Planned Obsolescence?

[ShakinBake]

At first I was pretty stoked about getting a new OS for my iPhone 4s but after the novelty wore off I realized how terrible it was. Sure it looks great but it seems pretty ridiculous for a company to force an update that significantly slows ur device, crashes apps more often and drains your battery without giving you an alternative OS.

One of the things I loved about my iPhone was its "snappiness" when going from app to app or just doing whatever but after updating to iOS7 that "snappiness" was definitely gone. Just opening my settings menu seems significantly longer.

As for my battery I never had an issue with needing a recharge in the middle of the day until i updated. Usually I would have more than enough battery life to last till I went to bed. Nowadays I gotta charge more often in my car just to make sure I can make it through the day. Thats with all possible extra iOS7 features turned off.

I know its a lot of complaining about a device that is considered "old" but I feel like apple could do a better job maintaining the functional integrity of older generation products. I've always been a fan of good design and things that just work, Apple happens to most of the time always fall within those categorizes and not to sound like a fan boy but I always defend or explain to family and friends why you have to pay a premium with Apple and why it's usually worth it. But after being forced to take iOS7 I can't help but think of the term PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE.

 

[VulchR]

Honestly iOS 7 seems pretty fast on my 4S. It might depend on what one does with it, and whether apps one uses have been optimized for iOS7.

As for planned obsolescence, didn't Apple state in one of their filings to the government that they expected to support a given model of iPhone for about 2 years? This is not exactly hidden.

I agree with you in that we need to stop making and buying things just for the sake of newness. Making phones costs energy, uses up mineral resources, and creates toxic pollution. Perhaps the governments of the world should pressure mobile phone makers to increase the life of mobile phones.... I have the 4S now and I probably won't buy a new iPhone until the iPhone 6.

 

[McGiord]

The lifecycle of any device has definitely been shortened, the thinner they get the more disposable they are.
I just experienced opening my iPad 2 and it was a real mess when compared to an iPhone.
Anyway the software obsolescence is one thing versus the hardware one, in reality the processor found in the iPhone 4S vs the latest an greatest is night and day of difference.
That been said we have to understand if we really want it jump into the latest and greatest software running it on a hardware from more than two years ago is not going to be "snappier" unless there are some trade offs.
Tinker with your settings and you may find a better performance. Turn the iPhone off or do a fresh install. Sometimes simply closing all the open apps helps.
Maybe you iPhone is full and some of the free space isn't there for the iPhone to run smoothly.
Remember these are small computers and they need processor power and memory allocation to run all the magic behind them.
Sadly yes Apple is forcing us to spend more and more every couple of years onto new hardware.

 

[Menneisyys2]

Thats with all possible extra iOS7 features turned off.

I can't really comment on the speed as I don't have proof Apple are inserting "No Operation" loops in the code of currently updated iOS 7 devices. (I can imagine they do - for example, on the 7.0.4 iPad 3, it takes sometimes 1-2 minutes for an AppStore download to start. The keyboard is also shown with noticeable lag. No such problems on 6.1.x. Dunno if these slowdowns are intended or are just bugs that will, sooner or later, be fixed.)

However, they indeed do remove previously (flawlessly) working functionality. For example, the iPhone 4S haven't been given back the (under 5.x, flawlessly working) 720p60 slow-mo video mode in iOS7. And one can't even say it was because the hardware would be just too slow for that: after all, the iPad Mini, with exactly the same RAM and CPU, has 720p60. And that was just one example of their deliberately dumbing down "old" hardware in new iOS versions - I could go on with, for example, removing antialiasing from iPad 1 and 2 in iOS5 (and, when I asked a rep of them, lying to me antialiasing was just a "bug" - they can't even lie properly) and the like.

 

[RebornProphet]

iOS 7 is fine on iPhone 4s. Sure, after 7.0.3 and the forced use of parallax if you decided to keep the full animations enabled it did drop some frames but that has been sorted on iOS 7.1 which I'm running on my 4s right now.

Very smooth performance.

