Given that Apple no longer signs iOS 7.1.2 (you cannot restore to it officially unless you have SHSH blobs), the community keeping these devices alive is essentially running a preservation society. If you have an iPhone 4 sitting in a drawer, downloading patched IPA files for iOS 7.1.2 can transform it from a paperweight into a vintage game console, an offline music player, or a distraction-free writing device.
Software history is dying. Millions of iOS apps from 2012–2014 have vanished from the App Store because developers didn't update them for 64-bit (iOS 11). For example, the original Flappy Bird installed via a patched IPA on an iPhone 4 running 7.1.2 is currently the only way to experience the game exactly as it was on release day. Museums and digital archivists argue that patching IPAs for legacy OS versions is a form of digital preservation, not commercial piracy. ipa files for ios 712 patched
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