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Benchmarks dont tell the full story

It’s about the user experience or lack of

Battery life And stability arent benchmarked either, which goes down the drain with newer iOS’es on older hardware, to the point of insane for some users and devices.

Funny Windows 10 Fall Creators Update runs better than Windows Vista SP2 on a 10 year HP desktop that I have kicking around here.
 
Synthetic tests are pointless :mad: vs real world app usage ;). I'm not blaming apple but mostly app developers for the actual slow down felt from users.

App developers take skinny apps and keep pumping them with new functionality and features making use of new APIs etc. While I generally feel apple avoids any slow downs on older models with newer iOS version installed, the apps take up more and more CPU and GPU cycles.

It would be far more interesting to see twitter etc CPU and GPU cycles over time and how it's always increasing!

It's a form of planned obsolesce by proxy and happens in android too.
 
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I really don't understand the conspiracy on the performance, software development keeps advancing and older hardware has a limit to how much it can keep up. Thats just logical. I can't expect my 2013 MacBook pro to run video editing software or online games (World of warcraft) at the same level today like it did back then as the software is updated to offer better graphics, more power performance that needs stronger hardware. Same goes for smartphones. Thats just how it is.
 



Benchmarking company Futuremark recently set out to debunk long-running speculation that Apple intentionally slows down older iPhones when it releases new software updates as a way to encourage its customers to buy new devices.

Starting in 2016, Futuremark collected over 100,000 benchmark results for seven different iPhone models across three versions of iOS, using that data to create performance comparison charts to determine whether there have been performance drops in iOS 9, iOS 10, and iOS 11.

The first device tested was the iPhone 5s, as it's the oldest device capable of running iOS 11. iPhone 5s, released in 2013, was the first iPhone to get a 64-bit A7 chip, and iOS 11 is limited to 64-bit devices. Futuremark used the 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme Graphics test and calculated all benchmark scores from the iPhone 5s across a given month to make its comparison.

iphone5sgpuperformance.jpg

The higher the bar, the better the performance, and based on the testing, GPU performance on the iPhone 5s has remained constant from iOS 9 to iOS 11 with just minor variations that Futuremark says "fall well within normal levels."

iPhone 5s CPU performance over time was measured using the 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme Physics test, and again, results were largely consistent.

iphone5scpuperformance.jpg

Charts for other devices, including the iPhone 6, 6s, and 7, show some mild dips and increases when it comes to GPU performance. In the iPhone 6 and 7, GPU performance is up compared to previous-generation versions of iOS.

cpugpuperformanceiphone67-800x821.jpg

CPU performance across those three devices has dropped slightly, something Futuremark attributes to "minor iOS updates or other factors." "A user would be unlikely to notice this small difference in everyday use," says the site. Based on its benchmarking comparisons, Futuremark claims "there are no signs of a conspiracy."Raw CPU and GPU power across devices does not offer a complete picture of performance on an older device that's updated to a new operating system, however, nor are benchmarks an accurate measure of real world performance. Apple may not be deliberately slowing down older devices with its software updates, as some have speculated, but there are other factors to take into account.

New features that eat up more system resources can make a device feel slower, as can more system intensive design elements and other tweaks and changes designed for newer devices that are more powerful.

Apple's operating system updates also introduce more advanced APIs and technology for its newest devices, leading to built-in and third-party apps that are aimed at more powerful devices and may not be optimized on older devices, resulting in an older device feeling more sluggish than a newer device following an iOS update.

Sometimes, there are also early bugs in the software that need to be worked out through additional updates. For example, we've seen complaints of app slowdowns and performance drops from users who have installed iOS 11, issues that may be resolved as Apple tweaks and updates the iOS 11 operating system.

Article Link: Apple Doesn't Deliberately Slow Down Older Devices According to Benchmark Analysis
[doublepost=1507545099][/doublepost]Okay but how do we know that these benchmarks where done on brand new out of the box phones which have zero weight on their shoulders ?

Do these test on phones that are used and abused since day 1 with 2Gb of available memory on them.

Then you will see a huge difference. Apple doesn’t slow down their phones by any means.

They just give them to us underpowered. Not the phones fault. That’s the OEM’s fault.
 
It's insane to think Apple would deliberately slow down older hardware. The problem is letting newer OS's install on devices 3 years old that can't cope.
 
It's insane to think Apple would deliberately slow down older hardware. The problem is letting newer OS's install on devices 3 years old that can't cope.