 

[rtomyj]

Well yes and no. Apple and others don't plan on it, but they know current hardware will be slower in two years. Remember pcs? Now you can buy a top tier PC, and it will last you 2 years with no lag. PC's are now on par with the fast acceleration of processes needed for an OS.

No Apple is not forcing anyone to upgrade. But if you don't want to upgrade, you have to make sacrifices.

If you've never restored your phone, do so. Two years of cache that haven't cleared is a lot. If you've never turned off features, do so. It'll relieve processes for other things.

----------

iOS 7 is fine on iPhone 4s. Sure, after 7.0.3 and the forced use of parallax if you decided to keep the full animations enabled it did drop some frames but that has been sorted on iOS 7.1 which I'm running on my 4s right now.

Very smooth performance.

Actually Beta 1 slowed down my iPod some xD.

 

[Menneisyys2]

No Apple is not forcing anyone to upgrade.

Regarding your comment on restoring to clean up the cache - too bad Apple don't allow what you can do with any desktop OS (Windows, OS X, Linux etc.): restore (reinstall) the same OS version to speed up / clean the system. In this regard (too), they do force to upgrade.

But if you don't want to upgrade, you have to make sacrifices.

Even when those sacrifices are, technically, not needed (see for example the 4S' case with slow-mo video recording) and are only there to force people to upgrade to a newer model? Not the most consumer-friendly approach from Apple, to put it mildly...

 

[Mike in Kansas]

It works great on my daughter's 4s and my son's 4... They haven't experienced any of the problems you suggest and they are on theirs constantly.

 

[PNutts]

PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE.

I think you just described every piece of technology I've ever owned. Have you tried the 7.1 beta? Folks are reporting better performance. Also, slowness is normal with every major revision's initial release and by 7.1 or 7.0.6 or whatever I expect you'll see better performance.

It works great on my daughter's 4s and my son's 4... They haven't experienced any of the problems you suggest and they are on theirs constantly.

A co-worker is also not experiencing any issues. And off topic I grew up in central Kansas and lived in Kansas City for awhile.

 

[bbfc]

At first I was pretty stoked about getting a new OS for my iPhone 4s but after the novelty wore off I realized how terrible it was. Sure it looks great but it seems pretty ridiculous for a company to force an update that significantly slows ur device, crashes apps more often and drains your battery without giving you an alternative OS.

One of the things I loved about my iPhone was its "snappiness" when going from app to app or just doing whatever but after updating to iOS7 that "snappiness" was definitely gone. Just opening my settings menu seems significantly longer.

As for my battery I never had an issue with needing a recharge in the middle of the day until i updated. Usually I would have more than enough battery life to last till I went to bed. Nowadays I gotta charge more often in my car just to make sure I can make it through the day. Thats with all possible extra iOS7 features turned off.

I know its a lot of complaining about a device that is considered "old" but I feel like apple could do a better job maintaining the functional integrity of older generation products. I've always been a fan of good design and things that just work, Apple happens to most of the time always fall within those categorizes and not to sound like a fan boy but I always defend or explain to family and friends why you have to pay a premium with Apple and why it's usually worth it. But after being forced to take iOS7 I can't help but think of the term PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE.

iOS 7 runs perfectly fine on my 4S. No noticeable lag at all, it's as smooth as the iPhone 5 IMO. Battery life is still the same as it was on iOS 6.

On the other hand, my dad has a 4 with iOS 7 and it's pretty bad even with the animations turned off. The 4 should never of been updated to iOS 7.

Have you tried to reset all settings? That sometimes fixes these sorts of issues.

 

[CTHarrryH]

Why would any company work to make something new (IOS) work just as well on something old (iPhone 4 for instance) than emphasize working on the new 5s. People complain that there isn't enough new on their new phones and also complain that there old ones don't work as well as they used to.

Move forward - don't stand still.

 

[rtomyj]

Regarding your comment on restoring to clean up the cache - too bad Apple don't allow what you can do with any desktop OS (Windows, OS X, Linux etc.): restore (reinstall) the same OS version to speed up / clean the system. In this regard (too), they do force to upgrade.



Even when those sacrifices are, technically, not needed (see for example the 4S' case with slow-mo video recording) and are only there to force people to upgrade to a newer model? Not the most consumer-friendly approach from Apple, to put it mildly...

