Apple Reminds Users That Their 2-Year-Old iPhones Are Totally Ancient

Sure, when we buy electronics, we acknowledge that they could become obsolete mere minutes after purchase. However, some iPhone fans who are committing acts of consumer endurance by using a mobile device released more than two years ago aren’t pleased with a reminder that Apple added to the App Store that’s nagging them to get a new phone already.

The ad appears when the user visits Apple’s App Store to download updates to the program on their phones. Users noticed it after a recent operating system update, and it appears to only be affecting users who have 2013’s iPhone 5S or older models.

@adrian_haus @marcoarment @tim_cook in all fairness, I guess I might not know what an iPhone is while updating my iPhone apps.

— John Lamb (@johnl2112) December 11, 2015

Most Americans are used to a 2-year upgrade cycle for their phones, and people in countries without carrier subsidy are on similar cycles, so the promotion makes sense.

Isn’t the devices’ longevity a selling point, too, though? Boosting sales during the holiday season is rarely ever a bad idea, but this ad came with backlash from users.

Apple now displays popup ads for their products inside their own apps. [Reddit]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist