iPad Will Apple kill support for the non-M1 iPads earlier?

[Adeapplephone]

With the introduction of the M1 iPad Pro and the lacklustre updates and features on iPadOS 15 that many people say do not take advantage of the hardware, my guess is part of the reason is Apple wants to keep the software running well on the weaker older iPads with the weaker A-series chips, including my iPad Air 2020 Which probably would struggle to run an OS which was more oriented to desktops or laptops.

With the pushback I‘ve been seeing on the WWDC announcements, do you think Apple would make an effort to kill off support for the iPads running the weak A-series processors after a year or two (2022-2023) to make support for the M-series?

 

[Apple_Robert]

Apple doesn't base design and production schedules on what the vocal minority on MR are ranting about. I don't think Apple will cut production short to appease those part of the MR pitchfork group.

 

[bsamcash]

They already have been. The earliest iPad currently supported by iPadOS 14 is the iPad Air 2 from 2014.

 

[PrettyWings]

With the introduction of the M1 iPad Pro and the lacklustre updates and features on iPadOS 15 that many people say do not take advantage of the hardware, my guess is part of the reason is Apple wants to keep the software running well on the weaker older iPads with the weaker A-series chips, including my iPad Air 2020 Which probably would struggle to run an OS which was more oriented to desktops or laptops.

With the pushback I‘ve been seeing on the WWDC announcements, do you think Apple would make an effort to kill off support for the iPads running the weak A-series processors after a year or two (2022-2023) to make support for the M-series?

Can happen. They have just made the executive decision to lionize M1 Mac owners with several exclusive features on Mac OS Monterrey, creating a true VIP experience.

I think what’s going to happen is the Pro apps will come at some point and give more reason for PROs to go for the PRO device. Just have no idea when.

 

[chrfr]

With the introduction of the M1 iPad Pro and the lacklustre updates and features on iPadOS 15 that many people say do not take advantage of the hardware, my guess is part of the reason is Apple wants to keep the software running well on the weaker older iPads with the weaker A-series chips, including my iPad Air 2020 Which probably would struggle to run an OS which was more oriented to desktops or laptops.

With the pushback I‘ve been seeing on the WWDC announcements, do you think Apple would make an effort to kill off support for the iPads running the weak A-series processors after a year or two (2022-2023) to make support for the M-series?

iPad Pros are a minority of iPad sales. Apple isn’t going to kill off supporting the less expensive models after just a couple of years.

 

[rui no onna]

Intentionally? No. They'll alienate millions more customers if they cut off support on A-series iPads quickly for no good reason at all.

I do expect the 2021 iPad Pros will be supported longer though.

Reality is even the 2017 iPad Pro isn't much slower than mid-range laptops being sold early last year.

iPad Pro (10.5-inch) vs Dell Inc. XPS 13 7390 - Geekbench

browser.geekbench.com

Meanwhile, the 2018 iPad Pro is actually faster.

iPad Pro (12.9-inch 3rd Generation) vs Dell Inc. XPS 13 7390 - Geekbench

browser.geekbench.com

Also, if an OS requires the full power of the Apple A14 (or even A12) just to run, then there's something wrong with that uber-bloated OS. I've run Linux Mint just fine on a much, much, much slower U-series Ivy Bridge.

Can happen. They have just made the executive decision to lionize M1 Mac owners with several exclusive features on Mac OS Monterrey, creating a true VIP experience.

I think what’s going to happen is the Pro apps will come at some point and give more reason for PROs to go for the PRO device. Just have no idea when.

For good reason though. The Intel chips are missing a bunch of features that the M1 has.

 

[jeremiah256]

With the introduction of the M1 iPad Pro and the lacklustre updates and features on iPadOS 15 that many people say do not take advantage of the hardware, my guess is part of the reason is Apple wants to keep the software running well on the weaker older iPads with the weaker A-series chips, including my iPad Air 2020 Which probably would struggle to run an OS which was more oriented to desktops or laptops.

With the pushback I‘ve been seeing on the WWDC announcements, do you think Apple would make an effort to kill off support for the iPads running the weak A-series processors after a year or two (2022-2023) to make support for the M-series?

I’m typing this responce on a 5 year old, 2GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage, iPad Pro. And in the Fall, this iPad Pro will get the latest version of iPadOS used by those with a SoC that has a processor that rivals the best consumer desktop chips on the market, Thunderbolt 4, and with the minimum configuration of the new iPad Pro having 4x the RAM and storage.

My kid is using my old 2015 iPhone 6S and he is also getting the latest iOS in the Fall.

You’ll be fine.

Will we have access to all the capabilities newer devices will have? No. But, when it comes to mobile (iPhone, iPad, iPod) devices, Apple knows their loyal customers stick around because they provide support for their devices longer than anyone else.

 

[AutomaticApple]

They already have been. The earliest iPad currently supported by iPadOS 14 is the iPad Air 2 from 2014.

You do realize how long that has been, right?

