On April 3, 2010, Apple's iPad 1 started selling to the public. On September 19, 2012, iOS6 became available for download.
The kicker? iOS6 won't run on the iPad 1.
While the hardware of the iPad 1 is still plenty functional, the lack of even any basic security updates for web browsers and email programs (let alone any of the installed apps on these devices) make the iPad 1 obsolete after two years. From both an environmental place and a budgetary place, this enforced obsolescence is both wasteful and unnecessary.
So, for those of you who were wondering if iPads in schools were on a 2 year or a 3 year replacement cycle, you now have your answer. And for those of you planning on saving money on textbooks on iPads, make sure to update your spreadsheets with the cost of the new device.
Apple has created a system that strongly pushes device churn every 24 months. As schools evaluate the pros and cons of iPad programs, I hope that they take a look at the costs of device churn, and how that churn costs countless person hours in training, updating devices, dealing with bugs in Apple's configuration and management systems, and - most importantly - requires that programs take place within Apple's ecosystem, on hardware that a school purchases but Apple controls.
This is what happens when we cede control to a company that has a strong financial interest in creating the conditions that require us to buy new hardware. If Apple continued to support security releases for older versions of iOS, this would be less of an issue. But, given the closed nature of Apple's software distribution system for the iPad people with older devices are stuck.
Apple sells hardware, and they require that we use their hardware within an increasingly closed system. However, the notion that a perfectly good piece of hardware should be discarded every 24 months to accomodate the business needs of the manufacturer is absurd.
Schools and other learning organizations using Apple hardware need to remember that we are not just observers or consumers here. We can demand better, and demand more, and articulate a rationale against the hype cycle that would like us to believe that newer is better.
More importantly, we can't demand that our students be makers and creators when what we model is passive, unsustainable consumption of the means of production. As a teacher, how can you encourage students to take ownership of their work when their ability to access that work is tethered to a device over which they have limited control.
Maybe we could all protest down at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, provided we used an Android device to access google maps to get there: http://theamazingios6maps.tumblr.com/ Or, reverting to iOS5 is another option. But, for the schools who have gone all in with iPad programs, it's hard to talk about these programs in anything but glowing terms, precisely because they cost so much money. And, for schools that are already neck-deep in iPad rollouts, do what you can to make your teacher professional development and curriculum technology-agnostic - this way, when the next thing comes along, your staff and students will be more nimble, and will have the skills and mindset to apply principles that help them learn, regardless of the technology they have in hand.
Comments
security updates
To be fair, we don't know that they won't be doing security updates for iOS 5, do we?
To the best of my knowledge,
To the best of my knowledge, Apple will not be supporting any security updates to iOS5 past this point.
I'd love to be wrong; and if anybody reading this knows anything about security updates to iOS5, please leave a comment and let me know.
Yeah, I saw this kind of
Yeah, I saw this kind of thing happening. It will get worse - there will eventually come a time when Apple will control updates on your devices, and force you to update even when you do not want to. It is just a matter of time.
It is exceedingly frustrating that we have a device where Apple has figured out how to simplify the UI so that it becomes less of a handicap for novice users, but to have joined this with a philosophy of maximizing corporate profits without regards of their customers use of the product is quite frankly, disgusting.
An aside, I also have a Drupal site, but I have been fighting a battle with spam that I am slowly losing. I can see that soon I will have far more spam on my site than legitimate comments, although I am careful to delete anything that comes up. What combinations of modules are you using to combat spam? Note: I also want to be able to enable notifications on new comments, without those notifications occurring when a comment has been flagged as spam.
what did you expect?
I've maintained for a while that Apple has never designed any of their products to be used in schools, we simply force them in there. If Apple was truly interested in getting into the school game, we would have seen it by now. They would have DONE something. You can make half an argument for iBooks Author, but to me that seems like honoring Steve Jobs' goal of disrupting the textbook industry more than getting involved in education.
This sort of thing doesn't surprise me. Until they stop putting out superior products, we will continue to see this product replacement cycle.
I agree but the article fails
I agree but the article fails to mention that the sell on price of iPads is still quite high. £200 for a 1st generation iPad. So as long as schools don't all out spending and buy in increments then they can employ a rolling program of iPad updates. This being said, in Primary schools an iPad 1 is still just as functional using the apps previously installed. Internet and email security is not really an issue.
Tailfins for the 21st century!
I recently posted a photo of a Mac Mini I returned to Apple for recycling.
I just got an email reporting a new bug in an iPad app we created over a year ago. I am waiting to hear if it's because of Apple's latest planned obsolescence.
I should have to buy a new iPad just to see if our one app (never again btw) still works? What a scam.
Apple and Obsolescence
I know the writer thinks he is so damn smart, but frankly he is a moron.
If he bothered to take 5 minutes to do a little research he would have found several posts about this. 30-36 months is generally the lifespan of these devices - not 24. Sometimes this fluctuates but over the long term that's what it is. The iPhone 3gs made it to now as well - that's almost 40 months.
Apple, as well as other companies, don't do this just because of profits. That should be obvious. And Apple generally continues to support the OS release prior to the last for application compatibility, although that is not the case 100% of the time. Apple Maps for example won't be supported in IOS 5.
Thank you - I'm tucking my
Thank you - I'm tucking my gum behind my ear to allow me to focus on my writing for this reply.
Yes, the *hardware* remains functional for much more than 24 months.
However, when the operating system that runs on that hardware is not supported, and the apps that people use within that operating system are no longer developed or become unavailable, the functioning hardware becomes less useful.
Fortunately, I've been talking with a school that has a collection of iPad 1's, and I might be able to do a series of posts throughout the year about their experience using these devices in the classroom. As much as I hate to let reality intrude on my preconceived notions, the perspective and experience of actual teachers working with actual kids might be valuable.
Now, dangnabbit, has anyone seen my gum?
Devices become less and less useful
I absolutely agree with your post. The mobile device market is a shift in paradigm where the company has taken away user control over the device (they say for security, but in Apple's case it's to force you to need new hardware if you want to have updated apps). I hear the apologists now "you have to have new hardware for new apps, that's not Apple's fault".
It kind of is. Apple is notorious for not allowing OS updates on hardware that is fully capable of running them. We'll take my 2nd generation iPod touch as an example. When I first got it, I was able to put all the apps I'd ever want on it. I didn't need new apps. But, as time goes on, those apps one by one stopped being supported, and thus, the number of apps lessened, and lessened, and lessened until I'm left with almost just the stock OS. I would be happy running the old versions of the those apps but you can't get them anymore like you could on a traditional desktop (where you can save the installer and you don't have to break the terms of use to jailbreak your computer). Apple is fully capable of the OS just turning off features hardware doesn't support. For instance, when the OS upgraded and supported multitasking, they just disabled that on older hardware (and by older hardware, I seriously mean a year old at the time).
Take Netflix as another example. It worked fine on my iPod Gen 2 up until about 2 months ago. Then, one day, it mysteriously disappeared from my launcher. I didn't uninstall it, it was just gone (and it's not the only app that's done this). So I go to the app store to re-install it... nope, I'm an OS behind what it needs for the latest build (waa waa). I would have been perfectly fine installing the old version and using it (but no... slowly, my app list dwindles and I can't re-install those versions of those programs... making my device less and less useful). I can hear the apologists now, "you can't use old software, it's a security risk!"... to which I say, it doesn't really matter... since Apple doesn't support devices that are 2 years old just using my Apple devices in general is a security risk. Take another often hated company, Microsoft. Windows XP had mainstream updates from 2001 to 2009, and then it STILL has extended support until 2014. Hate them if you will, but they supported their products. You may not get new features, but you'd get bug fixes (and with Apple, you don't even get that.).
I learned my lesson, I had a good device that was made obsolete by Apple before it's time. That's how they run their business. I won't be buying more Apple hardware until this changes, but there will be plenty who still do and that's fine, it's their choice. Interestingly, I do see changes since Tim Cook has been the head in doing some things that previously wouldn't have occurred (like apologizing for Apple Maps which would have been unheard of in the Steve Jobs days.... if Apple Maps even made it to production on his watch).
Just Say NO to iPads for Education
This is just a (yet another) perfect example of what I have been telling people all along:
1) iPads do not replace computers.
2) iPads are not a good choice for schools.
Sadly, I think the author of this post is mistaken... the people making purchasing decisions are EXTREMELY uninformed, misinformed, and ignorant. Sometimes they are administrators that know nothing about computers or technology. Sometimes they have a "Masters in Educational Technology" -- which still doesn't teach them the basics about important things like infrastructure..
In my EdTech masters program, there was not a single class that addressed issues like: What is a bit or a byte? How does the internet work? How are files stored? This is a real problem when most of the students are TEACHERS with no computer background, and then end up graduating with a M.E.T. degree and end up making decisions about hardware, Cloud Computing, etc... without fundamentally knowing what they need to know (like "Will our ISP's bandwidth even LET us to use Skype or Cloud Computing?" "Can we support all these devices on our network?" "No Flash? Not a problem, no educational websites use Flash...")
People can learn more at my website, EdTechExpert.com, or in my series of videos on YouTube, "Just Say NO to iPads for Education" (however, there is more information on EdTechExpert in blog format.)
Most recently, I have shown how buying iPads instead of alternative devices for 1:1 computing in schools would end up wasting over 6 BILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR. That's enough to hire nearly 150,000 teachers.
Post new comment