IPad One woe

As a first-generation iPad owner, I was a little taken aback by Gary Marshall’s comments in his We Love Apple feature in MF280. Specifically, (receiving free OS updates) “feels like Apple thanking you for your custom by putting its money where its mouth is and keeping your device as current as possible”. Almost as soon as the warranty had expired on my iPad, its internet access began to crash after a few minutes’ use. Apple forums informed me that this was a common problem. By monitoring the situation, I read that the bug that caused the crash was resolved in iOS 7. I (reluctantly) accept that the first-generation iPad cannot be upgraded beyond iOS 5, but can anyone give me a good reason why Apple cannot release a patch for those of us who supported their first foray into tablet computing? My iPad experience sharply contrasts with my experience of using Samsung smartphones. The Samsung was a special offer from my ISP – if an iPhone had been available, I would have taken it. I’ve had four years’ problem-free smartphone use. My iPad is due for replacement. Who do you think has earned my custom? Mark Syder Chrisitian Hall says: Sadly, all hardware is limited by its software version, Mark. It’s simply impossible for backwards compatibility, and indeed stability, to be universal. iOS 5.1.1 was the final OS version for the first iPad, and though admittedly that’s only about two years of updates, the iPad 2 is already past that point, going from iOS 5 to iOS 8. I think it’s amazing that Apple has worked iOS to function better for more devices and over a longer period of time. In fact, the latest version of iOS (8.1.1) has even addressed further issues with the aging iPad 2 and iPhone 4S. iOS devices are far more likely to stand the test of time than Android smartphones, where the rollout of new versions is hampered by the huge device fragmentation. As tech moves on, Apple has to say goodbye to older models, but given where iOS is at present, I doubt the compatibility problem across models will start to decrease. Apple prides itself on how much take-up there is when a new version of iOS gets released (48% in the first four weeks for iOS 8), far outstripping the upgrade path for Android.