iPad Hide iPadOS 16 update on General page?

[FeliApple]

Frankly, 2GB RAM iPads haven't been the same since iPadOS 13. I really regret not keeping my iPad Pro 9.7 on iOS 12.

It’s appalling, all 2GB iPads are original-design iPads (that is, 9.7-inch iPads), and it’s a shame they’ve been affected like this. I can attest to that: even though I haven’t used a 2GB RAM iPad on iPadOS 13, I have tested an iPhone 6s on iOS 13. Not only is battery life appalling (a LOT worse than on my 9.7-inch iPad Pro, comparatively speaking), but performance is appalling, too, with quite extreme keyboard lag (exceedingly rare - even if present, very occasionally - on my 9.7-inch iPad Pro; so rare, in fact, that it doesn’t bother me), which is extremely annoying: my 6s on iOS 10 is flawless, and my 9.7-inch iPad Pro (like you’ve hinted at) is honestly almost flawless on iOS 12 performance-wise, and trust me, I looked at this thing under a microscope. All I could find is, like I said, extremely infrequent and negligible keyboard lag.

Honestly, neither iPadOS 15 (for the Air 2) nor iPadOS 16 (for the rest) are good iOS versions to leave the best iterations of Apple’s original design language on.

I have complained (mainly because I was forced, it wasn’t my choice) about Apple’s bug on A9 processors on iOS 9 which forced it into iOS 12, but after what you relayed and what I’ve read I guess I have to look at the glass half-full and be grateful that at least I was able to keep my 9.7-inch iPad Pro on iOS 12 instead of reminiscing on iOS 9. At least it‘s on iOS 12 and it wasn’t forced to iPadOS 16…

 

[dumastudetto]

It’s a shame iPadOS 16 and iOS 15 have severely degraded my favourite processor ever (Which is the processor my two favourite devices ever have: the iPhone 6s and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, the latter has the improved A9X version). The iPhone 6s’ battery life has rendered the 6s unusable as a main phone, and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro not only has had its battery life obliterated (reports hover around the 5 to 6-hour mark at most), but performance of the iPad 6th gen on iPadOS 16 has also been severely criticised, and even though the A9X is slightly better, it’s not enough to offset iPadOS 16’s requirements, which means that it’s probably not amazing either (however, I haven’t read many reports either way, but it shouldn’t be a whole lot better than the iPad 6th gen).

Yeah, in conclusion, Apple has really degraded the experience. A shame.

These older devices have had a very good run of software support.

I've never agreed with Apple refusing to cut these old devices off from new versions of iOS/iPadOS when its clear they are not really capable of meeting the performance requirements. They always seem to go one version too deep with OS upgrades on popular hardware revisions, and you have to believe its intentional at this point. In the case of the 5th gen iPad, it probably went two versions too deep. iPhone 6s/6sp limps along on iOS 15 and the iPads should have stopped at 15 too.

 

[FeliApple]

These older devices have had a very good run of software support.

I've never agreed with Apple refusing to cut these old devices off from new versions of iOS/iPadOS when its clear they are not really capable of meeting the performance requirements. They always seem to go one version too deep with OS upgrades on popular hardware revisions, and you have to believe its intentional at this point. In the case of the 5th gen iPad, it probably went two versions too deep. iPhone 6s/6sp limps along on iOS 15 and the iPads should have stopped at 15 too.

Thing is, when do you cut it? Between what I said, what you said, and what @rui no onna said, we get three different cutoffs:

-My expectations, which are basically “The device works flawlessly in terms of both performance and battery life or it doesn’t need the update”, in which case all A9 devices should’ve been cut off on iOS 10 (iPad 5th Gen; 1st-gen iPad Pros; iPhone 6s and 6s Plus)

-@rui no onna’s expectations, they said “leave 2GB iPads on iOS 12”

-You gave them a little more leeway, ending the 5th gen iPad on iPadOS 14, and the 1st-gen Pros on iPadOS 15.

This small sample of three people (even if we are arguably enthusiasts with more stringent requirements), shows three different cutoff points, three different opinions, and the funny thing is, they’re all valid!

A fourth valid opinion might be, assuming Apple drops at least the A9-equipped 5th Gen iPad on iPadOS 16, “It’s okay, I prefer the features and software longevity even if performance and battery life might be considered mediocre or even outright poor by some”. Do I agree with this? No, I don’t. Is that opinion incorrect or wrong or invalid? Not at all! Many people like the software support at the expense of performance and battery life, and that’s okay, maybe because they just sell it once it reaches that point (I keep everything, so it impacts me a lot because I don’t sell anything. That’s the main reason I optimise performance and battery life at the expense of software support).

I think that the only way to please everyone is to allow downgrading, but I don’t want to beat a dead horse, it’s not happening.

If you look at it like that, how do you decide where to stop? Stop too late, and performance and battery life suffer too much (if there is something the three of us agree on, is that iPadOS 16 is far too late to stop for A9 and A9X iPads). Stop too early, and I personally would be ecstatic (my favourite iPad ever! My 9.7-inch iPad Pro would be on iOS 10! So flawless!), but others would disagree, saying “a large number of my apps aren’t supported with new features anymore, and I can’t even download new apps, or update the ones that require updates to function”, and thinking that is okay, too, even if I personally disagree. Imagine the backlash if Apple were to end support for the 1st-gen iPad Pros on iOS 10! Planned obsolescence signs would be plastered on every Apple Store.

