my iPad is so old that I am unable to update the OS or install some apps as a result. The device is in great condition, still runs TSTO but if I were to trade it in I might get $50. It's 8yrs old.
If the game continues to grow, long-time players will come up against the item count. Playing within the restrictions is fine but the game will be ten years old in 5mths. Ten years worth of building and rebuilding with every event, every promo and every update will have put you up against the limit several times by now. It's reasonable to expect you have a newer device to the one you first started to play on. Tech moves quickly.
Not suggesting anyone buys a device just to play the game, or should have to buy a new one just to carry on, but in the 8yrs i've been playing, I have updated my devices several times anyway. I am on my 4th phone, 3rd laptop, and actually do have another tablet anyway.
It's not unreasonable to retire older generations of devices for the game to progress. Retire the gen my iPad is part of and give us the capacity for more items. 8yrs is a good run for a device. Mapple themselves have updated the device many times in that period.