 

[bsamcash]

You do realize how long that has been, right?

It was a poor joke. Because some non m1 versions have been made obsolete.

 

[LogicalApex]

I'm not sure why this theory holds any water...

Just look at the latest round of software that Apple has shipped in BETA at WWDC last week... There are many features added to macOS that are limited to certain newer computers with Apple Silicon and, more importantly for our discussion, there are many features in iOS 15 that don't work on the older slower chips in supported phones. For instance, Siri Offline Processing won't work on the iPhone 6s even though it supports iOS 15. So there is no real support for the idea that every device needs to support all the new features of the OS... Apple could easily add M1 only features to iPadOS...

 

[GSWForever8]

With the introduction of the M1 iPad Pro and the lacklustre updates and features on iPadOS 15 that many people say do not take advantage of the hardware, my guess is part of the reason is Apple wants to keep the software running well on the weaker older iPads with the weaker A-series chips, including my iPad Air 2020 Which probably would struggle to run an OS which was more oriented to desktops or laptops.

With the pushback I‘ve been seeing on the WWDC announcements, do you think Apple would make an effort to kill off support for the iPads running the weak A-series processors after a year or two (2022-2023) to make support for the M-series?

I don't think so. Remember, the M1 is basically A14X. That's why the iPad Pro has M1 instead of the A Series X. M= A series X. Also, they all run Apple Silicon, which means there isn't a need to change architecture, unlike intel using x86 and Apple Silicon running ARM64(or something like that, idk).

Basically speaking, there's no need to drop support for older iPads. They all run the same architecture. However, the older iPads might have trouble running it. Also, a desktop orientated iPadOS would be impractical, and only appeal to the 12.9 inch iPad Pro, since 11 inch or 10.2 inch might be too small for it.

 

[Yebubbleman]

With the introduction of the M1 iPad Pro and the lacklustre updates and features on iPadOS 15 that many people say do not take advantage of the hardware, my guess is part of the reason is Apple wants to keep the software running well on the weaker older iPads with the weaker A-series chips, including my iPad Air 2020 Which probably would struggle to run an OS which was more oriented to desktops or laptops.

With the pushback I‘ve been seeing on the WWDC announcements, do you think Apple would make an effort to kill off support for the iPads running the weak A-series processors after a year or two (2022-2023) to make support for the M-series?

No. First off, M1 is based on A14. They're closer related than the marketing would have you otherwise believe. Secondly, Apple still hasn't killed off support for A9 and A9X based iPhones, iPads, and iPad Pros. Thirdly, the M1 is overkill on the iPad Pro, given that Apple has effectively disabled or otherwise limited a fair amount of its features and true potential (see 5GB RAM limit for Apps). Fourthly, Apple is not going to, out of seeing user complaints, drop support for otherwise adequate iPads just because they don't have the M1 and they especially won't do that because they're seeing people with M1 iPad Pros complain that they're not getting the full capabilities of the M1 in the iPad Pro.

 

[Traverse]

I don’t think so. Remember, the M1 is essentially what the A14X would have been with a few special considerations with a Mac mindset (e.g. Thunderbolt and 16GB RAM)

 

[Falhófnir]

Quite the opposite - they just kept the Air 2 and mini 4 when most were expecting them to be dropped. If there’s a feature they want on the M1s that won’t run on an A8-A12 iPad, they will simply make it available only to the M1 iPads, just as they have always done.

 

[Isengardtom]

I could see them drop anything below an A12 next year. Only would make it awkward for the iPad 7 so maybe not

 

[NewUsername]

With the introduction of the M1 iPad Pro and the lacklustre updates and features on iPadOS 15 that many people say do not take advantage of the hardware, my guess is part of the reason is Apple wants to keep the software running well on the weaker older iPads with the weaker A-series chips, including my iPad Air 2020 Which probably would struggle to run an OS which was more oriented to desktops or laptops.

With the pushback I‘ve been seeing on the WWDC announcements, do you think Apple would make an effort to kill off support for the iPads running the weak A-series processors after a year or two (2022-2023) to make support for the M-series?

They won’t. The M1 chip is essentially an A14X. The regular iPad, iPad mini and iPad Air will stay on the A-series chips, and the iPad Pros will stay on the A?X-series. The only difference is that that series is now renamed the M-series.

Nothing will change for the older iPads either. iPadOS 16 will probably drop support for a couple of devices, especially the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4 which most people would have thought would have been dropped in iPadOS 15 already. But that’s nothing unusual, support for old devices is always dropped after a few years.

 

[Digitalguy]

I could see them drop anything below an A12 next year. Only would make it awkward for the iPad 7 so maybe not

Not a chance... I can see them continuing to support A8 even next year....
I may sound cynical but I was hoping they dropped support for anything A9 and below, which would signal more power and features coming to the OS, but no, so at least those with mini 4, air 2 and iPad 5 can still be happy....
Having said that, the best thing for everyone is maintaining support why reserving more advanced features for more recent devices