The heck you talking about? iTunes > restore OR shift + restore (select file) > wait for OS to download > iCloud or fresh install > done.

The 4S never had slow mo video to my recollection. My mini doesn't have it either. Sooo... What are you talking about?

 

[osx11]

sadly yes apple is forcing us to spend more and more every couple of years onto new hardware.

no!

 

[Menneisyys2]

Pal, do your homework before attacking others.

The heck you talking about? iTunes > restore OR shift + restore (select file) > wait for OS to download > iCloud or fresh install > done.

Now, do this on ANY pre-iOS 7.0.4. Even if you do the second (the first will always upgrade), you'll see the error message "This device isn't eligible for the requested build." All this because Apple doesn't sign those firmwares any more.

The 4S never had slow mo video to my recollection. My mini doesn't have it either. Sooo... What are you talking about?

Again: educate yourself before posting. Under iOS7, the Mini 1 is capable of true 720p60 slo-mo recording with third-party apps (the just-updated FiLMiC Pro or Better Camcorder. See THIS for more info on the latter). So was the 4S under iOS 5.x.

Apple refused to put 720p60 back to the 4S, while the hardware would certainly be able to cope with it. As could in the iOS5 times - and on the iPad Mini 1 as of iOS7.

----------

Why would any company work to make something new (IOS) work just as well on something old (iPhone 4 for instance) than emphasize working on the new 5s. People complain that there isn't enough new on their new phones and also complain that there old ones don't work as well as they used to.

Move forward - don't stand still.

Noone forces Apple not to innovate. Just some examples of what Apple failed to add to their flagships:

- 1080p60 / 4K video modes (LG G2, Note 3 etc.)
- OIS (Lumia 92x, 1020, 1520, LG G2, Nexus 5)
- Xenon flash (Lumia 920, 1020)
- large sensor (Lumia 1020 or even the Sony Z1)
- wideangle lens (all camera Lumias and most Android flagships), particularly in video mode
- dual camera recording (LG G2, Note 3 etc)
- Qi (all Nexuses, several Lumias etc.)
- flawless SlimPort-based HDMI (not the Lightning joke)
- Wacom support (all Notes)
- f.lux (possible to do w/o rooting on most Androids)
- USB OTG (Android)
- decent Bluetooth support (for example OBEX; Android, WP8)
- make their Wi-Fi unit much more sensitive (my Nexus 7.2 can operate over a much weaker Wi-Fi signal than my iPads and iPhones)

etc.

Instead, some of their "innovations" are giving us back some previously removed functionality like antialiasing on the iPad 2 (present in iOS4, removed in iOS5, re-added in iOS7).

 

[rtomyj]

Pal, do your homework before attacking others.



Now, do this on ANY pre-iOS 7.0.4. Even if you do the second (the first will always upgrade), you'll see the error message "This device isn't eligible for the requested build." All this because Apple doesn't sign those firmwares any more.



Again: educate yourself before posting. Under iOS7, the Mini 1 is capable of true 720p60 slo-mo recording with third-party apps (the just-updated FiLMiC Pro or Better Camcorder. See THIS for more info on the latter). So was the 4S under iOS 5.x.

Apple refused to put 720p60 back to the 4S, while the hardware would certainly be able to cope with it. As could in the iOS5 times - and on the iPad Mini 1 as of iOS7.

Haha alright kid. First off, I was actually confused (hence the what you talking about). Second off, you were insulted? Third of all, grow up if you were.

About the firmware, yes I'm aware. We were both talking about the current version, now your talking about pre-7.0.4. So what is it? Pre or 7.0.4?

About the camera. My bad. I thought you meant 120 slow mo from 5s (since you kept calling it slow mo, I don't think 60fps can be considered slow mo)*

Either way, yes it sucks that they took out functionality they weren't justified in doing. But how are they forcing you exactly? Pressuring? Sure. But I don't ever see Apple advertise or explicitly say "Yo! Yea you. That 4S is crap. You suck. Now buy the shiny 5s in gold and I won't kill you" if you have... Well to be honest it's funny and hopefully you got away and didn't buy the 5s. Advertisements only work if you let them, my friend.


