they have in the phones so they decide they don't need a low end tablet, so they don't need to support it in the new iOS they stay with middle and top of the market models.

What specs does a 3gs have that the original iPad don't
 
This reminds me of some Android customers who threatened a lawsuit against Samsung for not updating their phone. Seriously? Give me a f'n break.

When you buy a phone you arent GUARANTEED updates for the rest of your lives.

----------
dukebound85 said:
I am more irked at how they continue to sell the 3gs and 4 but no plans to have upgrades for those new customers.
Click to expand...

A lot of Android manufacturers do this too.

Sell phones with 2.2 on it (meanwhile they're on 4.0, hence so much fragmentation).

At least with Apple, you dont have to worry about buyers remorse 2 months after buying the top of the line only to see something better come out.
 
riam said:
Not, The only thing that apple wants in upgrading the 3gs, is so they can continue selling it as the low end phone, if they drop support to 3gs, they could not continue selling the phone. Their interest is to keep having a low end phone to compete with other brands.

Not the case for the iPad, in that market they don't have the competition they have in the phones so they decide they don't need a low end tablet, so they don't need to support it in the new iOS they stay with middle and top of the market models.

What specs does a 3gs have that the original iPad don't
Click to expand...

I'll give you that- they are killing the tablet market, even in terms of price. I have an iPad 2 and a Kindle fire and the two don't even begin to compare. I bought the fire on a refurb deal from Amazon a while back and it was a steal but it really doesn't do anything the iPad doesn't. I might sell it, I dont know yet.

In terms of the 3Gs- I agree it would be wise for apple to keep a cheap/free phone. I am kind of leaning towards thinking that the iPhone 4 will become that phone and 3Gs will go out of production when the next iPhone launches. If not this year, then certainly next year. Seems like the 3Gs has seen a lot of love- I hope iOS6 runs well on it (remember iOS4 on the 3G, blah).
 
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