They're sabotaging their smart phones. As far as I know, they aren't imbedding malicious code into their system updates for iPads. All I have read about is them deliberately slowing their phone OS and reducing its battery life substantially.

@altschmerz You asked what morons I was speaking to .... well here's one bright, shining example of someone who is just fine with giving a multi-billion dollar corporation a thousand or so of his money every couple of years because they have deliberately sabotaged his phone with malicious code built into their system updates. He doesn't even care, and he' proud of it. Need I say more about how truly stupid some people have become?

@Piratefish Maybe turn your satire detector on?

I've been using the same $50 phone for the last 3 years and haven't noticed any performance changes. Prior to that, I had the same phone for 4 years. Maybe if people weren't obsessed with owning the latest phone the day it comes out, the business model might change.

@altschmerz I care about things that are worth caring about. People who willingly rip themselves off by buying $1000 phones once a year, I don't care about.

I find it puzzling why people take the trouble to make comments like this. You could just contribute to a thread you do care about, rather that contradict yourself by showing how much you care about not caring.

@altschmerz Evidently he missed the part where people aren't getting a choice because both Apple and Samsung are deliberately sabotaging their older phones to force people to spend a $1,000 much, much sooner than they otherwise would have to.

Trying to seem hip and edgy makes him come across as ignorant and/or supportive of unethical business practices, and that is a huge part of what's wrong - attitudes like this. Makes it so much easier for giant corporations with billionaire CEOs to continue ripping off the general public. But, as long as it doesn't affect him, who really cares, right?

Read my comment just below. Both Apple and Samsung are deliberately sabotaging their older phones to force people to buy their latest $1,000 phone. And they want to do it about every 2 or 3 years.

I have a I Phone 6+ I purchased for 450 dollars 2 years ago on EBay and it still works fine. It has over 10,000 pictures and videos on it, mostly business related. I use it on a daily basis and love it. I would hate to be without it.

@Piratefish boycott those mothers

Piratefish: I despise Apple.My wife was advised by an Apple technician not to fix her 4 year old laptop due to the scarcity and or non availability of parts .I can buy parts for a 35 year old clothes dryer but not a 4 year old $1500 laptop. Apple SUCKS.This company screws the consumer on a regular basis with their Minuscule doled out bullshit upgrades and their Planned obsolescence.

@richiegtt Everyone else seems to be fine with this parasitical style of capitalism. Personally I'm kind of disgusted by the mentality most of society anymore.

This actually isn't the kind of obsolescence to which I was referring. What I was referring to is the practice of embedding code in system updates that cause the phone's OS to slow way down and significantly degrade battery life. Both Apple and Samsung have been caught redhanded doing exactly this - and very recently (just last fall). And coincidentally, they seem to do it just before they release their newest phone models.

Here's a link to just one of several articles on the practice: [wccftech.com]

@Piratefish This is why I have a trac phone. (Also it's cheaper and wastes less of my time.)

@TCorCM Honestly I haven't been able to bring myself to throw it away yet. I read so damned many books on that thing. (I will dispose of it appropriately. Eventually.)

This actually isn't the kind of obsolescence to which I was referring. What I was referring to is the practice of embedding code in system updates that cause the phone's OS to slow way down and significantly degrade battery life. Both Apple and Samsung have been caught redhanded doing exactly this - and very recently (just last fall). And coincidentally, they seem to do it just before they release their newest phone models.

Here's a link to just one of several articles on the practice: [wccftech.com]

@Piratefish I know what you meant. I just went on a tangent.

This actually isn't the kind of obsolescence to which I was referring. What I was referring to is the practice of embedding code in system updates that cause the phone's OS to slow way down and significantly degrade battery life. Both Apple and Samsung have been caught redhanded doing exactly this - and very recently (just last fall). And coincidentally, they seem to do it just before they release their newest phone models.

Here's a link to just one of several articles on the practice: [wccftech.com]

@Piratefish Well... Planned obsolescence is only a hair's width away from forced obsolescence. Seeing that many people on this thread have had similar misconceptions, I think most people agree with Planned=Forced Obsolescence. This means we've come to expect it, because we've been watching planned obsolescence grow in pervasiveness. This may also be a stumbling block in getting legislators on board, as they were formerly the heads of companies doing these types of negative product "improvements". I do understand how it can make one irate when a company specifically creates software that slows or kills old phones. I'm in that boat myself, as I am typing this on my iPhone SE (i.e. 5). I don't want to upgrade either, and won't until I have to. There's not much arguing that it's underhanded and pretty evil on the part of the companies. And, when this particular news hit, the mainstream media definitely reported on it and shamed the phone companies. It sounds like this example got to the level that you, yourself, felt affronted. Write your congressperson if you're motivated! Your voice should be heard. I think most of the replies on here are of people, like me, who feel it went too far quite a ways back, and it has just become the expectation these days. Regular replacement due to poor functioning is what we've come to expect from tech...whether its because your old cpu couldn't run the new operating system, but you needed MS Office, and MS Office only ran on the new operating system, or...they throttled back your phone's capabilities. In the end, I think it's the same process/progress.

