“A class action lawsuit lodged with a New York district court on Tuesday dredges up claims that Apple engages in planned obsolescence, saying the company knew of potential compatibility issues when it foisted its latest iOS 9 software update on iPhone 4s owners,” Mikey Campbell reports for AppleInsider.
“Plaintiff Chaim Lerman asserts Apple engaged in deceptive trade practices and false advertisement by touting iOS 9 as compatible with legacy handsets dating back to iPhone 4s models,” Campbell reports. “In actuality, the complaint reads, iOS 9 significantly interferes with iPhone 4s performance, and because Apple security protocols prevent users from downgrading, owners were forced to choose between an inoperable device or spending hundreds of dollars on a new version.”
“The class, which includes more than 100 members, asserts iOS 9 bogged down their iPhone 4s devices to the point of being unfit for daily use,” Campbell reports. “Plaintiffs are seeking over $5 million in damages with an option to treble.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Not having a 4s handy (because it’s a freaking four-year old device!) on which to install iOS 9, we’ll assume it’s dog slow, but that it also does “work” as it’s listed as compatible on Apple’s iOS 9 page.
To avoid confusion (and class action lawsuits), Apple needs to inform the [redacted], uh… “less technically inclined user” that, yes, a four-year-old device may be compatible, but might also struggle with more advanced iOS versions. After all, the iPhone 4s debuted with iOS 5 and is powered by an A5! Or, if performance is indeed so hampered, just omit the really old devices from the iOS compatibility list as some smartphone users might not understand how computers work and what “compatible” really means when used by a computer maker.
Lawsuit is BS but Apple has become a relentless pain in the ass as it keep trying to push upgrades – a particular pain in the ass with iTunes which, along with Apple Music, is a POS.
I rather think it’s technology itself—and even more, life and circumstance—that’re the eternal pains in the ass. Apple has become a high-profile scapegoat for all that went wrong with our science-fiction delusions of bliss… What if they just said piss off, took the money they made, shut it all down, and left the future to the likes of Microsoft? The whining wouldn’t stop, but at least it would be directed at someone else for a change—and maybe Microsoft would get it right this time.
So don’t upgrade if you’re just going to complain about it. What idiots.
That’s the problem. They are idiots (technically illiterate) and Apple legally has to do all they can to protect them from their ignorance. Telling them their iPhone is “compatible,” but making it not work well may be grounds for a successful lawsuit.
I agree, but I think a better avenue for Apple is to get their compartmentalized iOS plans in the works faster. Where the core OS will run well on each of the compatible phones, but the extra goodies will be an OS add-on for the new phones, thereby if executed properly will enable all compatible devices to operate at their max potential without bogging them down with necessary code for unsupported features.
I think Apple has created an iOS ecosystem where the devices are very reliable, and they will keep their value over time. This will enable them to have an ecosystem similar to car buying. New devices can have higher price tags because the devices will last and have good re-sale value with low depreciation. However for this to work well, Apple needs to support old systems better without bogging them down.
This will also be good practice in case Apple does get into the electric car business. They will need to support old models or get in trouble with re-calls a la Detroit/VW.
Wouldn’t a Genius Bar appointment to downgrade their software fix the problem?
Still, Apple has brought this upon themselves. By being so controlling over ‘the experience’ with complete integration, curation, and lock down, they are in effect the IT department. People pay top dollar for these devices and this IT service, and it appears these customers aren’t satisfied.
There is also no way to increase storage, so premature obsolescence is inevitable.
Then they’d sue because their old device is not upgradeable.
If this were before 2012 or 2013 I’d agree, but Apple pushes iOS updates pretty aggressively now. On wifi and given sufficient space it’ll download the update without asking, which pissed me off because the iOS 8 update blew through my uncle’s monthly bandwidth while I was staying there on vacation. And as of iOS9 the only options to defer that are presented are keep asking to install tonight, or remind me (24 hours?) later. There’s no “don’t ask me again” option, short of manually deleting the auto-downloaded update.
You may recognize this as being exactly the same tactic Microsoft adopted to “encourage” users to upgrade to Windows 10, except you can’t revert an iOS update if you find it slows you down too much. And the world rightly eviscerated Microsoft for it.
So, complaints about performance on the latest major iOS upgrade are absolutely valid. Lawsuit, maybe not so much.