*not trying to insult you, since you are pretty sensitive it seems. Yes more frames to slow down, but meh. Ya know?

 

[Menneisyys2]

"Yo! Yea you. That 4S is crap. You suck. Now buy the shiny 5s in gold and I won't kill you" if you have... Well to be honest it's funny and hopefully you got away and didn't buy the 5s.

Well, still, taking away existing functionality is pretty rude of Apple, particularly if the said functionality would work just fine on the given hardware. The latter is proved by the Mini 1's recording 720p60 video just fine under iOS7 - and the Mini has the same CPU and RAM as the 4S. That is, this can't even be explained by "sorry, the hardware would have been too weak for this". (I wonder if they stated 720p60 slo-mo recording on the 4S under iOS5 was a "bug", as they (an Apple rep) did when I asked them why they removed anti-aliasing from the iPad 1/2 in iOS5. It was then that I got pretty disappointed by Apple's business practices.)

 

[ShakinBake]

Why would any company work to make something new (IOS) work just as well on something old (iPhone 4 for instance) than emphasize working on the new 5s. People complain that there isn't enough new on their new phones and also complain that there old ones don't work as well as they used to.

Move forward - don't stand still.

I totally agree with you on the whole moving forward stand point which is why I've been torn on this whole issue. Sometimes I hear people actually feel bad about a product that brought joy to them the day before but just because tomorrow will bring a product refresh suddenly they feel somehow inadequate. I always cringe when I hear people say they don't want to buy a phone of tablet cuz a better one is just gonna keep coming out. IDK maybe the ego boost of having the latest and greatest tech is so strong in people they'd almost want to see stagnation in innovation just to maintain that feeling of supremacy.

Tech is constantly improving and these constant product refreshes keep devices on the cutting edge. I'm not expecting Apple to provide the latest and greatest features on older products but is it too much to ask for a device bought 2, 3 or even 4 years ago to work at least similarly to what it once did? Sort of like a time capsule of abilities in that short era. I have an original N64 and a Gameboy Color that work like just the day I bought it. Eventually the app store will do a sufficient job of rendering our devices obsolete as support for apps drop on older devices. In fact in looks pretty obvious with the move to 64bit architecture that its going to temporarily move at a faster pace than people are used to. But who knows maybe I'm complaining and casting doom and gloom over nothing I'll try restoring my phones like others have suggested.

 

[Menneisyys2]

*not trying to insult you, since you are pretty sensitive it seems.

Well, I hate to be taken for an idiot. Definitely not by you - but by Apple. After the "bug" incident (they took me for a complete idiot), I just have had little faith in them. And yes, I'm a bit sensitive when I see another great feature to be removed by them just to force users to upgrade.

Yes more frames to slow down, but meh. Ya know?

The 5s is heavily advertised by its slo-mo capabilities. Of course, it's two times better than that of the 4S, but still- slo-mo is a great thing to have. I very frequently make use of it in my articles containing for example frame dropping benchmarks - that is, its usability is far wider than, say, shooting sports.

 

[rtomyj]

Well, I hate to be taken for an idiot. Definitely not by you - but by Apple. After the "bug" incident (they took me for a complete idiot), I just have had little faith in them. And yes, I'm a bit sensitive when I see another great feature to be removed by them just to force users to upgrade.



The 5s is heavily advertised by its slo-mo capabilities. Of course, it's two times better than that of the 4S, but still- slo-mo is a great thing to have. I very frequently make use of it in my articles containing for example frame dropping benchmarks - that is, its usability is far wider than, say, shooting sports.

Gotcha. I actually thought about getting the 5s and using the camera for hockey action shots, haha.

