Comment by treexs

17 hours ago

I thought Apple does tell you how long they'll support hardware.

For example: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102772

15 comments

treexs

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jeroenhd  3 minutes ago

That page shows "vintage" products, which is a category they apply after "5 to 7 years". It describes replacement parts and (bought) maintenance service in store locations.

They don't state how long they will provide software updates.

chocochunks  16 hours ago

That's not how long they will provide software support. It's how long you can get a hardware repair. Some "vintage" products will get current software support but not others. Some products have lost software support before even reaching "vintage" like the first Gen iPad.

rvnx  16 hours ago

[flagged]

  • kajman  15 hours ago

    I like to keep phones a long time. Before I finally slotted in a sketchy new third party battery, my last android would suddenly shut off at anywhere from 15-30℅ battery remaining because of the voltage drop. I think they deserve a pass for that "scandal".

  • dmitrygr  16 hours ago

    That is a gross misrepresentation of the situation. Old batteries' internal resistance rises and they become unable to deliver high current. If you try, thanks to V=IR, the output voltage will droop and you'll brown out. Limiting CPU speed prevents high current draw and random device resets. The alternative was to let it run fast and have it randomly reset under load even when battery is 50% full.

    All of this is only relevant cause apple devices are often used for so long after release (5-7 years, this message typed on a 5 year old iPhone) [1] (random source, more available on google.com) while statistically few android devices last long enough in consumer pockets for this to matter (2.5-3 years is average)

    [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/9uha1o/android_vs_...

    • Lammy  15 hours ago

      Who designed the phone to not have a user-replaceable battery, making CPU speed limiting guaranteed to occur with age?

  • janfoeh  16 hours ago

    No, they do not, and they did not.

    They started throttling devices based on battery age after "Batterygate" in 2016, after a wave of news that their phones were suddenly shutting off on high load because the batteries terminal voltage dropped. They do not "artificially slow down before a new release".

    The were sued because in their typical arrogance, they neglected to _tell_ people about that. They did not lose, they settled a class action suit.

    As a result, they made battery management and state a lot more transparent in iOS, as they should have done in the first place.

    Claiming malicious planned obsolescence, as you did, requires facts not in evidence.

    • Yizahi  14 hours ago

      Of course they did. My iPad 2 worked perfectly up until iOS6 and crawled to a screeching halt after upgrading to iOS7. Constant lags, freezes, sometimes even crashes of the same apps which worked fine a week before. And to protect consumers even more, Apple blocks firmware downgrade, despite old version working just fine for years later.

    • rvnx  16 hours ago

      Try iOS 26, you'll see what it means in practice, you will get a phone with worse battery life, slower operating system and no path to downgrade, only way is to upgrade your phone to the next big thing.

      If it's not malicious, then it's gross incompetence, but at the end of the day, it will still eventually require to purchase a new Apple device, when a downgrade would have been enough.

      It's not the first time even: https://www.thecooldown.com/green-business/iphone-update-iss... <iPhone user sparks debate after device becomes ruined following mandatory update: 'This is just ridiculous'>

      It's a long-term issue, because even if it will get fixed in two years, then the battery damages due to severe drain are permanent, and this is to be paid with your pocket, or again... upgrade to a new iPhone.

      It's not the first cycle like this, slower software is deployed to all iPhones, older iPhones lag, and you have to purchase the fresh new iPhone.

      ==

        "Apple implemented unfair commercial practices", the Italian competition authority said in a statement (after fining Apple).

  The companies encouraged users to upgrade operating system software but did not make clear the increased demands that new software would make on smartphones, according to the authority.

  This "caused serious malfunctions and significantly reduced performance", which provoked users into upgrading their devices, the authority said.

  https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-45963943

      ==

      This is about the generic software updates.

      The main issue is that you have no path to downgrade, no way to use your own OS, and your only choice is to hope for an update from Apple that will revert back your device to its normal way of working, or, purchase a new phone, which won't have this issue.

      It's literally impossible that they have not noticed, so if not planned obsolescence, at least, it is intentional degradation of existing products (or that their team is not able to notice...)

      It's rather the other proof around that we would like to see, that Apple did not know the impact of what they are doing. If they knew, you know what it means.

    • wavemode  15 hours ago

      > They did not lose, they settled a class action suit.

      I mean... settling means you lost, almost by definition. You were sued and then paid the person who sued you. Settling is the result of almost all lawsuits where the company knows they were at fault - why would you go to trial if you know you're going to lose?

      Now, don't get me wrong - your overall point could still be correct. Many companies who still do believe themselves to not be at fault, offer a settlement purely for the reason that it's cheaper in terms of legal fees (or perhaps less of a PR nuisance, or just generally lower-risk) than going to trial.

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