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kre62

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jul 12, 2010
2,373
1,248
Edit: i posted this and everyone freaked out. I made the argument that the S upgrades are the major refreshes, because the even numbered phones are just design changes mostly. In the end i said the new iphone would have the same chip as the 4S. My predictions are now coming true. Read this and educate yourself on why the odd cycle is the best if you want to beat Apple at their own game. And never again claim the 3GS or 4S were minor upgeades.

End edit


The fact that the iPhone4 cannot support the big ticket items in iOS6 is a great reminder to everyone as to why they should absolutely, 100% never ever use the outer design of a phone as a measuring tool.

When the 4S came out, people thought it wasn't a big upgrade. Those same people thought the 3GS wasn't a big upgrade from the 3G. I've spent hours trying to explain to people that they have to research and pay attention to the internal chips only, but many still haven't learned.

The 3GS chip was a huge, generational leap from the 3G. This has made the 3GS relevant for 3 years now, an eternity. The 3GS has received iOS 3-6, 4 major version of the software. This is because it had the juice inside to do so.

The iPhone4 has the same chip as the 3GS, with a half-assed coat of paint on it. The iPhone4 is no more capable than the 3GS, which is why when the 4S came out I knew that it would be relevant far longer than the 4. The 4S processor is a huge generational leap over the 3GS/4 and as such will be capable much longer than the dated tech in the 4 and 3GS.

In the future, pay attention to internals only. The beefy processor in the 4S does not know that the outside looks like the 4 and it doesn't care. It just chews through code like a tsunami of processing force. Sorry iPhone4(3GS) owners, you bought old tech in a fancy box.
 
Last edited:

w00t951

macrumors 68000
Jan 6, 2009
1,834
53
Pittsburgh, PA
Dude, the 4 is perfectly capable of running iOS 6 and all its features. The reason it "can't" is because Apple wants people to upgrade.
 

Daveoc64

macrumors 601
Jan 16, 2008
4,074
92
Bristol, UK
Dude, the 4 is perfectly capable of running iOS 6 and all its features. The reason it "can't" is because Apple wants people to upgrade.

Bingo.

The best example of this is iOS 4.1

It added some new ringtones. Did they work on the iPhone 3G or 3GS? No.

Obviously those ringtones did not require a more powerful device.
 

ebolamonkey3

macrumors regular
Apr 9, 2011
131
0
Boston
Well usually one generation brings new features (like 3g, higher resolution, etc) and the next one improves the processing power.
 

Superbbrr

macrumors member
Oct 15, 2011
61
0
The fact that the iPhone4 cannot support the big ticket items in iOS6 is a great reminder to everyone as to why they should absolutely, 100% never ever use the outer design of a phone as a measuring tool.

When the 4S came out, people thought it wasn't a big upgrade. Those same people thought the 3GS wasn't a big upgrade from the 3G. I've spent hours trying to explain to people that they have to research and pay attention to the internal chips only, but many still haven't learned.

The 3GS chip was a huge, generational leap from the 3G. This has made the 3GS relevant for 3 years now, an eternity. The 3GS has received iOS 3-6, 4 major version of the software. This is because it had the juice inside to do so.

The iPhone4 has the same chip as the 3GS, with a half-assed coat of paint on it. The iPhone4 is no more capable than the 3GS, which is why when the 4S came out I knew that it would be relevant far longer than the 4. The 4S processor is a huge generational leap over the 3GS/4 and as such will be capable much longer than the dated tech in the 4 and 3GS.

In the future, pay attention to internals only. The beefy processor in the 4S does not know that the outside looks like the 4 and it doesn't care. It just chews through code like a tsunami of processing force. Sorry iPhone4(3GS) owners, you bought old tech in a fancy box.


When hipsters try to understand how computers and marketing work...
 

F123D

macrumors 68040
Sep 16, 2008
3,776
16
Del Mar, CA
That's weird.. I thought iOS6 limitations in the iPhone4 is a great reminder how apple wants you to upgrade and spend money on their products.
 