No more hostility both ways! Yay! #

 

[McGiord]

[/COLOR]

Noone forces Apple not to innovate. Just some examples of what Apple failed to add to their flagships:

- 1080p60 / 4K video modes (LG G2, Note 3 etc.)
- OIS (Lumia 92x, 1020, 1520, LG G2, Nexus 5)
- Xenon flash (Lumia 920, 1020)
- large sensor (Lumia 1020 or even the Sony Z1)
- wideangle lens (all camera Lumias and most Android flagships), particularly in video mode
- dual camera recording (LG G2, Note 3 etc)
- Qi (all Nexuses, several Lumias etc.)
- flawless SlimPort-based HDMI (not the Lightning joke)
- Wacom support (all Notes)
- f.lux (possible to do w/o rooting on most Androids)
- USB OTG (Android)
- decent Bluetooth support (for example OBEX; Android, WP8)
- make their Wi-Fi unit much more sensitive (my Nexus 7.2 can operate over a much weaker Wi-Fi signal than my iPads and iPhones)

etc.

Instead, some of their "innovations" are giving us back some previously removed functionality like antialiasing on the iPad 2 (present in iOS4, removed in iOS5, re-added in iOS7).

Please briefly explain what these features are? And why they are something you want in the iPhone?

Except for the Bluetooth I have no clue what they are.

Thanks

 

[Menneisyys2]

Please briefly explain what these features are? And why they are something you want in the iPhone?

Except for the Bluetooth I have no clue what they are.

Thanks

OIS: True optical (not just electronic, of which only video stabi is used on iOS) stabilization for much better low-light shots and videos

Qi: for cable-less recharging (works wonders with my Nexus 7.2)

Wacom support: Wacom is the standard for a precision pen - orders of magnitude better than anything capacitive (the only stylus type available on iPads). Some better tablets have support for it.

f.lux: this is an absolute must - see https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1666430/

USB OTG: for much better external memory card / USB stick / HDD / anything storage access

decent Bluetooth support: OBEX, for example, for standardized image exchange between any kind of mobiles, without having to install any third-party app or having any kind of Internet connection for access

 

[Thepoobear]

I think we are forgetting who the iphone is meant for...Maybe they'll make an iphone AIR and PRO next?

 

[MisakixMikasa]

OIS: True optical (not just electronic, of which only video stabi is used on iOS) stabilization for much better low-light shots and videos

Qi: for cable-less recharging (works wonders with my Nexus 7.2)

Wacom support: Wacom is the standard for a precision pen - orders of magnitude better than anything capacitive (the only stylus type available on iPads). Some better tablets have support for it.

f.lux: this is an absolute must - see https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1666430/

USB OTG: for much better external memory card / USB stick / HDD / anything storage access

decent Bluetooth support: OBEX, for example, for standardized image exchange between any kind of mobiles, without having to install any third-party app or having any kind of Internet connection for access

iPhone's camera isn't the best, but it is not the worst. It gets the job done. Some comparison suggests iPhone's camera equivalent to Samsung Galaxy S4, which is pretty good. But iPhone's camera certain can be improve.

Qi: I tried cable-lss recharging with BlackBerry before and I saw the Qi wireless charging... I still found wireless charging is something useful and unnecessary at same time. You still need hock the charging pads with power outlet and you still need put your phone on top of the pad.... it is not truly wireless charing.

USB OTG: not happening... unless Apple stop wanting charge $100 for each storage upgrade... And beside, iOS has no file system, why would you even want external memory card/USB stick/HDD thing? Why not just hook them up to your computer and use file sharing?

----------

no!

YES!

Well they are technically not pointing gun at you, but they will render your device rather useless and you have to buy the newest to get the latest feature.

Take iPad 3 as example: No AirDrop... I don't give a crap of hardware limitation. If Apple can put a capable wireless card on iPad 4 half year later, Apple definitely can put a capable wireless card on iPad 3... but no.... O

Take iPad 1 as example: Apple knows 256MB won't stay long until it became useless... Apple did it anyway....

 

[undesign]

Apple's doing this with all of their products.

MacBooks now come with soldered RAM. iMacs have been stripped to nothing. Mac Pro doesnt even have a GPU option, let alone internal HD options.

Apple has successfully ipadified their entire product line and convinced the majority of apple consumers that this is a 'good thing'.

 

[El Magnificante]

Please briefly explain what these features are? And why they are something you want in the iPhone?

Except for the Bluetooth I have no clue what they are.

Thanks

Do simple research; they're obvious.

How about a notification LED Apple?