Why does apple slow down old devices?

Are you talking about Microsoft computers or smartphones? And I was under the impression that they were tied together in some way. Is that correct? That a downgrade on a smartphone began with a downgrade on the Windows machine and on the various programs supporting the smart device.

Can you clarify?

Cheers,

GB

No, it is the never-ending demand for new and exciting stuff and never being satisfied with what you have that "makes" you buy a new one. The older ones still work, and still provide an enormous amount of functionality. My iPad 1 has can do everything that it could when I purchased it, and with iCloud, even more. It is fast, efficient, and easy to use. Of course, that's because I don't need it to function like the most current iPad, or have the ability to send messages (with balloons)....

Same reason some people have to buy a new car every year. Because they have to have whatever the latest innovation is, and have it right now. So, as long as people feel that without the most current of everything they just cannot survive, then companies like Apple will continue to innovate, and those innovations will be beyond the capacity of earlier versions of the device that the gimme consumer must have, and that will mean that those that cannot live without the latest and greatest will purchase them.

GB

vakstro wrote:

... it's [sic] devices have half the life expectancy they used to have in my opinion.

Fascinating opinion. Here are some facts.

In other words the last operating system a model iMac could run became superseded in approximately five years. That has been an approximate length of time for every Mac model built, ever. A Mac's functional obsolescence is very approximately seven years.

A seven year old Mac can still run Apple's latest operating system, meaning a typical Mac's functional obsolescence is even greater than it has been in the past. When upgrading operating systems a Mac will almost always benefit from additional RAM, but that has also always been the case since the original Macintosh was introduced in 1984.

Sadly you seem to be missing the point. The world continually demands bigger and better. When bigger and better is delivered, the hardware has to change to keep up. So, older hardware is simply not going to be as efficient with upgraded software. My iPhone 1 and my iPad 1 still work just great. But that is because I didn't try to use them like an iPhone 7Plus and an iPad Air. Within the scope of the hardware functionality, and running software that works on that level of hardware, they work absolutely the way they were designed to work.

Software is easy to keep changing and upgrading, and as long a a physical device can run it, then it can be used. That doesn't mean that it is always a good idea to push a piece of hardware to its absolute limits simply because you want the newest and best.

Hardware is something that has a limited lifetime, and that is true of all technological hardware. All of it. Not sure what you mean by "Service oriented Technology" nor how it realates to the OP who you are responding to, but there is no conspiracy here - no evil plan. This is simply how technology has worked since day 1. And with the ever-increasing gimme, gimme, gimme attitude of today's consumers, it is likely to just keep speeding up, because no on seems happy with what they ever have....

GB

Sadly, it is you and the other fanboys slinging around the same old argument about "newer software means it needs newer hardware".

All technology feels and acts as the latest and greatest on day 1 of you owning it. Go ahead, take a video of day 1 of the newer apple release and test the speed of that, then do it for the newer version and compare the two. It might run 5-10% faster, even though the specs show 50%-90% increase. It eventually slows down for no apparent reason except for updates (as many users attest).

As much as Apple pushes its statements on how much faster this year's model is than the last, why on earth would they ever scale the processing load and storage size of an update with the newer model? Wouldn't it make sense to just keep things running efficiently or to have some lightweight option out there? Download version L for security patches and bug fixes, or download version M for the max update with freeform texting availability and the newer lock screen look. I get that the newer model can handle a lot more, but that doesn't mean use as much as you can. If everytime you brought your car in to a mechanic and he welded some new item to the interior or trunk, or caused your mpg to go down because of an update HE FELT YOU NEEDED, wouldn't you be ****** off? Well, it was extra space, you can't prove the mpg went down because of the update, and the good news is that the newer version of your car already has it built in. So, stop complaining and go buy a new car already.

I could really care less about tapping the home button to have the screen move, or all of the stupid apps that they force on my phone, or even that dreadful U2 album they put on my phone for free (they did this to a lot of people). I want a FAST and POWERFUL phone, not the Japanese girl's dream phone with cute ways to add emojis or responses to texts...****, a lot of it is only good for iPhone to iPhone. Which is really stupid when most of my friends use Android.

Apple already does the whole automatic scaling of iOS for different, older iDevices.

Many Older iDevices get a percenatge of the entire iOS upgrade/update.

Some old iOS devices only get a very small and barebones features of an iOS upgrade/update!

What are YOU talking about?

Users' iDevices are slowing because they do stupid things with them or don't know how to use these devices to get optimal operation and performance.

The major one is these people/users have some ADHD issues and can't wait or research, in advance, to upgrade/update their devices to make sure that the upgrade/update doesn't contain any detrimental operational/features issues.

They leave waaaay toooo many apps open and constantly refreshing in the background.

Too many open and active web browser tabs.

They drain down their iDevice's storage down to near empty.

Before you post a single rant in an Apple product support forum ( something you shouldn't be doing as it violates the Terms of Use Agreement you HAD to agree to before using these forums) get yer facts straight!

mattman2005 wrote:

All technology feels and acts as the latest and greatest on day 1 of you owning it. Go ahead, take a video of day 1 of the newer apple release and test the speed of that, then do it for the newer version and compare the two. It might run 5-10% faster, even though the specs show 50%-90% increase. It eventually slows down for no apparent reason except for updates (as many users attest).