FearNo1

macrumors 6502a
Mar 9, 2009
589
0
Glad that some are understanding the scam apple has been pulling for years. Watch as the iSheople stand in line and "upgrade" to the latest iphone. :rolleyes:

Dude, the 4 is perfectly capable of running iOS 6 and all its features. The reason it "can't" is because Apple wants people to upgrade.
 

Tander

macrumors 6502a
Oct 21, 2011
676
1
Johannesburg, South Africa
Well I was going to post something similar - but it seems that I have been beaten to it.

I believe that internals do matter more than the external. I also believe the only reason the iPhone 4 has any sort of limitations is because Apple planned it that way.

How do you drive sales?

Offer a new OS that has features that will only run on your newer products. Simple!

It was the same with Siri - why was it not on the iPhone 4 and why has Apple not allowed iPad 2 users to use Siri?

Because the iPhone 4s / new iPad is here and thus, they want you to buy those devices.

If everyone who has slightly old technologies / devices from Apple could get the same level of features / functions out of their devices that you could get out of newer products - why bother upgrading at all??

Lastly - external design matters more than you think, so don't just discard it like the runt of the litter.
 

Azy

macrumors regular
Jun 13, 2012
103
1
This is really disappointing from apple. Anybody who watched the WWDC Keynote will see how apple was making a big thing about how many of their older devices were still updated to the latest os.

Realistically I don't feel like I will be running iOS 6 with this update. It may be branded iOS 6 so apple can say that all iphone 4 users are using it but in reality they are excluding us from the biggest features in the new iOS update. I knew Siri updates would not be applicable but its beyond belief that they would limit facetimes ability, the new maps features to get people to upgrade early. I used to brag to HTC owning friends of mine that when apple released an update virtually everybody with a half recent device got it. But now it seems the joke is back on me as apple follows suit and expects people to upgrade their hardware for new software features.

The bottom line is apple's phones are sold at a premium so plenty of people buy them in 18-24 month contracts. Even if you purchased them on day one of release you will still be left with an outdated phone before your contract is up. I have no objection to apple releasing new and better hardware to keep up with competition and offer its loyal customers a better device. I just don't like them purposely restricting the software to try and push customers who are not ready to upgrade yet to upgrade. I have every intention of upgrading to the latest iPhone that is out when my contract is up for renewal but making my device feel out of date to pressure me into upgrading early doesn't really sit very well with me. In fact the main reason I went for iPhone was because every android I ever owned was outdated within a few months due to 'hardware limitations'.

[/rant]
 

barryl85

macrumors regular
Jul 8, 2010
201
2
Its funny to see someone saying the device couldn't handle it when we know for a fact there are many people with jailbroken iDevices running Siri / Facetime over 3G
 

Azy

macrumors regular
Jun 13, 2012
103
1
This is really disappointing from apple. Anybody who watched the WWDC Keynote will see how apple was making a big thing about how many of their older devices were still updated to the latest os.

Realistically I don't feel like I will be running iOS 6 with this update. It may be branded iOS 6 so apple can say that all iphone 4 users are using it but in reality they are excluding us from the biggest features in the new iOS update. I knew Siri updates would not be applicable but its beyond belief that they would limit facetimes ability, the new maps features to get people to upgrade early. I used to brag to HTC owning friends of mine that when apple released an update virtually everybody with a half recent device got it. But now it seems the joke is back on me as apple follows suit and expects people to upgrade their hardware for new software features.

The bottom line is apple's phones are sold at a premium so plenty of people buy them in 18-24 month contracts. Even if you purchased them on day one of release you will still be left with an outdated phone before your contract is up. I have every intention of upgrading to the latest iPhone that is out when my contract is up for renewal but making my device feel out of date to pressure me into upgrading early doesn't really sit very well with me. In fact the main reason I went for iPhone was because every android I ever owned was outdated within a few months due to 'hardware limitations'.

[/rant]
 

cperchard

macrumors 6502a
Jun 15, 2010
804
11
This is really disappointing from apple. Anybody who watched the WWDC Keynote will see how apple was making a big thing about how many of their older devices were still updated to the latest os.

