iPhone Forced update?

[d4m1r]

This all started a few months ago....

As a iOS 5.1.1 user, it is now impossible to install any new iOS apps from the official App Store. Since a few months ago, they imposed an artificial limit saying "you must upgrade to iOS 7 to install this app". I say artificial because even if the developer says the app works on iOS 5 and they want users to be able to download and install the app on older iOS version, the App Store checks for older versions and blocks installations if you are using iOS 5 for example.

Try it for yourself and see. I currently have all the apps I need on my iPhone and they (largely) work perfectly fine. If however I ever accidental ever deleted any, I wouldn't be able to just go to the app store and reinstall. I'd have to do a complete restore from iTunes when I had the app OR find an old old version installer than I could manually install (basically impossible to find on the internet). Even 3rd party app stores (like AppCake) only store 1 older version than the current so it doesn't help me....

We are basically being forced to upgrade to iOS 7. I don't want to because it has proven lower battery life than 5.1.1 and the design (flat) is ugly and annoying in my opinion, but not being able to install any of the cool new apps or not get any updates in months is very very annoying....

 

[Tony Danger]

My other half has an iPhone 3GS on 6.Something, and she can download with that just fine.

 

[d4m1r]

Ah, probably iOS6 is still allowed to download some apps that support it....

But iOS 5 (from my experience) is now completely banned from downloading apps from the App Store by Apple!!

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

With 5's being real cheap, and quite an improvement over the 4, perhaps it's time to upgrade?

FWIW: I really loved the 5 over the 4. My 5 was working up until October when I got a 6+.

 

[d4m1r]

With 5's being real cheap, and quite an improvement over the 4, perhaps it's time to upgrade?

FWIW: I really loved the 5 over the 4. My 5 was working up until October when I got a 6+.

Thanks for the reply but it has nothing to do with cost....Would go out and buy an iPhone 6 actually because it has the latest hardware which I like BUT it has a shorter battery life than my iPhone 4 and is 2-3x larger. Same reason I don't like the 5. I want an iPhone that is the size of a 4 but with even more standby tme, not less. For me, Apple is going in the wrong direction...Bigger phones with shorter battery lives.

Anyway, I was forced to take the plunge recently After 3-4 years happily running iOS 5, it's been frustrating being artificially banned from being able to download new apps and even updates to existing apps I have installed. Since my phone was jailbroken, it actually crashed during the installation of iOS 7 (on the device itself) so I had to upgrade iTunes first so it would do a restore to iOS 7.1.2, do a complete wipe and reinstall, then restore most (but not all for some reason??) of my personal files, call history, texts, photos, etc from a backup I made before I grabbed the updated (so under 5.1.1).

This was all a 5-6 hour process...Horrible. But now, I have an iPhone 4 running 7.1.2 that was basically "upgraded" from 5.1.1 straight through to 7.1.2 and is working OK. Still don't like this new flat design however....Gonna need to jailbreak ASAP to get a different icon set at least...

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Thanks for the reply but it has nothing to do with cost....

It seems like when someone sticks with old hardware, it's usually about cost. Sorry to assume that in your case.

Yeah, I kinda have nostalgic feelings looking at my 4. It's not the same. Life seemed simpler back then too. *sigh*

I haven't had that many battery issues with my 6+, but it is a HUGE device. I once described it as 'weapons grade' and people chuckled. Now if I can just get my trajectory down, it could be an interesting superhero weapon.

I've wasted over 6 hours on a project to combine the iTunes database on my media server and my main desktop. There should be an easier way... Again: *sigh*

 

[d4m1r]

It seems like when someone sticks with old hardware, it's usually about cost. Sorry to assume that in your case.

No worries, and I guess that usually is the case actually....

It's funny because I work in IT actually but I hate where things are heading, especially in the world of smart phones...Aren't things supposed to be getting smaller not bigger? I stuck with 5.1.1 for so long because I like minimalist OS' so when I looked at all the new features introduced and didn't see any I really needed, I wanted to prevent to add more bloat to my device. Same as iOS 7...No new features I really needed. 5.1.1 did everything I wanted and fast.

