A petition by the watchdog organization, SumOfUs, that demands Apple stop “sabotaging” older devices with iOS upgrades that slow them down has attracted 150,000 signatures.
Here’s what the petition says: “Apple has been sabotaging devices for years with software ‘upgrades’ that slow every iPhone and iPad except the very latest model. It’s a strategy called planned obsolescence, and its one of the ways that Apple and other gadget makers are getting so filthy rich while the planet and everyone else pays.
iOS 10 will be released in just a few months time. Anyone with a perfectly functional iPhone or iPad bought two years ago would do well to ignore the prompts to ‘Install Now.’ But Apple will be pushing upgrade notices to millions of those customers anyway, because every frustrated user with a sluggish device is another sales prospect.
“The iPhone 7 is also expected in September — but tech journalists are already hyping up the iPhone they expect after that one. It’s bananas!
“But Apple — the most valuable company in the world — could easily extend the life of older devices. The company simply has to stop aggressively pushing software ‘upgrades’ to devices which will become significantly slower as a result. And ‘downgrades’ need to be possible without computer hacking skills, so iPhone and iPad users can always get back to the way things were before if needed.”
Of course, you can always simply ignore the update message. I know of folks using Macs that are over five years old — that’s an eternity in tech years. But don’t expect Apple to quit “encouraging” users to go for the latest and greatest hardware and software. After all, that’s how the company makes its moolah.
The Woodline Case from Pad&Quill: Kevlar meets wood in a stunning new iPhone case
