I can attest to being it true, at least partially. Some new major iOS versions do slow down some previous models. I had an iPhone 4S that was fast when I bought

I can attest to being it true, at least partially. Some new major iOS versions do slow down some previous models. I had an iPhone 4S that was fast when I bought it. I kept updating until Apple stopped releasing new iOS versions for it (I think I went from iOS 6 up to iOS 9.3.5). Everything was just slower and using the phone felt almost like a chore. Same for my iPad 3. It runs iOS 9.3.5, too, and is barely usable. I only ever watch YouTube on it now. Apps load so slowly. The onscreen keyboard takes several seconds to pop up after tapping a text field. I bought the iPhone 4S for 700€, the iPad 3 for 400€. And Apple simply decides to fuck people over by basically breaking their devices with a software update. Yes, the device still works, all functionality is still there, but using the device is an exercise in patience. I don’t think Apple makes previous devices slower on purpose. But I think they do not care to keep them fast either … to help sales. They love to claim the majority of devices runs the latest iOS version. Great. But at the same time they made millions of devices obsolete by nagging users to install it.