Every tech company has “planned obsolescence” otherwise they’d have to support every version of every operating system, forever. Where’s the cutoff? What should a tech company’s obligation be? I mean, do we want 5 years of software support for our MacBook? Seven? Ten? Do we want that enshrined in law, thus essentially locking out any commercial/proprietary OS that doesn’t come from a Microsoft/Google/Apple/Amazon-sized company?
There comes a point where the thing you bought - a computer - has delivered all the value to you you’re entitled to, for the price you paid. If you can still make it work beyond that point, that’s a bonus.
And, quite honestly, Apple’s so-called “planned obsolescence strategy” seems to be working out pretty well for them. Their products are mostly very expensive, and sell extremely well.
There are other computers and other operating systems with different support strategies.
Microsoft, for example, maintains what must seem to Apple engineers an absolutely ludicrous level of backward compatibility. The 32-bit version of Windows 7 (launch date: 2009) could run, unmodified, VisiCalc (launch date: 1981) - a program from 28 years prior. That’s like Snow Leopard running software for the Apple III, with no mods.
Linux gives you everything from the total curated experience of Ubuntu, to the wild west roll-your-own of Arch, to the wilder, wester, roll-you-own-ier Linux From Scratch. Your support window is basically down to you.
Apple’s vision - a whole integrated ecosystem, from wrist to phone to tablet to laptop notebook - and its concomitant complexity means if you ever want to get out of testing, older versions and features have to be let go.
