Long time iOS users, can you help me?

[farlaff]

So, I’ll give a somewhat long explanation that might sound a bit weird, so please bear with me for a bit.

Back in 2010, I was in Europe, when by the end of the trip I decided to purchase a (then) brand new original iPad. I loved it, used it a lot, and also spent A LOT on apps and games for it. My favorite games were Infinity blade I and II, Plants vs Zombies, and a Tap Tap rhythm game, but I had hundreds others.

The iPad lasted a bit more than 2 years, when with no warning the screen went totally black in only HALF of it, and fix people would charge a fortune for a new one. It was almost the cost of a brand new device.

This lack of durability for such a premium product (or what should be, at least), together with a broken expectation that previous Apple users made me have that their products were built to last, made me become totally against other iOS based machines. At the time (2012), things were not as clear as today about the duration of devices and so, and the price Apple charged for tablets did not seem to grant them the benefit of doubt.

So, for 10 whole years I kept myself away from iOS machines, and went full Android for mobile devices.

A month ago, I had an opportunity to choose a company phone, any model, so I for some reason decided to go for an iPhone 14.

One of the first things I decided to search for was my old app purchases.

To my surprise, most of them GONE. Pretty much 95% of them.

They don’t appear in my purchase history at all. Only apps that, apparently, are still supported (like some productivity ones).

And, the most incredible thing of all: the invoice e-mails that used to go to a dedicated folder on my Gmail ARE ALSO GONE! (And I wouldn't know about that since I had no reason to check that folder before now.)

Freaking unbelievable!

Thousands of dollars that seem to have gone to waste!!!!

I decided to ask here, since the community is wide and knowledgeable in many different subjects, before sending a very unpolite letter to Apple (and probably also to Google).

Any takes on the situation? Are those situations completely covered by the terms of use?