> With my Androids, I can just use CyanogenMod
You make it sound like with Android there is this guaranteed upgrade path to a newer OS which simply not true. And even when you can upgrade it is common for there to be serious bugs or functionality missing.
All of my mobile devices are at least outdated by two to three years.
With my Androids, I can just use CyanogenMod, but there's no custom rom for iOS devices. :(