Why doesn't Apple allow for reinstall of past ios versions?

Obviously because Apple is interested in getting as many people as possible using the current software version.

 

Without updating people to the latest OS, Apple can't keep innovating. Normally the new OS is much better than the previous OS but there was only 1 exception so far. Google's Android currently suffers from too many versions of their OS that has gotten torn apart by the manufacturers. For this reason, just because Google releases ICS, you probably won't see it on your device until the manufacturer updates their copy. iOS on the other hand always comes from Apple directly and you can choose not to update. iOS5.1 for iPad 1 is actually good. So if your version is buggy and you are on a supported device, you can contact Apple and they will remedy the OS.

 

No issues with iPad 1 on iOS 5. It's an snappy as the day I bought it. iOS 5 did bring the occasional app crash (never happened before) but 5.1 seems to have solved that.

 

Because Apple doesn't sell a device, they sell you an ecosystem. It's overwhelmingly in their interest to have as many of their customers on the latest OS so that when they innovate a new feature, their customer base is right there with them to take advantage of it.

That's the same philosophy behind the low price of their Mac OS X. 30 bucks for a new OS version that has iCloud integration. They want everybody upgrading.

My girlfriend is still on Snow Leopard on her Mac while I'm on Lion. We're now on our 3rd iteration of iOS 5, and I'm snapping pictures with my phone, and they're right there on my Mac via photostream in the cloud. iCloud was a major feature and selling point for Apple's latest rounds of iOS devices, but my gf doesn't even have those features turned on on her iPhone 4s because she's not up to date on her Mac OS. This removes the ability for Apple to sell her new features. It also locks her out of buying apps from developers that are developing against this feature. And the innovations on the cloud side are only increasing and getting more robust. She won't be enjoying these and Apple and developers won't have access to her money, all because she isn't on the same page OS-wise.

That's why Apple doesn't let you go back on iOS. They don't have the same control on a Mac and that *still* affects their iOS market. That's why they have to incentivize the upgrade there. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mac OS X be a free upgrade in the future quite frankly.

 

jailbreaking.

 

They don't want to provide support for multiple versions.

 

Exactly.
Ever since upgrading to 5.0 on the original iPad, people are experiencing occasional crashes and delayed text writing, intermittently.
The tab browsing is nice but I'd rather have a stable device and revert back to older OS.
People are already reporting 5.1 is draining battery quicker on the iPad2.
Who knows how much 5.1 will cripple the original iPad.

It seems apple is writing OS updates for the latest iteration of their iPad and eventually, the OS updates will cripple the older iPads enough that people are FORCED to upgrade their iPad to the HW latest version.

Sounds like systematic forced obsolescence of a pompous business scheme.

 

Because apple doesn't like jailbreaking!! Is there any other explanation for not allowing OS downgrades?

 

Members here have reported 5.1 giving their original iPad new life.

 

Don't know about iPad 2 battery drain since I haven't updated yet, but a lot of people are reporting favorable results with the iPad 1. So Apple is damned if they don't provide update for the older devices and damned if they do. I would hope Apple doesn't "dumb down" the os updates so a two year old device can run it perfectly.

 

I am running 5.1 on the original iPad with no complaints. The delayed text writing is a little annoying, but I have gotten used to it. I get frequent crashes in safari, at least 5-10 a day, but that has been on every iOS version for me since 3.x.