All the more that this is Apple’s problem to make right with their customers. The customers don’t have control! Apple is the IT department, and the customers paid top dollar. These are not disposable devices.
Trouble is, you don’t know how big the performance hit will be until after the upgrade. What are we to do, never upgrade from the original OS? Two things would help, an explicit warning that a particular device will slow down considerably and a roll back feature so you can easily downgrade to the previous OS. I know a number of people, none of whom are idiots, that have been caught like this with older iPads. Myself included.
First World Problems. These fools should be thankful that they have a smartphone of the Apple kind. I have an older model from 2012 and guess what? It still works! It doesn’t bother me. The people doin’ this lawsuit are crazy.
I’m one of those ‘fools’. I don’t give two shiites about a lawsuit, since all I use my 64 GB 4S for is portable music, but the update has made it almost unusable in my truck, where it used to work flawlessly.
The only reason I applied the update was because I thought it was going to be more streamlined and a better Music app.
No such luck, so I will keep looking for betas to fix what the updates broke….
http://www.ios9cydia.com/downgrade.html
Thanks!
What’s wrong with using older iPhones? It’s still quality, even if it’s old, right?
Right. I use a 4s. It still works, even “hobbled” by iOS 9. I suppose I’m not one of those frowning power users. Don’t know what’s wrong with me.
I have a 4s iPhone. It works just fine as long as I t-a-l-k r-e-a-l S-l-o-w.
With Santa bringing me a new 6s, I’m retiring my slow 4s. But while the 4s is slow, primarily in opening apps, it still works fine under iOS 9.
The thing everyone is forgetting is that young technology changes very quickly, making devices built for the technology obsolete quickly.
For example, desktop chip technology is fairly mature and stable. That’s why you can run El Capitan on Macs that are 8 years old without much difficulty. But try running iOS9, which is built for the A9 on an iPhone that is 8 years old, in other words the very first iPhone. You can’t do it. In fact you can’t run iOS 9 on anything older than a 4s.
That’s call progress.
Normally I’d agree that cases like this should be thrown out but Apple did seem to imply iOS9 would make a 4s iPhone faster.
My wife and I sold our 4s’ a while back on eBay. I had thought about reaching out to the buyers and recommending upgrading to iOS 9 based upon Apple’s advertising of a faster iPhone. Glad I did not.
The lawyers working this case will be the winners if Apple loses.
Lawyers are all losers, especially the ones who take cases like this.
“(because it’s a freaking four-year old device!)”
There are many of us who spend a lot of money on Apple devices because we expect them to last for a long time without being made obsolete. There are also a lot of us who are still using our 4s phones because the phones now are way to freaking big.
Yes I absolutely expect a 4 year old Apple device to not be significantly crippled by an OS upgrade. Especially if Apple says it will make it faster. I expect an 8 year old Apple device to work fairly well with an OS upgrade. There are many of us who aren’t caught up in the race for status, and just use our Apples to produce work or facilitate functionality.
I agree.
Apple makes premuim products. Charges premium prices. These devices SHOULD have a premium life span and the OS should not cripple a four/five year old device!
Like most people, I can’t afford to go out and update my Apple products every two-three years.
I have my Apple computers and devices for, at least, 5 years or more!
I can run new versions of OS X pretty well on my 6 year old iMac.
I should be able to run the newest iOS versions reasonably well on a 4 year old iDevice.
I shouldn’t expect an iOS upgrade/update to render my expensive Apple iDevice near useless because of responsiveness and performance degredation from a new iOS upgrade that is stated to be compatible, folks.
Apple does states what main iOS features are compatible with what devices, but most of the iOS system is supposed to work across the board for ALL listed compatible devices,
This nonsense from some respondants here about the term Compatible.
Compatible is compatible, folks.
It means that whatever hardware is listed to work with their lastest system software, that software should work as advertised on those devices. Not work to the extent of nearly crippling the entire device’s functionality
There is a large, growing minority of iPad 2 users complaining about the same thing that iPhone 4 users are about iOS 9 causing major issues and slowdowns and plus don”t get me started on the way iOS features get doled out to new and older iDevices leaving out the older iDevice user from all of the new and cool features that only new model iDevices can run.
My newly purchased and expensive iPad Pro BETTER run well and serve me well and continue to run well on future iOS versions for the next 4-5 years to come!
