> Yep. They are the ones that chose to end software support for the device a mere 2 years after it was released. Or did someone else make that decision? You’re

> Yep. They are the ones that chose to end software support for the device a mere 2 years after it was released. Or did someone else make that decision? You’re totally correct - and there seemed be be few changes in iOS 6 that necessitated that move. That said, getting it above iOS 11 was never going to happen given the architecture change. >That decision about accepting the limitations and trade-offs should be in the hands of end users, not the device's manufacturer. I can install a relatively recent Linux distribution on my 20 year old PC and decide for myself whether I can live with the performance. iPad users are not even remotely in the same group as Linux users. As a Linux user using old hardware you are making an educated decision to do so, knowing all the pitfalls. Your average iPad user just wants the thing to run at speeds comparable to current devices and with minimal loss of functionality. An iPad is not a full blown computer like a modern day laptop is. I used to be an Android girl. I owned an original Xoom and later on, a Nexus 7. They were both unusable within a few years because the needs of the OS was greater than the devices could handle: and that’s even after I rooted them both and upgraded to the latest Cyanogen versions at the time.