The first generation iPad Mini is useless today. I have one updated to the most recent supported iOS and almost no apps are supported on it. I tried it last year and I could barely pull up a webpage.
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iPhone SE (2016) SE1 support lifespan is 6 years only
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There ya go - “Technology marches on.” All Mom does with hers, is check her email - and look at photos in her iCloud Photo Library and iCloud Shared Photos. We actually had to set her up with her own, separate iCloud data storage plan since iOS 9.3.5 won’t even support iCloud shared storage - but it works! I bought that iPad in January 2013, not “Right” when it came out but just a few months later. I’d really like to get her a new one but…. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ $0.99/mo for the storage plan and it’s working, may as well keep using it! I’ll tell ya, MY iPad mini 1st gen was traded in YEARS ago. I’ve been through an iPad Air 2, an iPad mini 5, and now an iPad Pro M1 12.9” since then.
She also has a MacBook Air from 2013, still going strong on Big Sur… fortunately she has an iPhone 12 so at least THAT’s not going obsolete. Her last laptop before the MacBook Air was a Windows computer, and it was ALSO nearly a decade old when she replaced it. But it was sloooooowwwww at that point… the MBA is doing great. Which makes it harder to justify replacing, for sure.
I think it’s GREAT when a device lasts that long. But let’s be honest - those devices don’t owe us ANYTHING at that point. Complaining that we can’t load Monterey on a 9-year-old computer, is like spitting into the wind.
I agree with everything you’ve said. I was just making the point that you’re going to lose around 90% of app support after 1-2 years of your device becoming redundant. An iPhone with no access to third party apps (or first party, for that matter) can no longer be used as a smart phone. That’s why most normal users have to upgrade at least 1 year after their iPhone becomes unsupported.
That’s true for macOS with the unofficial stance of supporting -2 versions. But not the case for iOS. The last iOS that still got some security patches was iOS12. Remember how Apple promised they would keep iOS 14 alongside 15? That was a lie as 14 only got a single update before Apple redacted their claim and said they didn’t mean it.
So on best case scenario, iPhone 6s and 7 series would be treated like devices on iOS 12, getting some security patches here and there. But let’s not be naive. Apple’s respond would probably be “go buy the SE”
The difference with Android is, even if your phone is no longer getting updates from the manufacturer, you are still getting some patches via Google Play system updates, and many apps and components have been compartmentalized that apps like Google Messages and Chrome can continue being updated independently from the system firmware.
This is unlike Apple when they drop a device from iOS support, that’s it. All the stock apps are End of Life as Apple bundled their updates with a new iOS package.
A good example on Android is a feature called nearby share, the Android version of airdrop. Thanks to Google Play system updates, Google managed to push that feature down to old phones running Android 6.
Older/last supported version of Netflix works on my iPad mini 4 on iOS 10. It doesn’t have the latest features but I can watch videos just fine.
I’m running iOS 14 on most of my iPads and all the apps I use still work.
That’s good to hear. As long as a phone can be still used as a smartphone after there are no system updates, I would be happy. If, for example, the S7 was still usable in ‘20/‘21 as a media device with supported apps, social media, instant messenger along with a browser with all the latest plugins, I wouldn’t care if the “official” updates ended back in ‘18. I don’t know if this is true though as I have never personally owned a Samsung phone.
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Glad you’re able to still watch Netflix on an older version of the app. I was of the impression Netflix liked to ensure everyone was reasonably up-to-date. If that’s true, my iOS 15 Mini 4 will be still useable until late 2025 which will account for a decade of use.
I just checked again on my iPad mini 4 running iOS 10.3.3, Netflix still works fine albeit slow to load. It hasn't received updates in a long time but Netflix Version 11.3.0 (2273) still works. I'm surprised it even supports video downloads.
Netflix is one of those providers that support devices for a long time even after they stop providing app updates. Another one is Amazon.
The apps that get support cut off quickly are usually banking and finance apps. The rest, it's usually 2+ years before app support becomes an issue. I expect most app developers want to reach as large a userbase as possible so it stands to reason they won't cut off support prematurely.
I basically use my Mini 4 for Netflix, Disney+, casual web-browsing, iPlayer, Skype and shopping apps such as eBay and Amazon along with Apple Music and Podcasts. I guess I will forcibly end up retiring this thing in 2026 despite it hopefully still being useful to some extent. I have a Mini 5 but plan on getting a new Apple tablet in late 2025.
