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Most major companies, to me, seem to be following Apple's example and forcing a shorter support lifecycle for each device, expecting users to simply replace the

Most major companies, to me, seem to be following Apple's example and forcing a shorter support lifecycle for each device, expecting users to simply replace their "obsolete" device with the newest one.

titaniumdecoy 12y ago
This is a common but completely unfair criticism of Apple. Plenty of people complained when iOS 7 was made available for the iPhone 4 (because the hardware was too slow to run it properly). And Apple still sells and supports relatively ancient hardware (the iPad mini) as a result of their current strategy of selling last year's model as the second-best option.
- mfisher87 12y ago
  I wouldn't say it's completely unfair. Using proprietary data/charging cables and changing the design every so often, obsoleting whole generations of products seems like behavior consistent with my criticism.
  - tehwalrus 12y ago
    There have only been two apple charging interfaces for iPods, iPhones and iPads (excluding the shuffle), and the new one was necessary (if I understood correctly) to take advantage of faster USB3 data transfer rates.
    - duskwuff 12y ago
      Lightning doesn't currently support USB3, unfortunately. It did get rid of a lot of obsolete old interfaces that were present in the 30-pin dock connector pinout, though, and opened up possibilities for new devices (like the HDMI adapter).
      - tehwalrus 12y ago
        Thanks, I wasn't really sure.
      - e28eta 12y ago
        FYI, the HDMI adapter existed for 30-pin devices too, so that's not a good example.
  - k33l0r 12y ago
    The connector for iPods, iPads, and iPhones has only changed once. And the old 30-pin dock connector was in use for 11 years. 11 years now counts as “every so often”? As for macs, the original MagSafe connector was in production for 6 years, before it was replaced by MagSafe 2 in 2012…
  - jakobegger 12y ago
    Apple introduced the Dock connector on the iPod in 2001. The same connector was used for over ten years, before it was replaced with the lightning connector in 2012. The MagSafe connector was replaced after 6 years by the MagSafe 2 connector, also in 2012. Both of these connectors where replaced for good reasons. The Dock connector was not reversible, prone to break, and was easily clogged with dust. It was also too big for smaller form factors. The MagSafe connector was often confused with USB and also too thick for thinner devices, and it used a low charging voltage (less efficient). Switching to a new design is often inconvenient, but also often necessary. To ease the transition, Apple even provided adaptors for compatibility with older chargers.
    - zcdziura 12y ago
      When it comes right down to it, people hate change. "It still works, so why change it!?" is a popular saying among most users. You're right, though. In this case, there definitely had to be an update to Apple's charging cables. Now that we're 3 generations into the new Lightning Connector, it's less of an issue for most people.
      - ulisesrmzroche 12y ago
        Apple has a huge majority of users who are basically into fashion. I usually buy the newest things and give away the old stuff, even if its just charging cables or an extra monitor.
- ksk 12y ago
  The reason people complain is because iOS updates are a horrible kind of bait and switch. You update the OS because you think its awesome, but are unable to downgrade when you find that in reality, its slow and bloated. The most infuriating thing in all of this is that my iPhone 4S is STILL a fast device. The CPU hasn't shrunk since the time I bought it. Apple has decided that I am unworthy of restoring my phone to the state it was when I purchased it.
  - Mikeb85 12y ago
    Yup. I had 1 iPhone, my first and last Apple product. My mom just got an iPad mini, was infuriated when she discovered she can't buy Kindle books from the Kindle app like she could on Android. The artificial restrictions Apple places on developers and users are ridiculous. And Android 5 is the first release where I can say that Android is unequivocally a nicer experience than iOS...
    - ljf 12y ago
      Just so you know, you can't buy kindle books from the Android app anymore either - main reason I use Aldiko to read epub now. Agreed about Android 5 though, best yet!
      - fpgeek 12y ago
        Say what now? I just opened my Kindle app and the store hasn't gone anywhere. Are you maybe thinking of Google blocking Amazon from including the Amazon Appstore in the Amazon shopping app? That's a different issue and, more importantly, that doesn't really affect what's possible on Android, just how convenient it is. After all, anyone who wants to can download the store Google blocked from Amazon directly.
        madeofpalk 12y ago
        Just like how if anyone wants to purchase a Kindle book on the iPad, they can do it via Safari (they could make it more convenient by pinning it to the home screen as well)
- mikeash 12y ago
