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iPhone 4 and iOS 7?

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$MacUser$

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 27, 2005
330
22
Los Angeles
So I see iOS 7 will be compatible with/offered for the iPhone 4. This is good news for me as I really don't feel compelled to update my hardware right now...maybe in a few months but not now. So I'm wondering how well the phone will handel this new OS. For example my iPad 1 got progressively slower with each sucessive update until it was, for me, effectively unusable and I pulled the trigger on a Pad 4. Do you guys think 7 will significantly slow the 4?

In fairness the original iPad was shipped with a paltry amount of ram and was sluggish in some instances even with iOS 3.x... Either way I'm curious how the iPhone 4 will react with the new OS. Maybe some of you guys on beta can chime in?
 
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OMAC83

macrumors member
Sep 8, 2013
62
1
For sure you can expect a very sluggish ip4 once ios 7 is loaded, just whether it will b considered usable?
 
Tthomas612

Tthomas612

macrumors 65816
Aug 24, 2013
1,309
285
I am on an iPhone 4 now using iOS GM and ill be honest with you... It's not that bad. Sometimes opening the music app lags for a second maybe. The lock screen might be a half second slower .. Maybe, but honestly considering this is the 4th iOS update for this phone it's not bad...
 
TacticalDesire

TacticalDesire

macrumors 68020
Mar 19, 2012
2,286
23
Michigan
It will definitely choke on some things, the UI will lag on occasion and apps will likely take an eternity to open. Especially compared to other phones. Whether or not it will be considered usable is up to you though.
 
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DGPMaluco

macrumors regular
Nov 16, 2012
178
0
I have a family member with an iPhone 4 and I would like to read more comments on how it works, so I can tell her if she should update or not...
 
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ApfelKuchen

macrumors 601
Aug 28, 2012
4,334
3,011
Between the coasts
DGPMaluco said:
I have a family member with an iPhone 4 and I would like to read more comments on how it works, so I can tell her if she should update or not...
Click to expand...

Since right now the only comments can come from people with access to the beta version… Wait a day (7.0 is being released tomorrow), and you'll have more reports about this than you'd possibly be able to read.
 
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curiosity

macrumors regular
Sep 3, 2013
188
0
Will even the most basic Apple apps lag? Like the phone app, the calendar, the camera, the contacts, etc.
 
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Super20

macrumors regular
Jul 24, 2004
204
1
Council Bluffs, IA
I know it was the beta version, but I had iOS 7 installed on my wife's 8 gig iphone 4 and it was SUPER slow. Took forever for some very basic apps to load and some would finally open and then shut down. I know it's exciting to have a new operating system, but I wouldn't put 7 on a 4. Just an opinion though.
 
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IJBrekke

macrumors 6502a
Oct 24, 2009
648
754
Long Beach, CA
curiosity said:
Why would Apple allow upgrading to a slow iOS? :(
Click to expand...

Honestly? It's most likely to get people to upgrade to the latest and greatest hardware. They optimize each new iOS to the most current phone on sale, meaning it just won't run as well on older models. Apps that don't change at all (phone, messaging, etc) even run slower because they aren't optimized for the device.

It actually speaks volumes to Apple's brand equity that people upgrade to the newer models instead of trying other brands. If other companies used this model most customers would switch to another maker entirely. Think about it: they force software updates (you cannot restore a phone to anything but the most up-to-date software) without any option to downgrade if it doesn't work as well. Your only option is to get better hardware, and most people seem to be okay with doing so.

Can you imagine the uproar if computer software worked this way? People would go ballistic.
 
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$MacUser$

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 27, 2005
330
22
Los Angeles
For any interested parties...

I went ahead and downloaded 7 on my venerable "doesn't want to die" iPhone 4. Figued worst case if it didn't work out I have an excuse to get a 5C.

Well, in my limited few hours experience I'm not detecting any noticeable slow down. It runs about on par with the most current version of iOS 6. I like it thus far. The improvements are much more apparent on my iPad 4 but it's a nice refresh for a 3+ year old phone. I see no reason not to upgrade.
 
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curiosity

macrumors regular
Sep 3, 2013
188
0
I read it is not yet too late to go back! If you're not happy with the performance, you can still download the latest iPhone 4 ipsw file from iOS 6.13 and install it using an older version of iTunes! The latest iOS 7 ready iTunes version is said not to allow this. But you might not have much time left to do this. It could be hours, at best days.
 
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gooberq

macrumors member
Feb 12, 2009
88
0
i have iphone4 and choose to upgrade last night, it said 23 hours to download, i left it running and morning i saw it complete and asked to sign into my apple id.

i have been uisng the phone with io7 , good so far , i like it, its not slow
Will not upgrade to 5s, i think i will wait for the next version iphone 6 (bigger screen)
 
$

$MacUser$

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 27, 2005
330
22
Los Angeles
curiosity said:
I read it is not yet too late to go back!
Click to expand...

Why go back? It runs just fine and the interface (from my perspective) is much improved. I never really considered how outmoded the old look was until I had time to tool around in 7. Breathes new life into my 4. And since the four/S is the most popular generation still in wide use I imagine Apple wanted to give its customers a taste of what the future will bring, to give them incentive to stick with Apple when the time comes to upgrade. They wouldn't cripple themselves by releasing a brand-defining OS update for a phone that couldn't reliably use it.
 
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moneymike0284

macrumors member
Jun 24, 2013
42
12
I haven't noticed any difference between 6 and 7 speed wise. I like it so far. It reminds me of my old droid x running miui about three years ago lol.
 
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