“At Apple’s recent March event, Apple touted the 80% installation rate of its latest version of iOS (9) on compatible devices. While this is commendably high compared to Android, the strategy of providing broad backward compatibility has probably backfired by slowing iOS device replacements,” Mark Hibben writes for Seeking Alpha. “Apple clearly needs to accelerate device replacements in order to stimulate sales. At the upcoming World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC), we may see a change in the current policy.”
“When iOS 9 was rolled out at WWDC in 2015, it was made backwardly compatible with iPad 2 and iPhone 4s, both introduced in 2011,” Hibben writes. “Backward compatibility has been a mixed bag to say the least. As a developer, I’m forced to keep the old devices around for testing. iOS 9.3 works surprisingly well on iPad 2 and iPhone 4s, yet it’s total crap on the 3rd gen iPad, the first with retina display. iOS 9 works best on any of the later devices using Apple’s 64 bit SOCs (A7 and later for iPad Air etc.)”
” I often encounter statements by analysts that the processor upgrade of the 6s was “incremental”. This is complete nonsense. By virtue of design improvements as well as moving to the 14-16 nm FinFET processes… Apple was able to achieve impressive performance gains of 70% in CPU performance, and 90% in GPU performance over the previous generation,” Hibben writes. “But there is a grain of truth in the description of the upgrade as ‘incremental.’ The performance gains were not that apparent to the user. There were no killer features that relied on the higher performance of the processor. Apple could have implemented multitasking on the 6s generation (some features on the 6s, all of them, including split screen multitasking on the 6s Plus), but chose not to. In effect, the 6s was burdened by a dumbed down version of iOS that didn’t fully leverage the advantages of Apple’s processor leadership.”
“The obvious conclusion is that Apple needs to scale back device compatibility to shorten the replacement cycle for iOS devices, as well as provide a better user experience for the devices that are supported,” Hibben writes. “Almost certainly, this year’s WWDC will see at least one of the above issues addressed.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: What we wrote last April regarding iPad can be applied to iPhone, too:
Apple simply made and continue to make iPads too well for their own good. iPads last and last and last.
Furthermore, as we wrote in February:
Here’s the thing: The iPad saturated its addressable market so quickly and the iPads are so well made and last so damn long that unless Apple provides a really compelling reason to upgrade, most people are just not upgrading yet. We handed off our original iPads to relatives a couple years ago and they’re still being used! Yes, they lack sensors to support many modern iPad games, but they are still in use. We also have immediate family members still using perfectly working iPad 2, iPad 3, and older iPad Air and mini models. The obsolescence cycle for iPad rivals that of the Mac. It’s very long.
The iPad is not a niche product. It had unprecedented uptake and the devices have such long, useful lives that the replacement cycle still hasn’t really kicked in. When it does — and when the macroeconomy improves to the point where users can consider adding the joys of iPad to their computing lives — then we’ll see iPad unit sales growth again. In the meantime, Apple should redouble their efforts at improving iPad – adding Apple Pencil, Smart Connector, and multi-user support (to mention just three things) that will make the iPad even more appealing to buyers.
And, in closing, as we wrote last month:
If we didn’t work for MacDailyNews, we’d have skipped the iPhone 6s Plus and held onto our iPhone 6 Plus units with no qualms – and we’re the most rabid Day One iPhone buyers you’ll ever find. Why have an annual iPhone upgrade program, if you’re not going to wow us annually with new iPhones?
I own a 3rd gen iPad and heartily concur with the statement that iOS9 is really a dog on this device. Has made it almost unusable – I rarely use it anymore and it’s distinctly because it runs so bad.
Any ideas as to why this is the case while, apparently the older iPad 2 runs just fine with it?
I have an iPad 2 and it most certainly does not run as well as it did on older versions of iOS…
It’s still usable for basic tasks but very sluggish…
I’m assuming this is all because of a lack of RAM… (512MB)
There was something less than optimal in the iPad 3 design as Apple replaced it less than a year later with the iPad 4. Still if I were you I would back up the iPad to BOTH iCloud and a Mac or
PC, then reinitialize the iPad, install the newest iOS 9 you are. Comfortable with, then restore your apps and data. Be ready to reboot a few times to rebuild os and app caches that never get copied by backup.
I would expect improved more predictable behavior from your iPad after this is all over. Best of luck.
Right. Adapt a company policy of deliberately obsoleting this years products to generate repeat sales. That’s going to inspire everyone to rush right out and buy again, or else take a hard look at how much they really need to keep tossing money into the sinkhole.
Want to bet on the net result?
This is the stupidest idea yet.
