It didn’t occur to me until I purchased my third iPhone that I couldn’t retrieve older apps for use with my older iPhone. Your old iPhone/iPod touch becomes obsolete in a matter of 4 years under Apples approach to serving up only the latest apps. Sure, some of the apps in the app store will still work, but eventually your device will be left in the dust. I realize you can keep the device around for playing music and some other basics but, on the whole who’s going do that? So where does that leave the device? Who is going to want this as a hand-me-down if you can’t even install new apps as the iOS for the device is no longer supported? Why doesn’t Apple allow older apps for their respective devices? Before you go screaming greed, it seems to me that new purchases of old apps would be a pretty good chunk of revenue added to Apple’s bottom line from the supposed end-of-life products.
I don’t see this being a support issue as the products could be labeled as such and respective developers would have the option of deciding when a product would be shelved. Regardless, if an app is working perfect with an older version of the iOS, and the user is content with the older device, what’s the big deal? It’s free money at that point and it works in it’s own antiquated atmosphere. If this doesn’t change, I see these not-so-older devices heading to the landfill faster than their desktop counterparts.
With regard to the Mac App store, I see the same scenario being installed right before our very eyes and this worries me. The Mac App store handles all your purchases and keeps your copies in waiting for you. But what happens if you need to downgrade to an older computer you keep in your closet for that just-in-case moment? We’ve been able to back up and keep copies in the past for those just-in-case scenarios, it seems it’s all going to be trusted to iCloud or your Apple ID. Should we be concerned?
Old iOS apps truly die.
It didn’t occur to me until I purchased my third iPhone that I couldn’t retrieve older apps for use with my older iPhone. Your old iPhone/iPod touch becomes obsolete in a matter of 4 years under Apples approach to serving up only the latest apps. Sure, some of the apps in the app store will still work, but eventually your device will be left in the dust. I realize you can keep the device around for playing music and some other basics but, on the whole who’s going do that? So where does that leave the device? Who is going to want this as a hand-me-down if you can’t even install new apps as the iOS for the device is no longer supported? Why doesn’t Apple allow older apps for their respective devices? Before you go screaming greed, it seems to me that new purchases of old apps would be a pretty good chunk of revenue added to Apple’s bottom line from the supposed end-of-life products.
I don’t see this being a support issue as the products could be labeled as such and respective developers would have the option of deciding when a product would be shelved. Regardless, if an app is working perfect with an older version of the iOS, and the user is content with the older device, what’s the big deal? It’s free money at that point and it works in it’s own antiquated atmosphere. If this doesn’t change, I see these not-so-older devices heading to the landfill faster than their desktop counterparts.
With regard to the Mac App store, I see the same scenario being installed right before our very eyes and this worries me. The Mac App store handles all your purchases and keeps your copies in waiting for you. But what happens if you need to downgrade to an older computer you keep in your closet for that just-in-case moment? We’ve been able to back up and keep copies in the past for those just-in-case scenarios, it seems it’s all going to be trusted to iCloud or your Apple ID. Should we be concerned?
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November 27, 2011