https://www.dialupsound.com/
Anyway it seems to me this whole problem arises with 12 hour notation.
I fail to see how that is the case? Apple neither forces OS updates, nor forces app updates. An iPad will perform exactly the same, given the same software, after 5 years or 10 years, and the user is in control of that software.
If you are speaking of services, well, that's not unique to iPads, or Apple, but is a consequence of the Internet.