[codycraven]

> ...but its going to be phased out of software support before its time, just like the Motorolla.

This is precisely why I as a consumer do not buy Apple products. Apple has a long history of dropping product support with no upgradeable path forward, only buying new hardware.

This is also, in my speculation, the reason Apple is one of the most valuable companies on the planet, even though they are primarily a consumer products company. There's a constant internal urge for the newest shiniest product (which consumers of all products feel), but also the very real external requirement to buy new if you want to work with anything new.

My best anecdotal experience for this was when my uncle contacted me because his wife bought him an iPod Touch, but his Mac was telling him he needed a newer version of iTunes (I believe he bought the Mac 4 years prior). It turned out however that the new version of iTunes couldn't be installed on his "outdated" Mac because it was bundled with an OS update that his machine was too old to receive. I meanwhile was able to load iTunes under Windows on a machine twice the age of his Mac and connect the Touch without issue. He didn't want a new Mac, didn't need a new Mac, but chose to buy a new one to work with the rest of his ecosystem.

[valuearb]

Apple typically has the last newer hardware support of any phone or pc manufacturer. My daughter still uses a 2011 iMac without problems and with relatively recent security updates.