  It's not a choice between no software updates for old hardware, and bad software updates for no hardware. At least in theory, Apple could have made an iOS 7 update for the iPhone 4 that actually worked well on that hardware. It's not "unfair" to complain that Apple does a bad job of supporting hardware after only a couple of years, when your counter is that they release OS updates that don't work well on them.
moca 12y ago
Among major companies, Apple did a better job with supporting old devices. Google Nexus devices become completely out of date after 2 years (too slow to run latest software, and too hard to get hardware repair support). Software wise, Apple could have done a better job as the newer version of iOS is indeed bloated and doesn't run well on old devices. On the other side, Microsoft did great job on supporting Windows XP for over a decade with wide variety of hardwares.
- Chronic30 12y ago
  But people will say Google is cool and Microsoft isn't
  - wutbrodo 12y ago
    This is sort of a weird complaint to have, since "cool" doesn't at all have the connotation of "robust long-term support"; in fact it's almost the opposite, since being "cool" is a more in line with things like "move fast and break things". That doesn't mean that backwards compatibility and long-term support isn't a good thing for the consumer, but it really has nothing to do with the concept of "cool".
- colechristensen 12y ago
  The primary reason Microsoft ever attained and kept its business is backwards and broad compatibility.
  - digi_owl 12y ago
    Yep. It became a real shit storm when they changed the driver system somewhere around Vista/7 and people found they could no longer use their old(-ish) printer with their new computer. Then again, that same backwards compatibility has been a major contributor to all the security issues over the years.
    - kristianp 12y ago
      Wasn't that because of the switch to 64bit? A lot of older printers didn't have 64 bit drivers.
maffyoo 12y ago
where on earth did this comment originate. I have a iPad2 which was "born" in 2011, show me any equivalent tablet appliance that is still running the latest OS ... ? i hate these sort of bile loaded responses, stay with the article and drop the hardly clothed bias. We are all consumers, don't let the marketeers trick you into thinking you have to choose one over the other. Poor device update support remains much more of a problem for google and android than it ever did for apple regardless of what your favoured tech Inc. is ..
sgnelson 12y ago
The saying used to be that something was designed for obsolescence. I no longer believe that's the case, I believe new devices are programmed for obsolescence. That is to say, the device used to work, but with new "updates," the device becomes more decrepit, and less useful, not better and more useful. I've had Apple devices that worked fine until the "update" (which was mainly targeted at the latest and greatest, not my 1 to 2 year old model) came out, at which point the device that was still quite useable, becomes almost unusable. I don't recall which software update it was, but my iPhone 3g was a great example of this. I've recently noticed the same thing (rather my completely non-technical mother has) on her 2 year old iPad and iOS 8. The joys of software. They can now be used to artificially shorten a products life cycle, without having to even design in obsolescence from the get go.
- ChrisAntaki 12y ago
  > I don't recall which software update it was, but my iPhone 3g was a great example of this. Do you recall if it was a major or minor update?
  - sgnelson 12y ago
    I really don't recall, but I'm guessing it was a major update. I believe this because I think I remember it being for the newer phones (iphones 4/5?) and that the update didn't include certain features on the 3g (this was a while ago for me, so I don't recall many details, sorry) But at the same time, there was no "Warning: This will actually slow down your phone and make the user experience suck." I'm okay if a phone can't support certain features that the latest model includes. But the fact that an update actually made my older phone worse off, was quite the disappointment.
  - cpks 12y ago
    For me, latest iOS+older iPad completely killed it. It was the last major upgrade, which added the animations. My iPad was the first gen with retina, and the animations were slow and jerky. I eventually enabled some accessibility mode which killed them, but other aspects of the user experience are less than stellar. Wifi is now intermittent. My Nexus 4 is growing a little decrepit, but not nearly as bad. I was considering a Sony, but they seem to lag on support for newer OSes as well, so now I'm thinking about a newer Nexus, but I'm really not sure. My new litmus test is to look at 2-5 year old devices from the brand, and see how they work before buying a new one.
laumars 12y ago
This was the standard practice since before Apple. eg I used to upgrade my Sony Erricson handset every 12 months. In fact ironically, these days many people upgrade less frequently because network providers are only selling contracts for 18/24 months rather than the 12 months they were 10 years previously.

