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What do you think about the way apple handles ios updates for older devices?

  • Apple is just trying to make money - a customer should do research before upgrading

    Votes: 113 13.6%
  • It's a little sneaky, but not a big deal

    Votes: 77 9.3%
  • It is plain wrong to offer an upgrade that will slow down a device

    Votes: 129 15.5%
  • Apple should allow users to select an ios that functions well on their device, even a downgrade

    Votes: 374 45.0%
  • other (or: this poll is horrible)

    Votes: 297 35.7%

  • Total voters
    831
On an iPad 4 iOS 8.1 is running just fine.
In your opinion.

In my experience, 8.1 is not "running just fine". Sluggish, apps closing. I've wiped it out and reinstalled 8.1 as a new device and manually added each app that I use and avoided installing infrequently used apps.
 
In your opinion.

In my experience, 8.1 is not "running just fine". Sluggish, apps closing. I've wiped it out and reinstalled 8.1 as a new device and manually added each app that I use and avoided installing infrequently used apps.

It's not an opinion.
And btw the number of installed apps has nothing to do with the "sluggishness" of an operative system.
I've seen iOS 8 run on several iPad 4 (we have 62 actually) and it works very well even with two heavy apps running in background.

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Many are reporting severe problems with iOS 8.1 on the iPad Air.

On this forum there are users reporting problems ON EVERY APPLE'S DEVICE, and still pretending they are buying one after another.
I trust my own eyes about that: on my iPad air and iPhone 5S it runs very very well.

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Are you saying that a customer who purchased an iPad 2 when it was released does not have the right to expect that iPad 2 to continue performing as it did when it was purchased?

NO ONE forced you to upgrade it.
It was released with iOS 4 almost four years ago. It runs fine with iOS 5, 6 and 7 (especially after 7.1).
As I don't live on Mars, like some users on this forum, I know perfectly well than add functionalities on old hardware comes at the price of performance.

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Which apple was selling how recently? Along with the original iPad mini, and the iPod touch they are selling now.

Why is it whining, when it's what apple has been selling?

Oh crap, I just saw who I am responding to - Nevermind. We know - Apple can do no wrong. Good bye.

IPad 2 was discontinued BEFORE iOS 8 release. If someone is so naive to buy a 2011 product in 2014 it's not my problem.
And about the iPad mini, I was disappointed about its downgraded hardware since the beginning, but we have more than 30 iPad minis working fine with iOS 7.1 installed (we avoid iOS 8).

Oh crappy, I just saw who I am responding to - Nevermind. We know - your Apple's product surely is defective like all the others. Good bye.

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Except the currently available iPad mini 1 is exactly the same as an iPad 2.

The iPad mini was a poor product at the launch's day, hardware wise, and it's a poor product today.

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So the people who downgrade wouldn't be able to use those type of apps. That's the trade off for them. Not sure how that really has any impact on anyone else or Apple or anything like that.

I'd prefer a different solution from Apple, like to limit software support earlier. In my opinion iPad 2, iPhone 4S and iPad mini shouldn't be allowed to receive iOS 8.
But in this case we'd have a lot of whining here about how cruel is Apple in not allowing users to install the latest iOS version, and a lot of non sense about the planned obsolescence.
 
It's not an opinion.
And btw the number of installed apps has nothing to do with the "sluggishness" of an operative system.
I've seen iOS 8 run on several iPad 4 (we have 62 actually) and it works very well even with two heavy apps running in background.

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On this forum there are users reporting problems ON EVERY APPLE'S DEVICE, and still pretending they are buying one after another.
I trust my own eyes about that: on my iPad air and iPhone 5S it runs very very well.

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NO ONE forced you to upgrade it.
It was released with iOS 4 almost four years ago. It runs fine with iOS 5, 6 and 7 (especially after 7.1).
As I don't live on Mars, like some users on this forum, I know perfectly well than add functionalities on old hardware comes at the price of performance.

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IPad 2 was discontinued BEFORE iOS 8 release. If someone is so naive to buy a 2011 product in 2014 it's not my problem.
And about the iPad mini, I was disappointed about its downgraded hardware since the beginning, but we have more than 30 iPad minis working fine with iOS 7.1 installed (we avoid iOS 8).

Oh crappy, I just saw who I am responding to - Nevermind. We know - your Apple's product surely is defective like all the others. Good bye.

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The iPad mini was a poor product at the launch's day, hardware wise, and it's a poor product today.

