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segfaultdotorg

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 25, 2007
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Within a couple of months, the iPad mini 2 will no longer receive any OS or security updates from Apple. Does it strike anyone else as irresponsible that Apple is still selling this product in their refurbished store? If an iOS 12 security vulnerability were made public in October/November, my understanding is that iOS 12 would not be patched and that any devices (such as the iPad mini 2) would just be subject to the vulnerability.
 
Apple usually supports the current and -1 release of their OSes. Apple has patched their non-current OSes in the past for critical security issue.

Heck, how many people here are sticking to iOS9 and 10 just because? :D

Technically, the iPad mini 2 is still supported today. Is it irresponsible for Apple to sell it today? Well, Apple is not making it available in their main lineup, so officially Apple has discontinued it. People who are intentionally looking for it in the refurbished section would know what they're getting into (ie. for some purposes, like a point-of-sales device, older devices with older OS work just as fine).
 
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If there is anything serious enough right after iOS 12 becoming obsolete, Apple might release an update to fix that, just like iOS 6.
 
Within a couple of months, the iPad mini 2 will no longer receive any OS or security updates from Apple. Does it strike anyone else as irresponsible that Apple is still selling this product in their refurbished store? If an iOS 12 security vulnerability were made public in October/November, my understanding is that iOS 12 would not be patched and that any devices (such as the iPad mini 2) would just be subject to the vulnerability.
Apple sometimes sells the iPod Touch 5 refurbished. That device could only go up to iOS 9.
 
Well, Apple is not making it available in their main lineup, so officially Apple has discontinued it. People who are intentionally looking for it in the refurbished section would know what they're getting into (ie. for some purposes, like a point-of-sales device, older devices with older OS work just as fine).
This pretty much. As far as I'm aware, these are only available online and not through Apple Stores. If you choose store pickup, it's available for pickup in 2-3 days so certainly not part of retail stores' normal stock.

Even on the online store, it's not like they're front and center. The refurb link is in tiny font at the bottom of the page.

If someone chooses to buy really old refurbs, onus is on them.
 
Apple usually supports the current and -1 release of their OSes. Apple has patched their non-current OSes in the past for critical security issue.

Heck, how many people here are sticking to iOS9 and 10 just because? :D

Technically, the iPad mini 2 is still supported today. Is it irresponsible for Apple to sell it today? Well, Apple is not making it available in their main lineup, so officially Apple has discontinued it. People who are intentionally looking for it in the refurbished section would know what they're getting into (ie. for some purposes, like a point-of-sales device, older devices with older OS work just as fine).
Well there are reasons to stick with ios10 or earlier. I run my iPP 9.7 on ios10 to maintain compatibility with my older 32bit apps/games.

I did have a 2017 12.9 that was up to date ios12, but I sold it because of touch issues. Will wait until new ones release to see about a new iPP.

I also have my iPhone 5s running ios8 simply for performance reasons. It's a backup phone/used as music player only so no need to update it. I've used a 5s on ios11 before and performance was terrible. My 5s on ios8 is super responsive.
My main phone (7 plus) is running ios12.
 
Heck, how many people here are sticking to iOS9 and 10 just because? :D
iPad 4 128GB on iOS 6 :D
Whenever I think devices were slowed down due to iOS updates and hanker for the good ol' days, I do side by side comparisons with this. Empirically, earlier iPads just aren't as fast as we remember them being.

iPad Air 16GB on iOS 9
I can't make Netflix screenshots (or any DRM'd video) on newer iOS versions. Plus storage is tiny (12GB user accessible) and I don't want to delete anything just to make room for the update.

iPad Pro 9.7 256GB on iOS 10
iOS 11 had very poor memory management so skipped that and I've already upgraded to Pro 10.5 now so I might just keep this as-is for posterity.
 
My iPad mini 2 is still on iOS 10. Perfectly ok. Should still be able to use for another 1 to 2 years.

Just did a clean install of 12 and I think it might have fixed a few issues mine was suffering from, I think 12 is probably pretty close to 10 as far as speed now. I really miss iOS 10, that was a good release.
 
Just did a clean install of 12 and I think it might have fixed a few issues mine was suffering from, I think 12 is probably pretty close to 10 as far as speed now. I really miss iOS 10, that was a good release.

Yes iOS 10 is so far the best iOS version especially for old devices. I am still using iPad mini 2 and iPhone 6 Plus simply becos both of them are still on iOS 10, and iOS version with a lot of features but yet remains stable and lightweight.
 
Just did a clean install of 12 and I think it might have fixed a few issues mine was suffering from, I think 12 is probably pretty close to 10 as far as speed now. I really miss iOS 10, that was a good release.
As I said in another thread, IOS 12 is faster than IOS 10, at least on the A7 (mini 2, air 1). I am basing this on a direct comparison and not on guesses or what I remember
 
As I said in another thread, IOS 12 is faster than IOS 10, at least on the A7 (mini 2, air 1). I am basing this on a direct comparison and not on guesses or what I remember
Interesting. Opposite experience on side by side comparison of two iPhone 5s.

Most stuff loaded faster on iOS 10 than iOS 12 apart from some built-in Apple apps like Weather, Calculator, etc. Websites I tested (Amazon, Apple, Newegg) loaded more quickly on iOS 10. Apple and Amazon were just 1-2 seconds faster but on Newegg, there was a significant difference. Scrolling was faster on iOS 12, though (greater flick momentum?).
 
Interesting. Opposite experience on side by side comparison of two iPhone 5s.

Most stuff loaded faster on iOS 10 than iOS 12 apart from some built-in Apple apps like Weather, Calculator, etc. Websites I tested (Amazon, Apple, Newegg) loaded more quickly on iOS 10. Apple and Amazon were just 1-2 seconds faster but on Newegg, there was a significant difference. Scrolling was faster on iOS 12, though (greater flick momentum?).
Well I tested mainly a couple of built in apps like notes and safari, and chrome. But it was mainly browsing. And yes, scrolling was better on IOS 12. Also selecting test was smoother. I haven't done an extensive test one to one, nor I opened the sites you mentioned (maybe next time I'll try). So it may well be that for some things it's faster and for some things it's slower. Having said that I am to spoiled by faster ipads and anything with 1GB of RAM feels hardly usable to me other that for very specific tasks (I use my mini 2 mainly for playing music, with a 32bit app that is no longer available), for old 32bit games (for both of which it's great) and occasionally with dropbox for downloading word files or pdf (and for that it's way too slow, opening a word file while playing music will stress so much the ipad that the music will stutter for a few seconds...). Word alone take 1/3 of its RAM....
 
I have a Mini 2 and its pretty slow on iOS 12, not unusable but its a device past its prime. I wouldn't pick one up.
I have a Mini 2 running iOS 12, and it's much faster than the newer 2015 Amazon Fire 7 I also have. I may just keep the Mini 2 even after Apple stops supporting it.
 
I still have a mini 2 that has been sitting for quite some time. Slow, laggy, even with a clean install.

The only thing it’s ok for is as a navigation screen in the older vehicle. It’s fine for that.
 
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