Surprisingly however....7.1.2 is also super fast on my iPhone 4 (maybe even faster than 5.1.1 was after 2-3 years) but we'll see how it fairs in 2-3 years time and battery life wise compared to 5.1.1....I hope the iPhone 7 will have a "Mini" version (as has been the trend lately @ Apple) that will be 3" or 3.5" which is ideal for me and then I will buy 3 of them, regardless of initial cost

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

It's funny because I work in IT actually but I hate where things are heading, especially in the world of smart phones...

I've been in IT since the beginning, and have seen a lot of good ideas die, and a lot of bad ideas flourish.

The trend for 'big' is going to reach a limit, and it will head back small again. 'Big' is a fad, and like all fads, it has to run its course. Although, I find as I'm aging, that I actually tend to like 'big'. 27" monitors, 6+, bath sheets, king size beds.

What disturbs me is this new drive for 'flat'. The world isn't 'flat'. Nature isn't 'flat'. To me, 'flat' is boring. I didn't pay nearly a thousand dollars to be bored.

Another thing is the surveillance thing. Who knew that when all this started, that there was money to be made on what websites you visited. Who knew that your email inbox would be a battle ground for craptastic hucksters to see if they can fill it to overflowing. Who envisioned the Internet as a huge international back alley, waiting for people to be victimized. And who knew that idiots that don't understand the internet would seek to control it.

Who knew that companies founded by people in the beginning that valued the 'free exchange of ideas' would evolve into the very companies that seek to limit, censor, or extort that exchange.

There are times I fear the future.

Waxing philosophic on a Saturday morning...

 

[Rodster]

I'm typing this on my iPad 3 which is still on 5.1.1 and have no problems downloading from the App Store. In fact it still allows me to download a previous version of an App.

 

[d4m1r]

I'm typing this on my iPad 3 which is still on 5.1.1 and have no problems downloading from the App Store. In fact it still allows me to download a previous version of an App.

Now I am even more confused lol...Is iOS 5.1.1 the last supported iOS for the iPad 3? I don't think it is but what would happen on my iPhone is, tell me "this app requires iOS 7". And if you look at the apps specifications on the App Store (on the iPhone or on a PC), it would say "iOS 7 required".

This made it so that if I ever deleted an app that worked under 5.1.1, I would never be able to download it again because the App Store would try to fetch the iOS 7 version of the app (which wouldn't work obviously) instead of the iOS 5 version like I had previously installed....In this day and age of HUGE and stupid cheap storage solutions, you would think Apple has the resources to store ALL published versions of apps but I guess they don't....That or an ideological decision to intentionally force being to update (which I think is the real reason and hence the title of this thread).

 

[Rodster]

Now I am even more confused lol...Is iOS 5.1.1 the last supported iOS for the iPad 3? I don't think it is but what would happen on my iPhone is, tell me "this app requires iOS 7". And if you look at the apps specifications on the App Store (on the iPhone or on a PC), it would say "iOS 7 required".

This made it so that if I ever deleted an app that worked under 5.1.1, I would never be able to download it again because the App Store would try to fetch the iOS 7 version of the app (which wouldn't work obviously) instead of the iOS 5 version like I had previously installed....In this day and age of HUGE and stupid cheap storage solutions, you would think Apple has the resources to store ALL published versions of apps but I guess they don't....That or an ideological decision to intentionally force being to update (which I think is the real reason and hence the title of this thread).

The last supported OS is iOS 8 for the iPad 3. For various reasons I chose to stay on iOS 5.1.1 and I have not encountered any issues downloading a previous release for an app that is in the app store.

I do on occasions get the message 'this is only available for iOS 6,7,8' but i'll only see that if I did not download it first to my iPad 3. If it's part of my purchased apps and there was a version for iOS 5 then it lets me download it every time.

 

[d4m1r]

If it's part of my purchased apps and there was a version for iOS 5 then it lets me download it every time.

They probably have to in the case of purchased apps....Never thought of that, but I was more talking about the free apps

 

[Rodster]

They probably have to in the case of purchased apps....Never thought of that, but I was more talking about the free apps

99% of the apps I own were marked down to FREE. I always scan appshopper.com and look for paid apps on sale/free. In 4 years I have maybe paid for 2 apps. I know, i'm a cheapskate.

 

[jlnr]

As a iOS 5.1.1 user, it is now impossible to install any new iOS apps from the official App Store.

FWIW I have just installed an app on my iOS 5.1.1 test device (iPod 3G), works fine.