Three people, three different opinions, software support ranges from 2015-2017 to 2015-2022. Some people find conditions acceptable, some don’t. I’m not happy with my 9.7-inch iPad Pro’s battery life on iOS 12, because I know it was better on iOS 9 (it now gets me 10-11 hours with light use), and some would be. If I wanted to make everyone happy, I’d struggle quite a bit to decide!

 

[dumastudetto]

Thing is, when do you cut it? Between what I said, what you said, and what @rui no onna said, we get three different cutoffs:

I can only give my opinion based on experience after the event. It's all subjective and ultimately the way Apple does it is probably best since none of us can agree on these things as you outlined in your lengthy reply.

If a majority of iPad 5th gen users are happy with the iPadOS 16 experience on their device, then Apple made the right call continuing support for another year. Doesn't really bother me either way. I have kept a 5th gen around, but it's collecting dust beyond the times I want to experiment with something.... and then I quickly conclude (IMHO) how horrible it is to use on iPadOS 16.

 

[FeliApple]

I can only give my opinion based on experience after the event. It's all subjective and ultimately the way Apple does it is probably best since none of us can agree on these things as you outlined in your lengthy reply.

If a majority of iPad 5th gen users are happy with the iPadOS 16 experience on their device, then Apple made the right call continuing support for another year. Doesn't really bother me either way. I have kept a 5th gen around, but it's collecting dust beyond the times I want to experiment with something.... and then I quickly conclude (IMHO) how horrible it is to use on iPadOS 16.

I’d say Apple is the one that’s never right here. Typically they push way, way too hard, throughout iOS’ entire history. The fact that they don’t allow downgrading is yet another massive argument against them: not only do they not allow (and furthermore, actively prevent) downgrading, but pushing too hard on iOS updates has been an Apple staple since the beginning: The iPhone 4 on iOS 7; the iPhone 3GS on iOS 6; the iPad 2 on iOS 9; the A6 (iPhone 5c and 5) on iOS 10; the A9 chip, arguably, on iOS/iPadOS 13 onwards, if we can’t agree on iPads, I’m sure we’ll agree that the iPhone 6s’ battery life has been obliterated, it’s widely stated; and a possible long list of etc.

Even if we can’t agree exactly on the A9 processor, we’ve agreed that Apple has gone too far. The other examples I gave are a lot more clear-cut. I don’t know what are the performance and battery life requirements of the Apple team that’s in charge of deciding support longevity, but they are way, way off the mark. Like you said, they always seem to push too hard (and even if we disagree on how hard they should push, we agree with the statement that they do push too hard). Perhaps not with every device, but many more agree with us too, even if we don’t have any scientific results behind it.

 

[rui no onna]

I’d say Apple is the one that’s never right here. Typically they push way, way too hard, throughout iOS’ entire history. The fact that they don’t allow downgrading is yet another massive argument against them: not only do they not allow (and furthermore, actively prevent) downgrading, but pushing too hard on iOS updates has been an Apple staple since the beginning: The iPhone 4 on iOS 7; the iPhone 3GS on iOS 6; the iPad 2 on iOS 9; the A6 (iPhone 5c and 5) on iOS 10; the A9 chip, arguably, on iOS/iPadOS 13 onwards, if we can’t agree on iPads, I’m sure we’ll agree that the iPhone 6s’ battery life has been obliterated, it’s widely stated; and a possible long list of etc.

Even if we can’t agree exactly on the A9 processor, we’ve agreed that Apple has gone too far. The other examples I gave are a lot more clear-cut. I don’t know what are the performance and battery life requirements of the Apple team that’s in charge of deciding support longevity, but they are way, way off the mark. Like you said, they always seem to push too hard (and even if we disagree on how hard they should push, we agree with the statement that they do push too hard). Perhaps not with every device, but many more agree with us too, even if we don’t have any scientific results behind it.

While I would prefer to keep my iPads on older iOS versions, I expect Apple is more in tune with the general populace.

Indeed, I’ve got plenty of aunties who are just now replacing their iPad Air 2s and mini 4s—more than a year after Apple stopped providing software updates.

 

[FeliApple]

While I would prefer to keep my iPads on older iOS versions, I expect Apple is more in tune with the general populace.

Indeed, I’ve got plenty of aunties who are just now replacing their iPad Air 2s and mini 4s—more than a year after Apple stopped providing software updates.

Absolutely! I am very surprised though: even enthusiasts (who like I said, might have more stringent standards and requirements) update a lot. Finding people even on forums who don’t update is more common than on the GP, but it’s still extremely rare.

Apple’s own stats show that people update left and right, and they have to notice that it impacts devices, even if they don’t track it perfectly like maybe I do. People update way too much, and not everyone buys new all the time. Many enthusiasts do, and that’s why they don’t notice: they don’t use old devices long enough. Many people (enthusiasts included) do not buy all the time, however, like I said, and it has always surprised me. They have to notice if they update through 3 or 4 major versions, simply because it always happens. Old devices remain in use a LOT, and people just keep on updating. I have no idea why. Maybe app support and features are too important, but still. I don’t understand.

 

[AL2TEACH]

and then I quickly conclude (IMHO) how horrible it is to use on iPadOS 16.

I would agree after the updated Books app lol