titaniumdecoy 12y ago

This is a common but completely unfair criticism of Apple. Plenty of people complained when iOS 7 was made available for the iPhone 4 (because the hardware was too slow to run it properly). And Apple still sells and supports relatively ancient hardware (the iPad mini) as a result of their current strategy of selling last year's model as the second-best option.

mfisher87 12y ago
I wouldn't say it's completely unfair. Using proprietary data/charging cables and changing the design every so often, obsoleting whole generations of products seems like behavior consistent with my criticism.
- tehwalrus 12y ago
  There have only been two apple charging interfaces for iPods, iPhones and iPads (excluding the shuffle), and the new one was necessary (if I understood correctly) to take advantage of faster USB3 data transfer rates.
  - duskwuff 12y ago
    Lightning doesn't currently support USB3, unfortunately. It did get rid of a lot of obsolete old interfaces that were present in the 30-pin dock connector pinout, though, and opened up possibilities for new devices (like the HDMI adapter).
    - tehwalrus 12y ago
      Thanks, I wasn't really sure.
    - e28eta 12y ago
      FYI, the HDMI adapter existed for 30-pin devices too, so that's not a good example.
- k33l0r 12y ago
  The connector for iPods, iPads, and iPhones has only changed once. And the old 30-pin dock connector was in use for 11 years. 11 years now counts as “every so often”? As for macs, the original MagSafe connector was in production for 6 years, before it was replaced by MagSafe 2 in 2012…
- jakobegger 12y ago
  Apple introduced the Dock connector on the iPod in 2001. The same connector was used for over ten years, before it was replaced with the lightning connector in 2012. The MagSafe connector was replaced after 6 years by the MagSafe 2 connector, also in 2012. Both of these connectors where replaced for good reasons. The Dock connector was not reversible, prone to break, and was easily clogged with dust. It was also too big for smaller form factors. The MagSafe connector was often confused with USB and also too thick for thinner devices, and it used a low charging voltage (less efficient). Switching to a new design is often inconvenient, but also often necessary. To ease the transition, Apple even provided adaptors for compatibility with older chargers.
  - zcdziura 12y ago
    When it comes right down to it, people hate change. "It still works, so why change it!?" is a popular saying among most users. You're right, though. In this case, there definitely had to be an update to Apple's charging cables. Now that we're 3 generations into the new Lightning Connector, it's less of an issue for most people.
    - ulisesrmzroche 12y ago
      Apple has a huge majority of users who are basically into fashion. I usually buy the newest things and give away the old stuff, even if its just charging cables or an extra monitor.
ksk 12y ago
The reason people complain is because iOS updates are a horrible kind of bait and switch. You update the OS because you think its awesome, but are unable to downgrade when you find that in reality, its slow and bloated. The most infuriating thing in all of this is that my iPhone 4S is STILL a fast device. The CPU hasn't shrunk since the time I bought it. Apple has decided that I am unworthy of restoring my phone to the state it was when I purchased it.
- Mikeb85 12y ago
  Yup. I had 1 iPhone, my first and last Apple product. My mom just got an iPad mini, was infuriated when she discovered she can't buy Kindle books from the Kindle app like she could on Android. The artificial restrictions Apple places on developers and users are ridiculous. And Android 5 is the first release where I can say that Android is unequivocally a nicer experience than iOS...
  - ljf 12y ago
    Just so you know, you can't buy kindle books from the Android app anymore either - main reason I use Aldiko to read epub now. Agreed about Android 5 though, best yet!
    - fpgeek 12y ago
      Say what now? I just opened my Kindle app and the store hasn't gone anywhere. Are you maybe thinking of Google blocking Amazon from including the Amazon Appstore in the Amazon shopping app? That's a different issue and, more importantly, that doesn't really affect what's possible on Android, just how convenient it is. After all, anyone who wants to can download the store Google blocked from Amazon directly.
      - madeofpalk 12y ago
        Just like how if anyone wants to purchase a Kindle book on the iPad, they can do it via Safari (they could make it more convenient by pinning it to the home screen as well)
mikeash 12y ago
It's not a choice between no software updates for old hardware, and bad software updates for no hardware. At least in theory, Apple could have made an iOS 7 update for the iPhone 4 that actually worked well on that hardware. It's not "unfair" to complain that Apple does a bad job of supporting hardware after only a couple of years, when your counter is that they release OS updates that don't work well on them.