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I'd prefer a different solution from Apple, like to limit software support earlier. In my opinion iPad 2, iPhone 4S and iPad mini shouldn't be allowed to receive iOS 8.
But in this case we'd have a lot of whining here about how cruel is Apple in not allowing users to install the latest iOS version, and a lot of non sense about the planned obsolescence.
Apple themselves broke things like FaceTime and essentially forced people to upgrade simply to regain functionality they already had and didn't have anything to do with losing (as, again, Apple themselves broke it).

Whining about not getting an upgrade on an older device that got a number of upgrades is something that has existed for a long time and exists all over the place. It's a different level of whining and certainly not a worthy excuse to create an issue where a device performes worse. Having one type of long existing whining about not getting the latest upgrade is quite a bit better than that of customers with devices that started working worse for them.
 
It's really not cool, and here's why:

You have a cool apple device that works fine. Oh look, there's a new ios update, cool! It popped up on my screen. That means that it's an improvement and a normal upgrade. I will get it. I can't wait to try it out.

Now, my ipod, ipad, iphone, etc, is slower that it was before. This new ios is slowing things down. And, I can't downgrade back? Now, I have to buy a brand new device so that it runs smoothly when my device was working perfectly a few minutes ago?

Well, personally, I feel as if it's borderline criminal to offer upgrades that cripple their own devices. If apple is the transparent company they claim to be, they should inform its customers as to the version of ios that runs the best on their device, and then allow them to use it.

It really should be done away with, and if I was a hotshot lawyer, I would be on the case. I would really like to see somebody put apple in its place on this issue.

I couldn't agree more! We should always be able to restore to the iOS that our devices shipped with. I've learned my lesson over the years and will NEVER update my 6+ beyond 8.xx.
This certainly seem class-action suit worthy to me, especially considering how many truly frivolous cases  is subjected to.
 
I couldn't agree more! We should always be able to restore to the iOS that our devices shipped with. I've learned my lesson over the years and will NEVER update my 6+ beyond 8.xx.

This certainly seem class-action suit worthy to me, especially considering how many truly frivolous cases is subjected to.


So you are going to keep the sucks IOS on your device and will not update it to IOS 9 ?
I think that's not a solution because the IPhone 6 already came with buggy IOS therefore you will not lose anything if you updated it!
 
I couldn't agree more! We should always be able to restore to the iOS that our devices shipped with. I've learned my lesson over the years and will NEVER update my 6+ beyond 8.xx.
This certainly seem class-action suit worthy to me, especially considering how many truly frivolous cases  is subjected to.

If this were class action suit worthy Microsoft would be out of business.

I wouldn't want to restore my 5S to 7.0.1 or 7.0.2; whatever it shipped with. 8.1.2 runs better then ios 7.1.2. (I'd better add, IMO)
 
It's not an opinion.
And btw the number of installed apps has nothing to do with the "sluggishness" of an operative system.
I've seen iOS 8 run on several iPad 4 (we have 62 actually) and it works very well even with two heavy apps running in background.
When you attempt to push your opinion as fact to the point of implying that either (A) I'm lying or (B) I'm exaggerating you have lost credibility and your opinion, meaningless.

I'm saying that my first hand experience with iOS 8.1 is not "running fine" for me. It takes quite a bit of arrogance to tell someone that they're not experiencing what they're experiencing.
 
I'm all for pushing technology and for enthusiasts who want to upgrade regularly to stay on the cutting edge to be able to do so.

But I consider it irresponsible that we promote the insane turnover of these devices for pretty much everyone because things that used to work just fine get slowed down to the point of exasperation. Considering rolling back to older software should be exactly the same as not updating in the first place, I feel like apple's security argument holds little weight unless they're going to go all in and say "if you are still using an older OS we are turning off your device because it's not safe"
 
I'm all for pushing technology and for enthusiasts who want to upgrade regularly to stay on the cutting edge to be able to do so.

But I consider it irresponsible that we promote the insane turnover of these devices for pretty much everyone because things that used to work just fine get slowed down to the point of exasperation. Considering rolling back to older software should be exactly the same as not updating in the first place, I feel like apple's security argument holds little weight unless they're going to go all in and say "if you are still using an older OS we are turning off your device because it's not safe"

Microsoft did that with windows 8.1. Unless you applied update 1, they stopped giving updates.

Not exactly the same way Apple handles things, but for whatever reason they don't support past o/s ala Microsoft.

Apple devices will last 4 years. My old bb lasted 4 years. After 4 years these devices are really old anyway, if used as intended.

Looking forward from today you certainly don't have to upgrade your o/s and be stuck in time. But that's a new set of issues than updating to the latest and greatest and not be happy for whatever reason.
 
