Respectfully, Apple is not pushing for obsolesence. You are making broad, wide ranging assumptions based on the first beta of a major OS overhaul and upgrade; like I mentioned in an earlier post, the betas have debugging code enabled that slows down performance, and they likely haven't yet made any significant optimizations. Performance is spotty even on Apple's highest end devices as a result of the debugging code, its why I downgraded back to iOS 18 until Beta 2 as with Beta 2 they will likely have made performance optimizations, and that optimization cycle will continue through to the end of the beta cycle (alongside further feature additions and refinements to the user interface based on feedback) when it releases to the public in September. Even my M3 Max MBP on the first beta of macOS Tahoe isn't performing perfectly right now, and thats fine, because it is the first beta out of eight or nine betas that will be released between now and September.
You claim planned obsolesence, but they support their devices for as many as close to ten years (six major OS upgrades and numerous point updates that add more features on top of each major version release + four years of security updates), based off the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus which got an update as recently as March 31 of this year, over 9 years after the devices first released.
No, I'm not making assumptions based on this particular beta. I know what beta version are, I know what they do and I know what to expect, as I've been testing betas on iPhones since at least 2009. And from experience, I will share what is considered common knowledge in the legacyjailbreak community:
Remember that Apple won't let you downgrade to an older iOS version, it's important for later.
1. Do you you have an older iPhone to test this with? The SE 1st gen is a very good example for this test, as it runs the still somewhat supported iOS 15 and can now be downgraded all the way to iOS 9. I have a brand new battery in mine, and can tell you that newly set up SE 1st gen on iOS 15 with almost no media consumption and used for basic task (texts, calls, email, music, carplay, apple pay, some cut the rope on the loo) lasts from 7am roughly until 6-7pm, at that point the battery is dead. Downgrade it to iOS 11, and I can still do all these things (except for Apple pay) for the same amount of time, and have 40-50% at 6-7pm.
2. Yes, Apple will keep pushing updates for older hardware and you will take it as Apple being nice and helping you keep your device longer. Is that what they really want? Do you think a company like Apple doesn't want you to upgrade every two years? They push updates, but what do they mean for you? Why not release security updates for the version best suitable for the hardware if they really are trying to let you keep your for longer and have you have it perform at it's best? If they had your interest at heart, they would make sure you can use the iOS version you're happy with. Does that make sense? Apple is a lot less aggressive with their push for users to update iOS, but they still do push and want to have as many devices as possible on the latest version, and once you're there's there's no going back.
3. Let's stay with the SE 1st gen for a moment, which is basically the same as 6S/Plus. I tested iOS 14 and 15 betas on this phone, and no matter what, the release version was killing the battery exactly the same way the betas did. This isn't exclusive to the SE, the same was happening on my Xs. If you compare an Xs on iOS 18 to an Xs on iOS 15, you will see the same effect as you would on the SE. I won't get into the mess that iOS 18 is, but even on iOS 17, the phone just doesn't perform as good as it did on 12-15. Why do you think that is? Yes, they keep adding features, but at what cost? Should the features be more optimized? They had beta tests, betas showed the versions are really bad for the phone, why not "optimize" before release? Surely the final release versions will be ironed out - No. They kept on releasing minor updates with very little improvement. So yes, they keep your phone supported, but at what cost for you? At cost of your experience with the phone, and slowly making you feel like you need to upgrade. This is common knowledge.
4. Why do you think Apple doesn't let me officially downgrade to iOS 11? For "security reasons"? There is barely any noticeable difference in capabilities between the two versions, yet one kills the phone by 50% at lunch time, the other can go on until the next day's lunch. Why not let me decide what iOS version I want to use? Why aggressively push me to update, and why not let me downgrade? I would happily downgrade to iOS 11 officially signed by Apple and rather not use the latest apps (you can still download older versions of apps from the appstore), why not let me? Because that would make my phone faster, last longer, and make me keep the phone? Let's now be naive, and look back at the very moment where Jobs said no to downgrades.
Apple's push for obsolescence is real, there's no denying it. Try using a Mac Mini late 2008 on Sequoia. At least it's still "supported", right? With the latest Tahoe swing, just see how many Macs are being dropped. Macs that are barely 4-5 years old.