My wife and several other people I know have iPhone 4s. ALL of them are having the following issue after upgrading to iOS 9. Severe slow downs and the battery lasts 1hour doing nothing. Previously the phone work just fine and is only 1.5 years old as it was replaced by apple. Now I could have downgraded the OS and loose bug fixes and improvements but why the hell should I!!!
Apple has either dropped the ball big time or they knew the issues existed and have made no effort to fix them. Either way they are culpable and need to act.
Now, go on take the piss, ‘oh you should just upgrade/downgrade/get an android device’, but seriously why the fuck should I do any of them. Apple has dropped the ball, not me. So we should be saying stuff like ‘apple are crap at support” rather than being fanboy idiots.
“…Apple engages in planned obsolescence…”
“…iOS 9 bogged down their iPhone 4s devices to the point of being unfit for daily use…”
Sadly, I agree. I just upgraded to an iPhone 6s because the 4s performance was no longer acceptable.
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” Been the truth for nearly 200 years.
That is all this is… Bottom feeder invents a problem, promises “money for nothing” to less educated bottom feeders; finds a corrupt judge, argues case in front of a tailored jury. Bottom feeder esq gets 30 percent of the settlement plus fees; less educated bottom feeders get a $20 gift card… That is how the world works now.
So? Revert to iOS 8. Problem solved. No damages. Case dismissed!!!
Yes, that would be the best option to fix this issue, but Apple pulls that choice away about 1 week after the new iOS is released. Then you are stuck at iOS 9.
As I recall, If you back up your phone before the upgrade, you can go back an do a clean install of the backup. Appl wards and common sense suggests you should back up your hone before upgrading your OS
if apple support iOS 9 on iPhone 4s. It should work shouldn’t it? I know there are ‘terms of use etc’ but they have a duty of service eh? Really, iOS9 cripples an iPhone 4s. So shut the F’up about reverting to ios8. You know nothing!
When I had my IPhone 4S for 4 years I kept it on ios 6 point something, did upgrades on the ipad but not the iphone. It was fast and snappy. When I got the 6S and sold the 4S, I had to upgrade to ios9 on the 4S. It was very slow with ios9, but was perfectly fine on ios 6. Could not check the battery life with the ios 9 on the 4S but I expect it to be poor. Apple should allow users to down grade by going to the genius bar, I used my ipad as a guinea pig
I have tried iOS 9 on a 4s. It is certainly slower than on a 6 or 6s. No surprise there. But, it does run and the phone works. And, of course, one thas the advantages of the iOS 9 improved security and a few new features that also work on the 4s. Overall, I consider it a win.
One thing I have noticed with iOS upgrades on older equipment is that it seems to take 2-4 months for Apple and the app makers to upgrade and fine tune things so they work better on the older equipment. Patience seems to be the key word. The phone is certainly not ‘unusable’. Far from it.
All the years I’ve owned Apple computers I knew that eventually a new OS would slow my older computer down considerably, so I didn’t bother to upgrade the OS past a certain point.
I’m still running Snow Leopard on my 2009 24″ iMac 3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo after I tested Mountain Lion over a year ago and it was definitely slower than Snow Leopard. I honestly didn’t know I could sue Apple if my four-year old computer was too sluggish. I always figured if I got three years use out of OS upgrades I was ahead of the game. Now it’s almost 2016, I’m still happily using the iMac on a daily basis with Snow Leopard, so I’ve got nothing to complain about. Should I really try to sue Apple at this point because I can’t run comfortably run El Capitan although I can definitely install it.
I think I should just buy a new iMac if I want to run the latest OS and be glad I got as much use out of my older iMac as I did.
IOS9 forced me to buy another phone. Everything came to a halt once upgrade applied. The same thing happened to my ipad 2 and there is noway to revert to usable IOS level.
I have finally retired my 3G (no S).
I was using it just to stream jazz to a decent wired speaker in one room, and discovered that it is swollen. Literally. Probably 50% thicker than it used to be. The back case is cracked, and the front glass is popping out of the bezel. (Yes, it was plugged in 24/7.) I’m not suing Apple for the likely fire risk. Or the loss of the device. I’m throwing it away, and happy I was able to use it as long as I did.
“Or, if performance is indeed so hampered, just omit the really old devices from the iOS compatibility list…”
This.
