Weasel words: needlessly and jerk.
Apple didn't do it to be jerks, and didn't do it needlessly (except in the sense "they could just leave it as is").
Apple didn't do it to be jerks, and didn't do it needlessly (except in the sense "they could just leave it as is").
Jerkiness is subjective, but in my opinion there is a question of respect for the user, developer, or fellow human involved in the area of compatibility, where it is kind of a jerk move to fail to consider that you are breaking people, or someone might narcissistically expect the universe unconditionally to adapt to their whim, making them jump through hoops and live with the consequences of their questionable ideas. Apple does not have some of those values down well.