Why haven’t you updated your Mini 4? The device runs iOS 15 fairly handsomely.
I think the web browsing part would probably suffer more over the years. Websites have gotten so bloated nowadays.
Kept it for some old, abandoned apps. Not really using it so will probably trade it in along with a bunch of other iPads to partially fund upgrading family members' iPads to M1.
This statement is subjective. We also have an Air 2 in the household. Personally, I'm not happy with its performance on iOS 13-15. I imagine the mini 4 with regular A8 instead of A8X won't fare any better. Heck, even the Pro 9.7 feels quite slow. I've been spoiled by faster devices (currently using M1, A14 and A15 iPads).
I agree, web-browsing is not a good experience at all, even on iOS 15. The web-pages load properly however everything is slow and choppy even as I type this message. The minimum SOC for a reasonable web experience is probably the A9.
That’s a nice selection of iPads you have. I only tend to use this thing for YouTube, Netflix and Disney as video steaming is the same on pretty much any device. I’ll always use the Mini 5 for more intensive tasks as it’s magnitudes more powerful. I will probably look at the Mini 7 if they ever make one… I have all the Mini line except the 3 and 6.
Yeah, the video playback part works fine on older iPads. It’s only the browsing and navigation that suffers on video streaming apps. I think A9/A9X are probably still decent but having just 2GB RAM causes slowdowns. Alas, I don’t have a 2015 12.9 (A9X/4GB) to compare performance with.
The A12 is still pretty great. I gave my Air 3 to my mom to replace her 2016 iPP 9.7.
It was the iPhone 4s, along with iPod touch 5, iPad 2, iPad 3, that got upgraded to iOS 9 when they shouldn't have since performance on iOS 8 was barely usable while on iOS 9 it is hardly usable at all...
They might do something similar to what they did but one can only hope... I would rather have Apple re-sign the last update of every prior major version, iOS 14.8.1 iOS 13.7 iOS 12.4.1/12.5.5 iOS 11.4.1 iOS 10.3.3 to restore devices to their peak performance although less secure...
They might do something similar to what they did but one can only hope... I would rather have Apple re-sign the last update of every prior major version, iOS 14.8.1 iOS 13.7 iOS 12.4.1/12.5.5 iOS 11.4.1 iOS 10.3.3 to restore devices to their peak performance although less secure...
in general Apple has around 5-6 years support for new OS
To have 6 years is unbelievable in this era of fast forward everything around the globe
So be careful what you are crying about, or go on windows/android side to feel the other part and cherish what Apple is offering
Apple is still better than any Android manufacturer in terms of support. Many flagship phones are lucky to get 3 software iterations, and others sometimes don't even get one.
That's because Google doesn't put any requirements for giving OS upgrades to get certified. Google's requirement is only quarterly security patches for 2 years. Obviously most OEMs will just do that bare minimum.
OTOH, even if an Android phone gets no full system upgrades, due to Android's compartmentalization, many stock Google apps like Messages and Chrome will still be updated independently through the Play Store. The phone will also still be getting some patches through the Google Play System update. This is in contrast with Apple where once a phone is dropped from new version of iOS, all stock apps is EOL since Apple package the updates inside iOS updates.
So it's not a clear cut. Each platform have their own plusses and minuses.
Even security updates are very late like months after the security hole is known and Google releases patch, very likely don’t even try to patch the phone once the phone is not the top sales one.
Tbh 6(.5) years is a really long time for a phone being supported and getting updates - the tech used in the OG SE is pretty much obsolete nowadays.
Yes and no. Yes, hardware wise, the 2016 SE is outdated (no efficiency cores), but 6 years of software support on what is basically a personal computer in handheld form shouldn’t be the outlier. I’d argue that with smartphone usage and software reaching maturity, 7 to 8 years of support should be expected, if not minimum. The iPhone 7 is still a perfectly capable device today, but it get obsoleted by software. We’re no longer in the days of iPhone 4 where performance was really compromised with every OS update.
Most of the large strides are stupid share features which 99% public will never use because we don't live in a world with "Best case scenarios" which Apple imagines. Tell me you have watched an entire movie using share play with at least 1 friend, giggled, laughed while each of you cuddled in your own bed ?