[_j0r5]

Come on, Apple. What are you doing? I was thinking just the other day that Apple should virtualize older iPhones within the latest iPhone system software, so you could seamlessly open old apps and games (32-bit, anyone?) in their own containerized environments. I can't think why they haven't added this feature for any reason other than money grubbing.

You could even customize the containers to be completely closed off from the rest of the iPhone—no contacts, no Internet access (or high security Internet access), etc.

Come on, Apple. Do something good for once. Oh and bring back the headphone jack.

-Mark

[jsheard]

For better or worse it's never been Apples MO to keep software working forever, that's Microsoft's schtick. PPC OSX software is gone, x86-32 OSX software is gone even on hardware that could still run it natively, AArch32 iOS software is gone, and if history is any indication it's only a matter of time before x86-64 OSX software is gone too.

[TaylorAlexander]

One time I had to run a very old version of Eagle CAD on Linux and it turned out that even tho I had a native Linux version, it was easier to run the windows version in wine! I guess stable interfaces have their advantages.

[adamc]

You make a good point. It was kind of the breaking point for me when Apple killed 32-bit executables, because it meant even old steam stuff couldn't run.

But that's a casual consumer viewpoint. It's valid to buy them if they solve your problems in the here-and-now. (I used one for a year at work and it was a bad experience, but a lot of that was having x86 libraries I had to use, so... Bad choice for here-and-now.)

[bsimpson]

Interesting juxtaposition against yesterday's front page: Valve updates Half Life 2 for 25th Anniversary.

If the requirements are still accurate, it will run on XP with 512MB RAM.

[TimTheTinker]

I think it's likely x86-64 support (via Rosetta) will continue for quite some time.

Rosetta is giving Apple a competitive advantage by being able to run x86-64 binaries in VMs (Linux or maybe even Windows) at near-native speeds. This enables doing cool things like running MS SQL Server in a Docker container - which enables developing on a full local .NET stack on a Mac.

[dunham]

Yeah, that's just their MO. I think it's easier to run old windows games on a mac than to run old mac games.

And architecture aside, at one point I had to install an old version of iWork (I thin it was '09) to update a file so the latest iWork could read it. They had code on hand that could read those older files, but decided not to integrate it. They don't prioritize backwards compatibility.

[thfuran]

It's definitely for the worse that they've gone so far in that direction.

[InvaderFizz]

32bit ARM and aarch64 are wildly different instruction sets. 32bit ARM may as well be x86 or MIPS as far as running it on aarch64 hardware, it is going to require just about the same level of emulation(memory models may be similar which would help, but that's about it).

Unlike x86/64, the 32bit silicon is entirely gone in most aarch64.

[DeathArrow]

I wonder why Intel and AMD still keep the 32 bit and even 16 bit parts. Are there people still running many legacy apps?

[lowbloodsugar]

>32bit ARM and aarch64 are wildly different instruction sets

Maybe for the CPU implementation, but having written a lot of ARM2 assembly, the disassembly of Aarch64 is far more readable than x86_64 to me.

[djha-skin]

Apple does a lot of good stuff, But remember that their whole business model is selling hardware. They have no financial interest in making it easy to continue to use old phones.

[neodymiumphish]

They have to maintain a balance that still incentivizes current purchases. Otherwise it’ll be a constantly trend of “don’t buy now, support might not last.”

[samatman]

For some value of 'old' perhaps.

In terms of length of official support, and aftermarket value, Apple is at the top of the game. Those strike me as the most important metrics here.

And while you might think that once official support is over, that's the end of the story, this is far from true. Those phones end up in developing markets, where there's an entire cottage industry dedicated to keeping them going. Jailbreaking is getting harder, so that might stop being an option eventually, but so far it's viable, and that's what happens.

[foldr]

This isn't as true as it used to be, now that Apple is getting increased revenue from subscriptions. If your old iPhone continues to work well, then Apple has a better chance of selling you Apple Music, Apple TV, etc. etc.

[asveikau]

Old phones no, but old apps yes. If a developer has abandoned an app and hasn't been investing in the update treadmill, but end users still care about it, that can make people feel negatively about Apple.

[tomjen3]

In this case, they only broke their newest hardware.

[downWidOutaFite]

Or any interest in reducing the incentives to buy their $200 Bluetooth headphones.

[JumpCrisscross]

> Apple should virtualize older iPhones within the latest iPhone system software, so you could seamlessly open old apps and games (32-bit, anyone?) in their own containerized environments

What is the practical, broad use case for this? (And can't you virtualize older iOS version on a Mac?)

> bring back the headphone jack

The article is about Macs. If you want a headphone jack, get a 3.5mm:USB-C converter.

[oceanplexian]

Speaking of headphone adapters. It’s crazy to me that something like an iPod released in 2005 will output better audio when playing a lossless file than the most state of the art $2,000 iPhone with Apple’s most state of the art $549 headphones in 2024.

The remarkable thing is that 90% of listeners don’t seem to notice.

Their reference point is a lossy 128kb/s file from a streaming service double transcoded over bluetooth so that must be what music sounds like. Who would have thought technology would progress backwards.

[mrpippy]

iOS dropped 32-bit support because the CPU itself no longer supports AArch32. Virtualization won’t help.

[christianqchung]

I don't think almost anyone actually want a headphone jack anymore. Just the consumer reality in 2024. I do obviously, but it's clearly too rare for them to bother with.

[plufz]

Why do you want a headphone jack? Not a rhetorical question, just genuine interest. Is it about audio quality, avoiding batteries or something else?

I would find it so cumbersome to use a cable on a handheld device nowdays. But different things for different people! :)

[SoftTalker]

Yes people seem happy to buy not only new phones every couple of years but new accessory devices as well. I don't understand it but it's quite apparent.

[Hackbraten]

Someone would have to maintain all the old OS versions that would be required to run those old apps, and keep those OS versions reasonably secure. That sounds like a maintenance nightmare to me.

[exe34]

No, the old versions would not have access to anything else, so the only thing that needs to change is the part running the container. Present one folder as the whole disk drive to the old. Send touch screen input to the old. That's about it really.

[GeekyBear]

It's probably worth finding out whether this is a bug or an intentional decision before making assumptions.

[moffkalast]

For Apple Hanlon's razor rarely holds, they're both too competent and anticonsumer for this sort of thing to not be intentional malice in an attempt to sell more stuff. Maybe not, but very unlikely and even if it's a bug they'll probably call it a feature and keep it.

[adamc]

This is one of the things I dislike about hacker news: People responding to what is clearly emotional hyperbole as though it were a literal statement.

The OP expresses disappointment with Apple -- exactly what the cause was is unstated. People are allowed to have such feelings. I've had them myself. In recent years, Apple has killed things I liked and pushed a lot of services/login crap I have zero interest in. Other people like the new changes. That's OK too.