support ending for ios devices is unacceptable

 

 

In the above Wiki page, it states quite clearly that iOS 16 and 17 are “Unsupported” (pink color) by Apple.  Are you contending that Sonos should keep supporting iOS versions that Apple themselves no longer support?

That said, I agree a company which not longer supports an operating system a scant 3-4 years after release is one you should consider dropping.  So, when are you ditching Apple? 

IMO, it’s fair to rather quickly drop support for a software version as long as you provide support for a version of the software that operates on the hardware you purchased. Sonos does this, as they do not provide support unless the user is on the latest version of their code.  I can’t think of any app that actually supports older versions of their code.

I understand that we are talking about an OS here, so it’s not a direct equivalency, but I do think the principle still holds the same.  There would need to be a period of overlap between OS versions so that applications running on the OS have time to catch up.

In short, support of an OS dropping after a few years isn’t a concern, but dropping support of hardware after a few years is….IMO.

Even if iOS ‘support’ is ending with Apple, they still release security updates for ‘unsupported’ OS, eg iOS15 & 16 had a security update a couple of weeks ago. iPhones that are 10 years old are still getting important security fixes.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/100100

EU Ecodesign now mandates that mobile phones have at least 5 years of updates after they are withdrawn from market.

Maybe the word ‘unsupported’ in a marketing context is sometimes used as a carrot to get consumers to buy more stuff? 🤔

I think the point to me is still that anyone who bought an iDevice 3 years ago should be able to upgrade to iOS18+ and still be fully supported….as it able to update to the latest version of Sonos.  I’m sure there are some older Apple devices that cannot update, and IMO, that would be the age/date to be considered as ‘no longer supported’.

As far as what ‘unsupported’ actually means. I suppose Sonos could provide security updates for previous versions of the app software, but that seems like a lot of effort for a tiny percentage of Sonos customers.  And the vast majority of those who are not on the latest version of Oracle tend to do so because they do not want to update their system at all.

I think you also have to consider that Sonos is not software on a single device, but a system between the firmware on speakers communicating with apps on both Apple and Android devices.  Providing support for older version can create many more scenraios of potential setups in a home that would be much more costly to support.

This conversation is really academic…

The OP either has an iPhone that will upgrade to the latest iOS; but for whatever reason doesn’t want to, or has an iPhone that Apple no longer supports with the latest iOS. Take a look at the information below:

Bottom-line if the OP’s iPhone isn’t capable of running iOS 26 they may be able to purchase a used model 11,12, 13, 14, or 15. Personally if that be the case I’d look for an iPhone 16.

I have an old iOS device I use as a remote.  It works fine I just can’t update to new version of Sonos. 

Just to add to this - I have a really old Android phone that can’t update and is running an old version of the sonos app but it still works. OK it has less functionality than the app on my other devices but you still get the basics and it works perfectly well for me.

I had to recycle a perfectly functional cellphone because the towers stopped supporting it.