Realistically I don't feel like I will be running iOS 6 with this update. It may be branded iOS 6 so apple can say that all iphone 4 users are using it but in reality they are excluding us from the biggest features in the new iOS update. I knew Siri updates would not be applicable but its beyond belief that they would limit facetimes ability, the new maps features to get people to upgrade early. I used to brag to HTC owning friends of mine that when apple released an update virtually everybody with a half recent device got it. But now it seems the joke is back on me as apple follows suit and expects people to upgrade their hardware for new software features.

The bottom line is apple's phones are sold at a premium so plenty of people buy them in 18-24 month contracts. Even if you purchased them on day one of release you will still be left with an outdated phone before your contract is up. I have every intention of upgrading to the latest iPhone that is out when my contract is up for renewal but making my device feel out of date to pressure me into upgrading early doesn't really sit very well with me. In fact the main reason I went for iPhone was because every android I ever owned was outdated within a few months due to 'hardware limitations'.

[/rant]

So angy you ranted twice :D

But i agree with every word....until i read this thread i didn't even know the iPhone 4 was excluded from turn by turn navigation and facetime cellular.........so rather peed now.....but in reality whenever the new iPhone comes out i was always going to upgrade to that cos i skipped the 4S.
 

danetello

macrumors 6502
Dec 23, 2010
258
0
London, UK
I still have my iPhone 4 which I bought in 2010, and its still working well. I will probably upgrade whenever the next generation iPhone comes out
 

macingman

macrumors 68020
Jan 2, 2011
2,147
3
I'm pretty sure a 3G could run iOS 6....

The original has the same hardware as the 3G except for as the name suggests a 3G antenna. So using that logic the original could run iOS6.

Kind of like using Lion on a 5 year old mac, works but it will be slow. And I doubt Apple wants the PR disaster of everyone complaining that iOS6 ruined their phone.
 

Azy

macrumors regular
Jun 13, 2012
103
1
So angy you ranted twice :D

But i agree with every word....until i read this thread i didn't even know the iPhone 4 was excluded from turn by turn navigation and facetime cellular.........so rather peed now.....but in reality whenever the new iPhone comes out i was always going to upgrade to that cos i skipped the 4S.

Oops don't know how that happened, my bad sorry. I'm glad not alone though I was rather excited when the iOS 6 keynote came up only to find out that most of it isn't really applicable until I buy a new device. Id say I would go elsewhere but all phone companies are the same nowadays, at least apple isnt like HTC throwing a phone out every couple of weeks.
 

marksandvig

macrumors regular
May 21, 2006
164
0
The iPhone4 has the same chip as the 3GS, with a half-assed coat of paint on it. The iPhone4 is no more capable than the 3GS, which is why when the 4S came out I knew that it would be relevant far longer than the 4.

Entirely incorrect. The 3GS uses an 833mhz CPU downclocked to 600mhz as well as 256 MB eDRAM. The iPhone 4 uses the A4 CPU (same as iPad 1) which is downclocked ~800mhz as well as 512 MB eDRAM.
 

lokster

macrumors 6502
Feb 7, 2010
365
3
just my two cents,

i got siri on my iphone 4 and facetime over 3g :cool:

wayyy before iOS 6...so yeah..
 

cperchard

macrumors 6502a
Jun 15, 2010
804
11
just my two cents,

i got siri on my iphone 4 and facetime over 3g :cool:

wayyy before iOS 6...so yeah..

so did i....but the speed of the thing ends up being a disgrace when JB'ing.....so i got rid and went back.....forgot how fast they can be!
 

mickbab

macrumors 65816
Sep 13, 2008
1,136
2
Sydney, Australia
I remember when I had iOS 4 on my 3G. It was horrible. The phone couldn't handle it. I highly doubt it can run iOS 6

I'll go with this.

iOS 4 crippled my 3G it was quite horrible. Thankfully it was as the iP4 was coming out and I was upgrading anyway.

That said, some things like FaceTime over cellular are just odd to leave out. Oh well, time for an upgrade!
 
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