[milderworkacc]

I think what this argument misses is the complete monopoly Apple has over distribution. This is not about backwards compatibility and tech debt, this is about distribution.

Yes, you can keep an old device around to use old apps or play old games. But to do that you must have preinstalled the old app, and that device can never be broken or reset, lest you lose the app.

The analogy to VHS is not a bad one, but when VHS players (and DVDs, and BluRays) stopped being current, all the old players and tapes didn’t stop working. That is the power that Apple has right now - to remove old apps from existence even for devices and operating systems that support them completely.

Same as the argument about the Mac - sure, new macs don’t run PPC software. But old ones do. And importantly, I can still install old software on an old Mac.

Remember the reports of phones with Flappy Bird selling for a premium of hundreds and hundreds of dollars? For a digital good that has no nominal cost, that shouldn’t be possible. It is only possible because of Apples monopoly on app distribution for the iPhone. You will not see a premium on a Windows 3.1 machine with Doom preinstalled, or a DVD player that comes with a copy of Lord of the Rings in it. Only Apple can do that, and it’s that power that people are upset by.