My 3G was stuck at iOS 3 or such. I didn’t *want* to upgrade it, but couldn’t if I tried. There comes a point when it may still be possible, but shouldn’t be done, and this lawsuit shows some of where that should have been done.
Please recycle your iPhone 3G at your local Apple Store.
I have the 4S and have not a problem with iOS9. Maybe they have apps that are not compatible with iOS9 and that is causing issues. I have run into that. just delete the offending apps and ask the developer to update their code. I will probably have to get a new phone once iOS 10 comes out. That’s to be expected.
So switch to an android device and you’ll never, ever have to worry about installing an OS upgrade. You won’t get one. Much less have the ability to install it on a 4-year-old Android phone. Not happening.
Trolls.
Switch to android yourself…. Troglodyte.
Obsolete? If you want obsolete, then purchase an Android device. In many cases, you do not receive an OS upgrade – ever – so you are stuck with with the buggy and security-challenged device that you foolishly purchased until you buy another one with the same issues on a more recent version of Android OS. Now there is planned obsolescence for you.
Apple should probably add a disclaimer that newer versions of iOS can adversely affect performance on older models of the iPhone. But you cannot protect idiots from themselves. Next, the lawsuit that the 4s does not include Touch ID…
Concept: Apple goes back to its original 18 month OS lifespan concept and instead gets iPhone 4S users suing because iOS 9 was NOT made compatible with their device. IOW: Catch 22. 😉
(History: Apple wanted to make the new OS X 10.0 compatible only with Macs that were 18 months or younger. They got crucified by Mac users for that very dopey concept).
Derek. If they fixed the issue with ios9 on iPhone 4s.. and there is an issue(s)… then know one would complain and there would be no catch. But no, somewhere a PO planning the maintenance cycle of OS9 either 1) didn’t do effective testing or 2) dropped the fix for some reason. Now if they decide to release iOS9 for a particular device they should stand by that commitment. It’s software project management 101.
My guess is that they didn’t sufficiently test it on the 4S, judging by their lousy beta testing of Yosemite two years ago. It was abominable.
I can concede that I do expect a bit less performance from an upgrade on my 4S. I bought it in 2012 and have played with Apple since 1986.
But the 4S is certainly not a 4 year old phone!. It was still being sold NEW in until Sept 2014, just as the 5s is being sold as NEW now. So it is only a little over a year old to someone who bought it new then. I would certainly expect a normal lifespan of at least 4 years from a NEW phone! Meaning functional upgrades, that have been thoroughly tested.
I am afraid Apple has lost the people who had any memory about how previous models work. Mac OS upgrades that randomly drop or change long standing functions attest to this.
Spurious lawsuit. I realized when I updated my 4s to iOS8 that it was pushing my phone a little harder, and that 9 would likely slow it down a little more, and it did, not much surprise there. I have not noticed any decrease in battery life outside of normal ageing on a two-year old battery. I do not recall any advertising that indicated my phone would speed up, nor would I reasonably expect that to happen. As usual, after doing a major update, I always check Settings to make sure new features aren’t burning more battery, i.e. Background app refreshes, etc. These seem to be the major cause of battery performance degradation. In other words, my battery life has not been affected because I am aware of what services need to be checked to conserve battery. YMMV, but this looks like a money grab. I do experience lags switching apps, but I expect to sacrifice some performance because I’m using a four-year old phone!!! C’mon people, get a life!
Cheers!
dmz
Spurious argument. See previous comments wrt iOS 9 being pushed onto 4s users as an ‘improvement’. For the vast majority of users it sucks the battery dry in 1hour flat. Even in airplane mode.
Spurious, if not entirely disingenuous, reply. Like all iOS updates, iOS 9 is not “pushed”, it is entirely optional. Improvement doesn’t imply speed, does it? Improved security and functionality, yes. Those are genuine improvements. Nowhere that I can find did Apple imply any improvement in speed. Please cite the statistic on which you are basing your statement that the “vast majority” of users are experiencing one hour battery life after updating to iOS 9. My battery life has not changed one iota since updating, neither have the other two iPhones in my household experienced any such degradation. I know that’s not a representative sample, so I’d like to know where you found such a statistic. I won’t hold my breath waiting, as I suspect there is no such statistic. Please, prove me wrong. If you can’t, don’t worry, I suspect you’re just making up that statistic to bolster your spurious argument. I await your reply. Put up or shut up, in other words.