 

[d4m1r]

FWIW I have just installed an app on my iOS 5.1.1 test device (iPod 3G), works fine.

As covered before, that is because 5.1.1 is probably the latest supported iOS version for your device. If however you (like me) have a device that supports a newer version, you HAVE to update it to download any app from the App store.

The main reason I hate Apple, forced obsolescence.

 

[Xenomorph]

App Store downloads still work just fine on iOS 4.2.1.

 

[Vanilla Face]

As a iOS 5.1.1 user, it is now impossible to install any new iOS apps from the official App Store. Since a few months ago, they imposed an artificial limit saying "you must upgrade to iOS 7 to install this app". I say artificial because even if the developer says the app works on iOS 5 and they want users to be able to download and install the app on older iOS version, the App Store checks for older versions and blocks installations if you are using iOS 5 for example.

We are basically being forced to upgrade to iOS 7.

This is simply not true. You're wildly speculating without any idea of what you are talking about. You're spreading misinformation which does nothing but hurt other people and the experience they have with their devices. I'll try to correct what I can.

App developers set what version of iOS their apps work with, not Apple. This is the only way that developers have to limit their apps to newer devices. They can not limit their app by phone model. Older devices can't handle newer apps, they don't have the hardware needed. Apple isn't forcing you to do anything, they even enable compatible versions of apps to be available.

Ah, probably iOS6 is still allowed to download some apps that support it....

But iOS 5 (from my experience) is now completely banned from downloading apps from the App Store by Apple!!

That's just not how it works. iOS 5 is not banned from downloading apps by Apple.

Would go out and buy an iPhone 6 actually because it has the latest hardware which I like BUT it has a shorter battery life than my iPhone 4 and is 2-3x larger. For me, Apple is going in the wrong direction...Bigger phones with shorter battery lives.

I have absolutely no idea where you got this idea from. The iPhone 4's battery life is **** compared to the 6 and 6+. The 6 and 6+ have drastically longer battery lives than any iPhone that has been released.

Now I am even more confused lol...Is iOS 5.1.1 the last supported iOS for the iPad 3? I don't think it is but what would happen on my iPhone is, tell me "this app requires iOS 7". And if you look at the apps specifications on the App Store (on the iPhone or on a PC), it would say "iOS 7 required".

The iPad 2 and later, iPhone 4s and later, and the iPod Touch 5th gen can all run iOS 8. The iPhone 4 can run iOS 7, which addresses everything you're complaining about.

In this day and age of HUGE and stupid cheap storage solutions, you would think Apple has the resources to store ALL published versions of apps but I guess they don't....That or an ideological decision to intentionally force being to update (which I think is the real reason and hence the title of this thread).

Apple does do this. It's up to the developer as to whether or not they want to offer versions of their app that are compatible with previous versions of iOS. Many don't because they don't want to have to offer support and still maintain multiple versions of the same app, especially when very few people need a previous version. Read more about how to get versions of Apps compatible with previous versions of iOS here: http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201377

They probably have to in the case of purchased apps....Never thought of that, but I was more talking about the free apps

No, they don't.

As covered before, that is because 5.1.1 is probably the latest supported iOS version for your device. If however you (like me) have a device that supports a newer version, you HAVE to update it to download any app from the App store.

The main reason I hate Apple, forced obsolescence.

Again, this isn't true. This really isn't that big of a problem because very few people are still using iPhone 3Gs or earlier. And even then, its not forced obsolescence as you claim. Apple does what it can to still support those devices by enabling developers to still offer compatible versions of apps. Mobile devices are evolving quickly and have for the last 8 years. The changes that are happening year over year are huge. 3Gs simply can't run Apps that are being released now.

Apple supports their devices for far longer than any other phone or tablet manufacturer. 72% of iOS devices are running Apples latest version of their operating system, iOS 8. 25% are running iOS 7. Thats a total of 97% of iOS devices are running iOS 7 or later.

By comparison, the latest version of Android, Lollipop, came out in November, shortly after iOS 8. Do you know what the adaption rate for Lollipop is? 1.6%. KitKat was released about the same time as iOS 7 and it only had an adaption rate of 39.7%. iOS has 97% of its devices running an operating system that was released in the last year and a half, and Android has 41.3%. Talk about forced obsolescence and fragmentation.