It seems like the smartphone market in general is running into the problem of the devices lasting too long…
BUT, that’s what happens when you sell high end hardware… that hardware lasts for a LONG time…
Still using a Mid-2009 MacBook Pro with a SSD + 8GB RAM and it works perfectly…
Sure, the Core 2 Duo is showing it’s age (Xcode compiles take ages…) but it’s still usable…
“stupidiest idea” — NO KIDDING!!! Isn’t one of Apple’s great advantages how long their devices last.
Yet another “Apple needs to”. I wonder how much actual experience this person has of running ANY size of company.
Exactly.
Planned obsolesence is not a good business strategy, especially in less than ideal economic times.
It’s one of the main reasons the American auto industry took a hit decades ago. People wanted better cars (more fuel efficient, etc.), not just cheaper.
I’d prefer Apple took a less often update schedule particularly with hardware and OS/software upgrades. More often is not better… better is better.
I am unequivocally against updating the OS to obsolete older versions of devices only a couple years old.
I expect my devices to last 4-5 years. There is nothing the average user absolutely must have that is super new which I must have to cause me to lose my older iPhone.
Screw this yearly bi-yearly replacement cycle.
Apple should also allow people to install an older version of iOS on their device if they so wish…
But let them know that by doing so certain features may not work…
But then that would leave the devices wide open for jailbreakers..
Yes. This would also be a tremendous help for PR with all the people that said “iOS 7 or 8 or 9 made my phone unusable.”
Downgrade. Fixed. Why they don’t allow this is beyond me.
I have an original iPad mini and an iPad 2 among my mobile devices. They are working just fine with iOS 9.3 beta software, In fact the iPad mini was nearly unusable until iOS 9. It would be a mistake to obsolete all the currently working iPads out there. Just like the old phones, the old iPads get traded down or away to people who really need them.
Obsolescence by design is a tactic by broken unimaginative companies who would rather take value away than build it in. The world is still full of people who should have iPads but don’t. Apple is finally getting it by adding speed innovation and value to the iPad line in the new pro series. As for me, I’m upgrading to iPad pros to run podcasts and all the other applications of life.
Just drop support for 32 bit iOS devices.
iPhone 5s and newer, supported.
iPad Mini Retina and newer, supported.
iPad Air and newer, supported.
iPad Touch 6 and newer, supported.
I would end mainstream support for all 32bit iOS devices. Continue security updates, but end development and end the 32 binary support on the app store, or maintain them in a “legacy” storefront for a period of time.
Maintain full support for all 64bit iOS devices. New apps are 64 bit only.
(I know it is harsh, and that my mom’s iPad 2 along with friends iPad 2 & 3’s, 4s and 5c phones will be dropped, but I think it is needed)
To keep the users with Apple and not have them flee to Fragmandroid, there should be a good “trade up” system in replace the 32bit devices with newer faster more feature rich 64bit devices.
Yeah… back in the day I remember hearing a very similar “switching to 64 bit will fix everything” cure-all about Mac OS/apps.
It didn’t.
I am not saying that it will fix everything. The change to 64bit happened with equipment that is many times faster than the preceding hardware was. It is just a good transition point.
I strongly hope Apple never becomes the company this author desires. If you can’t innovate anymore please don’t resort to planned obsolescence. Don’t be evil.
I couldn’t have said it better myself, thanks!
Who does Mark Hibben think he’s developing for, Android?
Something’s amiss in Mark’s thinking. I hope he does develop for Android, because the incompatibility of new Android versions with older hardware would drive him INSANE, in the other direction. (0_o)
OH! Planned obsolescence! Like cars!
HORRIFYING idea Mark Hibben who writes for Seeking Alpha. It’s asinine ideas like planned obsolescence that WRECK capitalism and corrupt it into parasitism. I strongly suspect Apple finds your ‘total crap’ comment as abusive of customers as I do.
Meanwhile:
Apple is entirely capable of making a single ‘version’ of iOS DIFFERENT for different hardware, as in different iPhone models. This is an OLD idea that Apple has been implementing for DECADES. Apple was doing this back in the old Mac OS days.
So why didn’t Apple toss in iOS 9 features to take full advantage of features in the A9/M9 CPU? Ask them. They clearly did NOT have to do it for backwards compatibility.
Example: Apple didn’t leave 3D touch support out of iOS 9 just because the 3D Touch code wouldn’t run on iPhone 6 models. IOW: Your point isn’t making sense.
Got to accelerate those devices to the landfill so we can sell more!
I think we have a new law of headlines to add to the already well-known Betteridge’s Law*. I propose we add the following. Any headline that begins “Apple Needs to…” Is always followed by a story about something Apple does _not_ need to do, and most surely never will do. I also propose we call this technique “Hibben’s Headline Hack”. Undoubtedly this gives Hibben’s too much credit, but I do like the double-entendre.
Second the motion?
Cheers,
dmz
* Betteridge’s Law of Headlines: Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no.