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This is tangentially related, I guess, but older iPads essentially rendered useless. I have an iPad 2 that could absolutely be used for zoom calls, but the zoom

This is tangentially related, I guess, but older iPads essentially rendered useless. I have an iPad 2 that could absolutely be used for zoom calls, but the zoom software will not install because apple forces them to require a newer iPad. Whereas I have an old MacBook from 2013 that still works pretty good - AND I could put Linux on it if I wanted to.. Hrm. Can I put Linux on an iPad?

realusername 2y ago
I feel like that's an angle which isn't talked about much by the EU, all these mobile devices should work like normal computers so you can install anything you want on it. Both for improving competition and reducing e-waste.
- oaiey 2y ago
  e-waste is indeed a valid angle. And extortion of customers (to buy new devices while the old one is still perfectly valid). I mean there is one thing to no longer patch devices but another one is to migrate products away from it.
jncfhnb 2y ago
Is it accurate that Apple forces zoom to not support older iPads?
- kevingadd 2y ago
  They require regular updates to the latest SDKs, which makes it nearly impossible to test to ensure your software is still compatible with old devices. The result is that it seems like many developers just drop support for devices they can't test against anymore. Of course sometimes there is a cool new feature in an updated iOS SDK that isn't supported by older devices, so that's another reason to drop support for them in an app. And if you pull in third-party software (facebook login integration, ad middleware, etc) that stuff may also 'move forward' by dropping old device support. I'm not sure it makes sense to ding Apple for this in particular since support for old Android devices is similarly bad on Google's store.
gregoriol 2y ago
Where did you get the information that "apple forces them to require a newer iPad"? This is not true: Apple doesn't force anyone to abandon older versions. The only thing that they do and makes this unbearable is that they prevent downgrading devices (or having older simulators or older xcode on newer macs), so testing on older iOS versions is painful or even impossible. But they don't require you to abandon older versions in any code related stuff, you can use modern features and still support older iOS.
meindnoch 2y ago
>but the zoom software will not install because apple forces them to require a newer iPad I have an iOS app on the AppStore that supports iOS 9. Noone is forcing Zoom to require newer iPads or OS versions.
- extraduder_ire 2y ago
  Last I interacted with appstore uploads, they had restrictions on features you could have in new IPAs you upload. Old versions do stick around though. (even if users can't download them if there are newer app versions) Can Xcode 15/iOS 17 SDK still build 32 bit apps for iOS 9, and can you upload them? I'd be very impressed if so.
fsflover 2y ago
> Hrm. Can I put Linux on an iPad? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25172883 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25172883

realusername 2y ago

I feel like that's an angle which isn't talked about much by the EU, all these mobile devices should work like normal computers so you can install anything you want on it. Both for improving competition and reducing e-waste.

oaiey 2y ago
e-waste is indeed a valid angle. And extortion of customers (to buy new devices while the old one is still perfectly valid). I mean there is one thing to no longer patch devices but another one is to migrate products away from it.

jncfhnb 2y ago

Is it accurate that Apple forces zoom to not support older iPads?

kevingadd 2y ago
They require regular updates to the latest SDKs, which makes it nearly impossible to test to ensure your software is still compatible with old devices. The result is that it seems like many developers just drop support for devices they can't test against anymore. Of course sometimes there is a cool new feature in an updated iOS SDK that isn't supported by older devices, so that's another reason to drop support for them in an app. And if you pull in third-party software (facebook login integration, ad middleware, etc) that stuff may also 'move forward' by dropping old device support. I'm not sure it makes sense to ding Apple for this in particular since support for old Android devices is similarly bad on Google's store.

gregoriol 2y ago

Where did you get the information that "apple forces them to require a newer iPad"? This is not true: Apple doesn't force anyone to abandon older versions. The only thing that they do and makes this unbearable is that they prevent downgrading devices (or having older simulators or older xcode on newer macs), so testing on older iOS versions is painful or even impossible. But they don't require you to abandon older versions in any code related stuff, you can use modern features and still support older iOS.

meindnoch 2y ago

>but the zoom software will not install because apple forces them to require a newer iPad I have an iOS app on the AppStore that supports iOS 9. Noone is forcing Zoom to require newer iPads or OS versions.

extraduder_ire 2y ago
Last I interacted with appstore uploads, they had restrictions on features you could have in new IPAs you upload. Old versions do stick around though. (even if users can't download them if there are newer app versions) Can Xcode 15/iOS 17 SDK still build 32 bit apps for iOS 9, and can you upload them? I'd be very impressed if so.

fsflover 2y ago

> Hrm. Can I put Linux on an iPad? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25172883 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25172883