What changes is people's perception, not the device. What seemed amazing when first purchased, seems slow compared to newer models (and, people attest to being abducted by aliens).

You say you want a powerful phone. Powerful by the standards of which year? The iPhone 7 is a powerful phone. Five years from now it will seem quaint, not because it's any less powerful than it is now but because technology has advanced. There are somethings that get more valuable with age. Consumer electronics do not fall into that category.

Well, if Apple was catering to one consumer they might do just what you suggested. However, they don't just cater to you - they cater to the populace at large, and they are no different than any company trying to sell the latest and greatest. Supply and demand, my friend - it's called Capitalism.

And, 1) I am not a "boy", and 2) My post has nothing to do with being a "fan" of anyone. It has to do with being in technology for almost 40 years, and it has been this way from day 1. Hardware is built with the knowledge that is available at the time. Being hardware, it is not easily modified. Software is much more pliable, and moves at a much faster pace since it is "virtual" rather than physical. So, as new software features that are demanded on a daily basis are developed, the hardware has to be built to catch up. That means a new device.

So, like it or not, that is how the world works. My iPad 1 works just great, and has only the features that came with the iPad 1. Runs on 5.1.2, but so what? It does what it was designed to do. But, it is not as fast nor as powerful as the newest iPads by a long shot.

So, it doesn't matter what your requirements are, if they are requirements that exceed the physical hardware of a previous model, then you are going to have to get a newer one. You want speed and power (and I imagine, capacity), so you are going to have to join the hoards and upgrade. Your reason is no more pure than the Gen Z'r who wants 3d touch and magical balloons and confetti they can send with their texts.

Time to get off your high horse and bite the bullet. You want just like everyone else wants - bigger, newer, better. You want bigger, newer, better, you have to buy it.

If you can find the time, take a minute to look at an iPhone 1. It was built only 10 years ago. Possibly actually seeing what the technology afforded at that time vs. what you consider to be a "basic" phone now will help to put some perspective on the rapid march of progress for you.

GB

GB

Apple scales updates to older devices? Really? Where is your data on that? I understand telling a small lie, but geez dude.

Secondly, I don't know who you think you're talking to here. If a "typical Apple user" is bogged down by their device running slow, they will either buy a new device, complain to their friends who also own iOS devices, or talk to someone about how to make it run faster. Your typical forum poster already knows about deleting old apps, freeing space on their device and closing out background running apps.

Again, refer back to the mandatory and forced update I was given. I am well aware of waiting to see what backlash comes when Apple releases a new update. We're not talking about us updating as soon as new update is available, we go as long as possible before we are almost forced to update or when months have passed where bug fixes and slowdowns SHOULD have been fixed.

John Galt wrote:

mattman2005 wrote:

Again, refer back to the mandatory and forced update I was given.

I'll do that as soon as I find the pink unicorn that forced it upon you.

I want a pink unicorn!!!

You do realize that same guy went on a rant saying most Apple users have ADHD, I guess you can just ignore that one. Another guy went straight to the troll response with pink unicorns.

Just because the features are supported by new models doesn't mean they scaled back the update at all. What that means is that the hardware in the older models is incapable of supporting the new features. Teams of testers go through and figure out what works, what doesn't work, and what doesn't work well. The architects and directors decide if it's worth investing more time and efforts into getting older models to handle the feature or just add logic to bypass the new feature.

Trust me when I say that I have been looking for barebone updates with just bug fixes and security patches. I don't care about the latest iOS version and any new features.

I understand what you're saying and in the strictest sense, you're right. But the prompts or "recommendations" to update become so incessant that it's almost fair to say they are forced. Yes you can make the prompts stop, but only temporarily, and just like any instabilities in full release updates, all you can do is find workarounds. Not sure that's the mark of a premium product, at least in my opinion.

mattman2005 wrote:

Trust me when I say that I have been looking for barebone updates with just bug fixes and security patches. I don't care about the latest iOS version and any new features.

Then why do you install them if you don't want them.?

mattman2005 wrote:

You do realize that same guy went on a rant saying most Apple users have ADHD,

That is not what MIchelPM said at all. This is the exact quote:

Users' iDevices are slowing because they do stupid things with them or don't know how to use these devices to get optimal operation and performance.

The major one is these people/users have some ADHD issues and can't wait or research, in advance, to upgrade/update their devices to make sure that the upgrade/update doesn't contain any detrimental operational/features issues.

The emphasis is mine. It doesn't require to much in the way of knowledge of English to understand that "these people" does not refer to most Apple users but to people don't bother to do their research.

And John Galt has been participating in this thread longer than you have. Despite what you may think, making a statement that you don't agree with is not "trolling". Trolling is making a deliberately offensive of provocative online post with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them. I think it's pretty clear John doesn't care whether you reply or not.

Csound1 wrote:

mattman2005 wrote:

Trust me when I say that I have been looking for barebone updates with just bug fixes and security patches. I don't care about the latest iOS version and any new features.

Then why do you install them if you don't want them.?

You're being all logical again.