iOS 6 Not Available for iPad 1

L

ast week when Apple iOS6 launched, many iPad 1 users found the system update to be unavailable for their device. Naturally, since Apple is known for phasing out their old products soon after they launch (the iPad 1 isn't even three years old yet), those customers who tried to update their expensive tablet were annoyed.  What's worse is that with the update being unavailable, developers also don't have the necessary equipment to update their apps so they're usable for iPad 1 users.

Follow? In essence, as the iPad 1 grows even older than it is now, it will become less and less usable—apps will become obsolete and will be left un-updated until customers throw up their hands and purchase a newer device, or access the app elsewhere, like on their iPhones.

iPad 1 owners are now faced with the choice of either sticking with iOS 5.1.1 or jailreaking their tablets; neither are ideal.

Notably absent from the list of supported devices: the old iPad.

Apple's idea of planned obsolescence has been no secret—the latest and greatest of technologies from the company are so hyped and revered that announcements that announce their new product events are almost as sought after as the actual events themselves. But to abandon a generation of the iPad that isn't even three years old so soon is irksome. Do we now have $400-600 paperweights? As updates and new apps begin to require iOS 6, will our iPads be able to do anything at all?

It's the latest in a long line of gaffes that Apple's pulled with their latest unleashing of news—first the Apple Maps disaster, then customers complaining of purple-tinted photos, and now this—and we wonder what's next. How long do our iPhone 4S's have until they're no longer supported and we're forced to either buy a new product or abandon Apple?

Not cool, guys. Not. Cool.