Microsoft did that with windows 8.1. Unless you applied update 1, they stopped giving updates.

Not exactly the same way Apple handles things, but for whatever reason they don't support past o/s ala Microsoft.

Apple devices will last 4 years. My old bb lasted 4 years. After 4 years these devices are really old anyway, if used as intended.

Looking forward from today you certainly don't have to upgrade your o/s and be stuck in time. But that's a new set of issues than updating to the latest and greatest and not be happy for whatever reason.

Except for the fact that if your device has any problems and needs to be restored you have no choice in the matter.

My dad has a 4s on iOS 6. He uses it for camera, phone/texting, weather, maps, and occasionally looking up info online. those tools in a smooth, responsive package are perfect for him, but if his phone ever needs restoring, he will be left with an objectively more laggy device.

I get that technology is imperfect and breaks down eventually; I get that companies function for profit; and I get that innovation happens rapidly in this space. But we crow and boast about how many tens of millions of these things we churn out every month, and it just makesme feel like there is a middle ground between pushing forward and trying just a little harder to accommodate sustainability.

especially through something as simple as offering the ability to downgrade to a satisfactorily performing OS on a device that would otherwise completely meet a user's needs.
 
Except for the fact that if your device has any problems and needs to be restored you have no choice in the matter.

My dad has a 4s on iOS 6. He uses it for camera, phone/texting, weather, maps, and occasionally looking up info online. those tools in a smooth, responsive package are perfect for him, but if his phone ever needs restoring, he will be left with an objectively more laggy device.

I get that technology is imperfect and breaks down eventually; I get that companies function for profit; and I get that innovation happens rapidly in this space. But we crow and boast about how many tens of millions of these things we churn out every month, and it just makesme feel like there is a middle ground between pushing forward and trying just a little harder to accommodate sustainability.

especially through something as simple as offering the ability to downgrade to a satisfactorily performing OS on a device that would otherwise completely meet a user's needs.

Aside from ios 6 being a hornets nest of bugs and security issues I see your point. On the flip my iPad 2 on iOS 8.1.2 runs fine for me.
 
I would be happy with slowdown in non-critical places for many times the functionality. Ipad 2 was released with IOS 5. Ios 6,7,8 all had major issues. Eventually Apple sorted them all out. I'm happy with my iPad 2 on 8.1.2 and glad Apple supports it.

iPad 2 was released with iOS 4!
 
Aside from ios 6 being a hornets nest of bugs and security issues I see your point. On the flip my iPad 2 on iOS 8.1.2 runs fine for me.

Perhaps security issues here and there but not really buggy, at least not any more than iOS 7 and most certainly iOS 8.
 
The iOS upgrades are IMO the least obnoxious of Apple's planned obsolescence tactics. The most obvious one is the sealed battery. Unfortunately that one has spread like wildfire throughout the smartphone industry, with only a few holdouts. Batteries naturally degrade over time and Apple's IMO degrade very fast. A year, a year and a half, and all the people posting their great battery times on their iphone 6+ will be complaining that their battery barely lasts them through the morning. But battery replacements are expensive and oh look, hold out for a few months and you're eligible for an upgrade.

The other is gimping on the memory/RAM, with no chance for expansion. 16 GB is fine -- if you allow people to move their videos to a micro-SD slot. But they don't allow that, and iOS eats up more and more memory. So you're stuck either ponying up $100 more or simply having no more memory on your phone unless you have no apps.

1 GB RAM -- the iPad Air2 comes with 2 GB, which is an acknowledgment that iOS 8 needs 2 GB to run optimally. But they put 1 GB in the iphone 6, so that phone will slow down and crash with more updates.

There's nothing inherently wrong with software updates. iOS 8 has some much-needed improvements over iOS 7. But Apple's gimping on hardware is what makes the phones unusable after two years.
 
Wow, time flies. Thanks.

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Like hacks where you could bypass the locked home screen? Or was that ios 7?

Pretty much all iOS versions have some weird hacks that allow some level of bypassing. Unfortunately nothing surprising or new these days, and even newer versions don't always fix things and when they do often end up introducing other ones. So in the overall sense it's kind of moot in that respect.
 
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I always upgrade my devices to the latest OS and I have never felt that way

Really? iOS 8 on a 4s is slow as molasses. The same was the case with iOS 7 on the 4 (even the update didn't speed it up to what was seen on iOS 6)

I think apple should allow a downgrade path to one revision for all devices hit their max iOS level

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If you bought a Dell 15 years ago with Windows 98 on it.
And you updated it to Windows 8 today... it'll be slower. It's not criminal. This is an insane poll.