Cheers,
dmz
It *is* pushed. There’s no option to *not* download updates when plugged in, on wifi, and has enough space. The only defer options are to install tonight, or remind me later (about 24 hours). There’s no “skip this update” option presented to the user.
Sure, it’s “optional” to install, the same way Microsoft the Windows 10 update is “optional” (except worse, because you can’t revert to an earlier iOS). You just have to endure wasted network usage, storage space, and daily reminders nagging you to apply the update, and if you accidentally tap “install tonight” I’m not sure there’s a way to cancel it.
Nope DeMilitarised Zone I didn’t quote any statistics and the ‘vast majority’ is a qualitative estimation and not a statistical evaluation. However since you asked I know six people who have an upgraded 4s with iOS 9 and all six people are having the same battery related performance issue. Now I’ll admit my words where touched with a little hyperbol and the two 4s’s in your household are functioning with iOS9 perfectly fine which I’ll accept on face value for I’ve no reason to doubt you. So let’s see, statistically, we have your 2 4s to my 6… that’s 75% failure rate.
Improvement does indeed imply a step forward in software quality which is clearerly not the case for iOS 9 on 75%* of iphon4s’s.
If you think I’m, making this up because I’ve nothing better to do, then jog on sister you’re way off beam. I don’t post on this site to shit stir, but only if the cause is real or I like the discussion.
*based on a sample size of 8 users. Btw I’m fairly sure this is not statically significant, I’d need a much larger randomised sample size for that.
So, as I said, it’s optional and is not pushed.
I have three 4s models, none of which are battery-impaired. If your battery life is so impacted, something is clearly wrong. Restore your phone or visit the Genius Bar if that doesn’t work.
And yes, your statistics are meaningless. Are you trying to tell me every iPhone 4s you know of has had this issue, but somehow mine have dodged this magic bullet? Doesn’t that tell you something? If this was a widespread issue, I’m sure we would have heard a lot more about it. What we have here is a lawyer trying to make hay out of a non-issue.
Aren’t you tired of nuisance frivolous lawsuits that benefit no one but the lawyers? Have your iPhone checked – something is wrong, and Apple will be more than happy to sort things for you.
Cheers!
dmz
Not sure what planet you are on – Apple does not now “push” OS updates? Actually, you are right because “stuff” or “shove” are better descriptors. It’s been said here and, sadly, there are MS overtones to the behavior.
Apple could allow users to downgrade their OS. However, that might mean foregoing security updates, not to mention app updates.
What is the reasonable functional life of a smartphone? Right now it is probably 3 years at max – and 4-5 if you really only use it as a phone. Mail, messaging, FaceTime, iTunes, Facebook, LinkedIn and other “essential” apps all interact with server-based applications which may, or may not, continue to support older iOS versions.
What is the true value of a 4 year old iPhone? Apple might say it has reached the end of its commercial life and therefore has no intrinsic value. In other words, if it still works consider it a bonus.
Even so, Apple should provide a downgrade option for a time. In the meantime, however, it is possible that there will be a performance release to address the issue with the 4s.
I think it is a reasonable issue to pursue, though I wonder whether a lawsuit is really necessary – has anyone asked Apple if they are planning to address the issue?
An iPhone can be 4 generations old without it being 4 years in use. Until the iPhone 6s was released, Apple itself was still selling the iPhone 5c, which is technologically identical to the iPhone 5 introduced in Sept 2012.
This means that when the iPhone 7 is released Oct 2016, the last iPhone 5c sold by Apple itself might just be seeing the end of their 2 year contracts, despite it being based on technology released 2 years before that. And never mind carriers were still offering them long after Apple stopped selling it themselves.
I know some of the pain with my iPhone 5S. When I upgraded it to iOS 9, it cut the battery life by 75%. I did all of the things that people suggest to try to extend the battery life and have managed to get it to be about half of what it was on iOS 8, but it is still half or less of what it was before. The phone is not quite two years old and iOS 9 is making me not like it as much. My work phone is an Android and the various models I have had have always had less battery life than my iPhone (3GS, then 4S, now 5S) until iOS 9. Now the LG G3 lasts longer on a full change than my iPhone 5S. Not a good thing for Apple and selling me a battery to strap onto my phone is not the answer either.