Here but no further. My iPad will never get past iOS 10.3.3.

My beloved old iPad is an iPad 4 (aka iPad 4th generation). It was introduced to the world in November 2012, just over 5 years ago. I have loved my iPad since the day I got it. I have cared for it and made sure it never got any scratches, and I’ve always charged it when its power has been down.

I’ve used it for a variety of things, from watching movies on Netflix and FaceTiming with my parents to checking how the websites I develop look on the device. Oh, what joyous times we’ve had.

When Apple launched iOS 11 in September 2017, iPad 4 was not on the list of supported devices. That meant that my iPad, which had not yet seen its 5th birthday, would never again receive important updates. Yes, the apps on my iPad are still working, as most of them support iOS version 10.3. However, it takes about 7-8 seconds for an app to load after I press its icon, sometimes even longer.

Let’s be honest though; slow apps are a nuisance in the modern world, but it’s not a huge problem if you have a little patience. What’s worse is that if there’s a security breach in the old iOS, Apple won’t fix it. This means that old iPad’s like mine are sitting ducks waiting for a disaster to happen.

My old iPad is vulnerable

A friend of mine thoroughly enjoyed an iOS security breach in 2015.

In May 2015 two of my Samsung loving friends heard about a security breach in iOS. By sending a specific text message to my iPhone, they effectively turned it off. It would cut my phone calls short and upon rebooting they would bombard me with new messages, leaving me without a working phone until they decided they’d had their fun. Apple launched an update for iOS shortly after that fixed the problem.

That’s not a big deal, you might say. The phone just turned off, no one was hurt, no one stole your pictures or saw your text messages. Yeah, but what if that’s what happens next? What if there’s a new security breach and this time hackers take over your Apple device?

As a consumer it seems I now have to accept that modern technology is rendered useless after a few years. There are always new models to be launched, more money to be made. I get it. Apple needs to show profit and if everyone is clinging to their old devices then their profits will decline. But there is nothing wrong with my iPad. It works and I still use it a lot.

It seems wasteful to get rid of something that still works, because the company that made it indirectly made it vulnerable to security breaches by not offering updates. That way they kind of force you to replace your old model with a new one. Apple products are already very expensive and with iPhone X starting at $999 you have got to ask yourself if it’s really worth it. It’s a lot of money and you will have to replace it in couple of years. Buying an Apple device is unfortunately not an investment for years to come.