iPad iOS 8.02 Doesn't Apple test their iOS before releasing?

[Tubamajuba]

There are always some generation of iOS devices that can't install the latest and greatest. How are those people handling the situation?

How many people are complaining that their iPhone 4 can't update to iOS 8?

The mythological disgruntled customer is the reason given to justify Apple's liberal upgrade window.

The difference is, there are no older iPhones that are supported by iOS 8- the 4S is very clearly the end of the line. If Apple released iOS 8 for the iPad 2 and not the 3, owners of the 3 would cry foul at the iPad 2 being updated without understanding the technical reasons behind why their device was left out.

When the fact is raised that it is a one-way street and downgrading is not permitted, the response is then, "well it's too complicated for Apple to allow that" or "it would create confusion".

This situation is aggravated by security bug fixes that require users to upgrade to the latest version of iOS available for that device.... even when Apple has released fixes for previous versions of iOS.

For example: I've kept my iPhone 4 at iOS 5.1.1. Performance was stellar, battery life insane. When the SSL bug fix was released, there was an update for iOS 5, iOS6, and iOS7. Apple did not allow an iPhone 4 running iOS 5 to upgrade to the latest version of iOS 5 (the version with the fix)... upgrading to iOS 7 was the only option.

It's not as simple as copying and pasting the necessary fix. It still takes a decent amount of work to patch and test each version of the OS for every device that is supported. Adding even more versions of the OS to code fixes for would be an unnecessary waste of resources from Apple's perspective. I would personally much rather them focus on fixing bugs and adding features in the latest major version of iOS than to spend time and money patching older versions on devices that could be updated to the newest version. By choosing not to update your devices, you simply won't get the latest fixes. And the SSL bug fix was only applicable to iOS 6 and 7, for that matter.

 

[loby]

Ok...I understand and agree somewhat to those who have made me feel like an idiot to think that my iPad 3 after three iOS versions would still run fast with the latest update...

Fair enough...

But would you agree that Apple should allow a larger time window to allow those that have the older models to be able to downgrade if they feel it does not meet their needs?

I do agree with someone who said earlier that we spend a great deal of money on their products, so we should expect them to last a few years, including being safe security wise.

If they do not patch up older versions of their iOS with security patches, we are forced to upgrade.