Sure, iOS gets updated but the app store won’t let you download old versions of things while new versions are incompatible resulting in a useless device.
I now have an old iPhone and an iPad that both run great, but I can’t do anything useful with them.
>the app store won’t let you download old versions of things
Any app that you have previously downloaded can be downloaded again while viewing your purchase history (which includes free apps). For apps you never downloaded in the past, you would need to download the current version of the app on another device first.
You will receive the last version of the app that was compatible with that device.
Yes it will and it has done so since around 2013. I rediscovered an old iPad 1 a couple of years ago. I reset it and downloaded Netflix, Hulu, and Crackle. A big pop up shows up giving you the option of downloading “the last compatible version”.
The catch is that if you have never downloaded the app before, you don’t get that option.
You either have to initiate the download first on a newer device or use a version of iTunes that supports app downloads. You don’t have to sync from iTunes. Just download the app.
I now have an old iPhone and an iPad that both run great, but I can’t do anything useful with them.