Agree -Any computer launched in 2017 is about 5 years old now in terms of components. It doesn't become 4 years old just because you waited 1 year and bought it in 2018.
Security updates don’t mean much in terms of app support. If you want your phone to be useful as a smartphone, you require developers to update their apps on your older iOS firmware. This is why Netflix, Disney+, banking, social media apps and even websites become unusable on older devices that have lost support.
That’s why I don’t consider security updates proper updates. Once iOS 16 is out, the SE, 6S and 7 are all unsupported by Apple. Third party app developers, as you say, tend to provide additional support of around a year to an older version of iOS. After that, the phone is pretty much useless as a smartphone.
No, they don’t update their own apps on their much older and outdated versions of iOS. My iPad Mini 4, which is second fiddle to my iPad Mini 5, was on iOS 12 until the beginning of this year. The version of Safari on it couldn’t even use a lot of modern plugins and much of the video streaming within the browser didn’t work. It was also painfully slow. Things got a lot better when I finally updated it to iOS 15 which is the last supported operating system for it.
I genuinely believe there are going to be some big updates on iOS 16 given that the 8 and X are both running cut-down versions of the operating system. I personally wouldn’t want my SE’16 running like garbage on an operating system that pushes the hardware a step too far. I think it was the iPhone 5 that was given one too many updates and became painful to use — sometimes it’s better to see our devices die gracefully.
I am no programmer so I can’t say for sure, I just know that even the powerful A11 Bionic, which is considerably more powerful than the A9, cannot run a fully fledged version of iOS 16. Apple got a huge backlash when they released iOS 9(?) on the iPhone 5 because all the apps ran like treacle. Perhaps they do not want a repeat of that incident.
I am no programmer so I can’t say for sure, I just know that even the mighty A11 Bionic, which is considerably more powerful than the A9, cannot run a fully fledged version of iOS 16. Apple got a huge backlash when they released iOS 9(?) on the iPhone 5 because all the apps ran like treacle. Perhaps they do not want a repeat of that incident.
Sure it’s correct. “Support” means Apple provides hardware & software support. Not that it can run the latest version of iOS. Look, the iPhone SE was an entry-level phone, based on the iPhone 6s released before it. It won’t run iOS 16, even phones released AFTER the SE1 won’t run iOS 16. There’s gonna be a cut-off and that line will vary depending on hardware.
Not true. Try watching Netflix, Disney+ or the YouTube app, or doing your online banking or even obtaining a half decent browsing experience on a device that has been unsupported for 1-2+ years. A lot of those apps will cease to function and you will be met with a message to update to the latest version of iOS.
Apple never stated it, but they have been supporting the three latest versions of macOS for a very long time, so you can basically be sure to get two extra years of security updates.
Eventually, sure. “1-2” years…. Probably not, but I’m sure a few apps would drop support within that time frame. At some point technology GETS OLD. That’s just how it goes. Even if the app doesn’t require the horsepower - there’s a diminishing return on tasking developers & testers to ensure that, say, a book reading app will continue to support back very many versions.
Yeah, and subscription services are going to be MORE likely to continue to support older versions. As long as they have enough subscribers using the older version, it’s in their best interests to do so. That’s just generally speaking of course, YMMV.
I guess… but of course, at that point you stop paying for the subscription ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The market will fix itself. If there’s a buildup of devices that only run iOS 15 for several years, the companies that support iOS 15 - will get the money!
