Well, besides an environment impact, and the fact that we're running out of resources and should be trying to get the most out of these devices?
No, I don't. I'm listing the three competitor OS's and explaining that they all suck.
Yes, it does. Because there is nothing wrong with the device from a technological standpoint, and it most certainly can handle the tasks. There are a few new things in iOS 6 that are going to be rolled into almost every new application, and they aren't in iOS5. So as a developer, I can either use Apples version and reduce my headaches by 1000 fold, or I can support iPad 1. This means that the list of available software is going to diminish significantly.
Up voted you elsewhere, but you're claiming that flagship 2012 software features could or should fit into a device sporting a single core ARM processor with 256MB of RAM and a GPU that is verging on obsolescence. We're an order of magnitude further out in performance AND userbase, and a trillion dollar market is up for grabs. This is the new life cycle.
Not every feature, sure. But there are a lot of features that don't have an increased hardware requirement. I know this because I use TomTom turn by turn on the iPhone 4 right now, same maps data that's on iOS 6. I also use video calling ove 3g on the iPhone 4. So yea, it's a little hard to swallow why these features are being excluded, well except for the money. I'd even accept 3 years for a tablet, but not two.
No, I don't. I'm listing the three competitor OS's and explaining that they all suck.
Yes, it does. Because there is nothing wrong with the device from a technological standpoint, and it most certainly can handle the tasks. There are a few new things in iOS 6 that are going to be rolled into almost every new application, and they aren't in iOS5. So as a developer, I can either use Apples version and reduce my headaches by 1000 fold, or I can support iPad 1. This means that the list of available software is going to diminish significantly.