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

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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