Outdated iPhone users experience difficulties

By Elly Schwab and Dante Yasui,
Bluedevilhub.com Staff–

By now many people have upgraded their phones from iPhone 4 to iPhone 5; however, customers still using older models continue to complain about slower processing time and shorter battery life.

New software is sometimes unable to fit onto older phones and to have the battery replaced is almost as much as the latest models. Are these simply limitations of modern technology, or is Apple trying to create sly methods of selling their newer, more expensive models?

Several Davis High students have experienced problems with Apple products such as the change in the iPhone 5 charger.

“Its frustrating having to keep track of two chargers,” sophomore Aidan McNerney said.

McNerney has an iPhone 5 and and a 4th generation iPad; she needs two chargers. It is difficult for Aidan to keep track of both chargers because she goes between her dad’s and mom’s houses. When the iPhone 5 came out it had a new charger, making all 4th generation iPhones, iPads and iPods not able to use the same charger.

By making the new chargers Apple forced people to obtain multiple chargers or an adapter which can cost up to $30.

iPhone screens are known to crack, batteries die and chargers are known to break. Apple provides AppleCare and a one year warranty; however, even with the warrenty it still costs $129 to get a screen replaced, $38 for a new charger, $79 for new battery and, depending on the products, AppleCare can cost anywhere between $29 and $349.

Several people have complained about their iPhone 4s slowing down due to the new updates. New software is available when Apple releases a new generation phone. When the iPhone 4s download the update, some observed that it caused the phones to slow down instead of become faster.

Sophomore Samuel Resendez noticed that his iPhone 4 worsened after the iPhone 5 release.

“I have heard a lot of people complaining that their iPhone 5 seems slower post iPhone 6 release,” Resendez said.

Former Hitachi employee Milt Demaray designed software for telecommunications networks.

“We never had a strategy of planned obsolescence. We were always too busy trying to make a living,” Demaray said. “It’s easy to suspect that it’s a clever strategy, but as the hardware speeds up and gets more capable then it’s only natural for software vendors to take advantage of that.”

Demaray believes “it’s really hard for any big organization to keep secrets.”

“If a big vendor like [Apple] was planning to cheat people it would become common knowledge pretty quick,” Demaray said.

Resendez thinks Apple employs a good marketing strategy to some extent.

“Though personally, it doesn’t seem to have an impact on longevity of devices,” Resendez said.

One explanation of the degradation of Apple products is tin whiskers growing out of soldered circuitry. According to an article written by business manager of Maxim Integrated John O’Boyle, tin whiskers are microscopic conductive fibers that can grow out of tin surfaces.

“These whiskers can form electrical paths, which affect the operation of the subject device,” O’Boyle said.

However, Demaray believes that the hardware slowing down is more likely to be caused by more processor-intensive software than by physical limitations.