@APaleBlueDot Did you actually read the article? There's nothing about the practice to defend. They are being criminally investigated in at least one country for it.

@Piratefish To be honest, no, I didn't. But it doesn't seem that I'm overly uninformed. Just mildly. I'm cool with that. Call your legislator. I'm on your side, man. Peace.

@APaleBlueDot If MS office won't work on your old OS, then it's time you abandoned MS office and downloaded "Libreoffice". It's free, but if you like it they appreciate voluntary donations (any amount is gratefully received, even $10. It is truly compatible with MS Office files, and can even save files in MS format.
[libreoffice.org]

@Petter twas just an example. But I do appreciate the link. Now that MS Office requires monthly fees, instead of resident software, I'm somewhat in the market for other programs.

@APaleBlueDot I've been using Libreoffice.org for many years. Never had a problem. In fact I even taught the spreadsheet to produce HTML code.

The table shown here is produced by the spreadsheet, then converted to HTML, even the colours, for posting to my website.
[mojacar.ws]

I have no issue with products naturally wearing out. I do, however, have an enormous issue with companies deliberately pushing out code disguised as updates to slow down my OS and degrade my bettery life years sooner than would otherwise be the case.

Maybe you're okay with being forced to drop a grand or more every 3 years for a new smart phone, but I would prefer to use my money a little more wisely.

I buy a house, I expect it to stand for decades - I don't expect the builders to deliberately sabotage it so I have to buy a new one in a few years. I purchase a car, I expect to drive it for 5 or 6 years before trading up. I do not expect the manufacturer or dealer to deliberately sabotage it so that I am FORCED to buy a new car every 3 years.

This is a perfect example of what I was referring to when I wrote that some of the people I speak with about this not seeming to care, even justifying the right of greedy corporations to deliberately (and underhandedly) run money-making scams on their customers. If you or I tried to run a small business like this, we would end up out of business, probably facing some lawsuits, and maybe even looking at criminal charges.

@TCorCM that was my point.

@TCorCM, @Piratefish I was just speaking in general. I don't have any expertise in smartphones as I've only owned one for 2 years. It was only $400 and I just had to replace the battery which only cost me twenty or thirty bucks. I have a store right down the street that only works on Apple products but it's not an Apple Store. They replaced my screen that I broke for $50 which was less than half of what Apple would have charged. I don't know anything about disguised updates, scams or sabotage, so if you have the technical knowledge or evidence to back up your statement I will agree with you. Otherwise not.

@TCorCM no problem my friend. Didn't mean to "sound" snarky. One of the many reasons I dislike texting.

@TCorCM me too

I don't own a single Apple product. I wish I also had an alternative to Microsoft, too.

I don't have nearly the issue with upgrading to take advantage of the latest and greatest technology. I do, however, very much have an issue with phone manufacturers deliberately pushing code out to slow down my OS and degrade my battery life so that I am FORCED to buy one of their products every 3 or 4 years - 5 if I'm really lucky.

Where I come from, that is called dishonest, and can get a person hurt pretty badly.

@Seeker3CO Remember the days of 9.6k dialup? When a 2" x 3" photo, in low resolution and only black and white, took over a minute to download?
Along came 500k broadband and we were delighted, until we started to watch video, and had to be in a small window, because the data rate was too slow. Higher frequency transmissions can pack in more data
2G cell phones were fine until someone tried to watch video or call via Skype. So a faster, higher frequency, 3G was rolled out. This was lovely, until real time video calling and streaming TV became popular. 3G couldn't handle it very well, but a new, even higher frequency band could. Hello, 4G!!
The trouble is that it isn't simply a matter of higher frequency. The way these high frequency waves behave is quirky, and special software/ hardware is needed to make them usable. The higher frequencies also have a shorter range, so more masts are needed.
Now, with Ultra high definition TV available, and video conferencing becoming commonplace, 4G is proving unable to cope.
Hence, "Hello, 5G".
But it is a cow of a problem to put together workable systems, especially the software demands.

@Seeker3CO My pleasure. I dread the day someone mutters "6G".