They are spending gobs and gobs of engineering hours making it work with your old device.

But you could then re-put windows 98 on the machine and be happy with it. Apple doesn't give that option. DOn't like it? You are stuck with it
 
When you attempt to push your opinion as fact to the point of implying that either (A) I'm lying or (B) I'm exaggerating you have lost credibility and your opinion, meaningless.

I'm saying that my first hand experience with iOS 8.1 is not "running fine" for me. It takes quite a bit of arrogance to tell someone that they're not experiencing what they're experiencing.

I could see the same arrogance by someone trying to tell me that my direct experience on more than 60 iPads used as professionals tools is meaningless.

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The iOS upgrades are IMO the least obnoxious of Apple's planned obsolescence tactics. The most obvious one is the sealed battery. Unfortunately that one has spread like wildfire throughout the smartphone industry, with only a few holdouts. Batteries naturally degrade over time and Apple's IMO degrade very fast. A year, a year and a half, and all the people posting their great battery times on their iphone 6+ will be complaining that their battery barely lasts them through the morning. But battery replacements are expensive and oh look, hold out for a few months and you're eligible for an upgrade.

The other is gimping on the memory/RAM, with no chance for expansion. 16 GB is fine -- if you allow people to move their videos to a micro-SD slot. But they don't allow that, and iOS eats up more and more memory. So you're stuck either ponying up $100 more or simply having no more memory on your phone unless you have no apps.

1 GB RAM -- the iPad Air2 comes with 2 GB, which is an acknowledgment that iOS 8 needs 2 GB to run optimally. But they put 1 GB in the iphone 6, so that phone will slow down and crash with more updates.

There's nothing inherently wrong with software updates. iOS 8 has some much-needed improvements over iOS 7. But Apple's gimping on hardware is what makes the phones unusable after two years.
There is not such a thing like planned obsolescence out of forums like this, as several ex Apple's employees stated....

And iOS 8 was launched on iPhone 6 and 5S, 1 Gb devices that runs very well on it.
Apple phones unusable after two years ??? Are you serious?
 
Pretty much all iOS versions have some weird hacks that allow some level of bypassing. Unfortunately nothing surprising or new these days, and even newer versions don't always fix things and when they do often end up introducing other ones. So in the overall sense it's kind of moot in that respect.

I don't remember any of that type of stuff in IOS 8.

Nonetheless getting back to the topic, if the masses were unhappy one would think that would be reflected in the company worth. What's maybe good for a small percentage of iPhone users may not be good for the company, developers or the majority of iPhone users. I also believe there are some expectations in play here. My iPhone 4 on 7.1.2 runs fine to me. Yet I'm sure someone else can find areas where I don't see it, where it doesn't run right. There will always be that type of scenario in everything in life.
 
I don't remember any of that type of stuff in IOS 8.

Nonetheless getting back to the topic, if the masses were unhappy one would think that would be reflected in the company worth. What's maybe good for a small percentage of iPhone users may not be good for the company, developers or the majority of iPhone users. I also believe there are some expectations in play here. My iPhone 4 on 7.1.2 runs fine to me. Yet I'm sure someone else can find areas where I don't see it, where it doesn't run right. There will always be that type of scenario in everything in life.

And that's why being able to use the iOS version that works for you makes that much sense.
 
As I said, what may be good for a small percentage of people may not be good for the majority, even if it seems to be the right thing to do...at any cost.

Seems like it might get used by a small percentage of people, while for the majority nothing would change.
 
I think the fact that Apple makes it absolutely impossible (as in even the world's best hackers can't figure this out!) to downgrade back to the iOS version you had 5 minutes ago is proof of planned obsolescence. Not allowing people to downgrade is as unnatural, illogical prohibition.

Also, the handful of extra features in iOS 8 do NOT explain why EVERYTHING becomes slower in iOS 8 vs. iOS 7. It makes no sense.
 
I think the fact that Apple makes it absolutely impossible (as in even the world's best hackers can't figure this out!) to downgrade back to the iOS version you had 5 minutes ago is proof of planned obsolescence. Not allowing people to downgrade is as unnatural, illogical prohibition.

Also, the handful of extra features in iOS 8 do NOT explain why EVERYTHING becomes slower in iOS 8 vs. iOS 7. It makes no sense.

Just to address the last part, there are way more than a handful features in iOS 8, especially factoring in everything under the hood.
 
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