moca 12y ago

Among major companies, Apple did a better job with supporting old devices. Google Nexus devices become completely out of date after 2 years (too slow to run latest software, and too hard to get hardware repair support). Software wise, Apple could have done a better job as the newer version of iOS is indeed bloated and doesn't run well on old devices. On the other side, Microsoft did great job on supporting Windows XP for over a decade with wide variety of hardwares.

Chronic30 12y ago
But people will say Google is cool and Microsoft isn't
- wutbrodo 12y ago
  This is sort of a weird complaint to have, since "cool" doesn't at all have the connotation of "robust long-term support"; in fact it's almost the opposite, since being "cool" is a more in line with things like "move fast and break things". That doesn't mean that backwards compatibility and long-term support isn't a good thing for the consumer, but it really has nothing to do with the concept of "cool".
colechristensen 12y ago
The primary reason Microsoft ever attained and kept its business is backwards and broad compatibility.
- digi_owl 12y ago
  Yep. It became a real shit storm when they changed the driver system somewhere around Vista/7 and people found they could no longer use their old(-ish) printer with their new computer. Then again, that same backwards compatibility has been a major contributor to all the security issues over the years.
  - kristianp 12y ago
    Wasn't that because of the switch to 64bit? A lot of older printers didn't have 64 bit drivers.

maffyoo 12y ago

where on earth did this comment originate. I have a iPad2 which was "born" in 2011, show me any equivalent tablet appliance that is still running the latest OS ... ? i hate these sort of bile loaded responses, stay with the article and drop the hardly clothed bias. We are all consumers, don't let the marketeers trick you into thinking you have to choose one over the other. Poor device update support remains much more of a problem for google and android than it ever did for apple regardless of what your favoured tech Inc. is ..

sgnelson 12y ago

The saying used to be that something was designed for obsolescence. I no longer believe that's the case, I believe new devices are programmed for obsolescence. That is to say, the device used to work, but with new "updates," the device becomes more decrepit, and less useful, not better and more useful. I've had Apple devices that worked fine until the "update" (which was mainly targeted at the latest and greatest, not my 1 to 2 year old model) came out, at which point the device that was still quite useable, becomes almost unusable. I don't recall which software update it was, but my iPhone 3g was a great example of this. I've recently noticed the same thing (rather my completely non-technical mother has) on her 2 year old iPad and iOS 8. The joys of software. They can now be used to artificially shorten a products life cycle, without having to even design in obsolescence from the get go.

ChrisAntaki 12y ago
> I don't recall which software update it was, but my iPhone 3g was a great example of this. Do you recall if it was a major or minor update?
- sgnelson 12y ago
  I really don't recall, but I'm guessing it was a major update. I believe this because I think I remember it being for the newer phones (iphones 4/5?) and that the update didn't include certain features on the 3g (this was a while ago for me, so I don't recall many details, sorry) But at the same time, there was no "Warning: This will actually slow down your phone and make the user experience suck." I'm okay if a phone can't support certain features that the latest model includes. But the fact that an update actually made my older phone worse off, was quite the disappointment.
- cpks 12y ago
  For me, latest iOS+older iPad completely killed it. It was the last major upgrade, which added the animations. My iPad was the first gen with retina, and the animations were slow and jerky. I eventually enabled some accessibility mode which killed them, but other aspects of the user experience are less than stellar. Wifi is now intermittent. My Nexus 4 is growing a little decrepit, but not nearly as bad. I was considering a Sony, but they seem to lag on support for newer OSes as well, so now I'm thinking about a newer Nexus, but I'm really not sure. My new litmus test is to look at 2-5 year old devices from the brand, and see how they work before buying a new one.

laumars 12y ago

This was the standard practice since before Apple. eg I used to upgrade my Sony Erricson handset every 12 months. In fact ironically, these days many people upgrade less frequently because network providers are only selling contracts for 18/24 months rather than the 12 months they were 10 years previously.