That’s exactly my point. Kudos to them for not pulling an android and leave their old phones behind. But these new OS’s are built and tested on current Gen/Tech iPhone. Not on a phone that came out 4 years ago.

This wouldn’t be a problem if they made their phones powerful from the get. Apple’s brilliant software engineering allows these phones to hold their own with little to no power for about a year or so with constant use of its functions. My 7+ was amazing until I installed iOS 11 ( never making that mistake again ! ) now it’s glitchy, freezes, force closes apps on its own, screen stops responding, restarts at will and the one I can’t stand the most.. battery life ! My battery life is garbage now.

***** ! I might as well own a bloody Samsung !
 
When apple starts locking you into a macOS version and not allow you to roll back, things will slow down ;) l

So how these days do you upgrade you Mac OSX?

For the last three, including all the betas, I have been doing it via the internet. I do not have a DVD to roll back my Mac to, so unless there’s a copy on the App Store of an older OSX there will not be any “roll backs.” Your future is nearer than you may think.
 
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Yes, but this is raw performance in a specific task. People are generally complaining of GUI slowdowns in new versions of iOS.

Half is placebo, self justification of wanting a new iPhone by convincing yourself the your current iPhone is slow, and the other half is the shocking concept that new software runs slower on older devices.
 
I don't think anyone on this forum is really all that upset that apps are loading slower. It's that these so-called "difficult to run" software tasks, like:
1. Replying to a text
2. Opening an email
3. Starting the camera
are actually not difficult to run at all. They're table stakes and shouldn't be affected by a new OS that doesn't add anything to those features. However, they're being denigrated to a shocking degree that a company that prides itself on caring for its customers over the long term would not have allowed unless they were actively trying to get users to upgrade to the latest phone.
Sorry. Apple's definitely slowed down my phone.
 
Non-story. All this does is say that the hardware inside the phone is still running the same speed. Nobody believes that Apple underclocks a phone after it is sold or somehow the magic hardware fairy has changed out the innards.

What I think is happening, and I believe it to be more of a lack of quality control and testing, is that these phones are getting overloaded with features (or the frameworks without the features), and that the perceived performance (perception is reality) is suffering for it. My analogy... the phone used to get the mail. It had to walk from the front door to the mailbox, open the mailbox, and pull out the mail. NOW... the phone wants to get the mail, but the front door has 15 different locks on it, and the phone has to go through a keyring with 200 keys on it just to open the front door. After it does, there are kids toys, overplayful dogs, scary clowns, and all other manner of obstruction in the way. The phone has to navigate all that crap now too.

So yeah... the phones are not technically slower (hardware hasn't changed) but the EXPERIENCE (which Apple LOVES to tout) is dog crap compared to when it was new. At best, Apple isn't caring or inept at making sure older hardware runs well with newer versions of the operating system. Frankly, the easiest fix is to let customers downgrade. Not sure why that isn't an option, but there you go.
 
I really don't understand the conspiracy on the performance, software development keeps advancing and older hardware has a limit to how much it can keep up. Thats just logical. I can't expect my 2013 MacBook pro to run video editing software or online games (World of warcraft) at the same level today like it did back then as the software is updated to offer better graphics, more power performance that needs stronger hardware. Same goes for smartphones. Thats just how it is.

This is not the case here. My 2017 iPad Pro 12.9 released shortly after WWDC is absolutely horrible with iOS 11. How can my iPhone 6s be faster on iOS 11?

People just like to complain when it is a .0 release. These things happen. Even on macOS, even on Windows. Always wait until one to three updates after an initial release. The dock on iOS 11 is nice on my iPad Pro, but the performance is worse than an iPad 2!
 
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These tests are all ********.
My expensive iPad 2 is REALLY unusable after upgrading the firmware.
My wife’s iPhone 4 is partly usable after upgrading the firmware.
My iPhone 3s is partly usable after upgrading the firmware, and I say partly because iOS 7 is not suitable for iPhone 3s.

I proposed Apple to give us the ability to downgrade the firmware if we are not pleased with the new one. No one answered my email. Think of it, a firmware server where you can choose the firmware you want with the company suggesting the best for your model.

So, bye-bye Apple. You killed your products.
 
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These tests are all ********.
My expensive iPad 2 is REALLY unusable after upgrading the firmware.
My wife’s iPhone 4 is partly usable after upgrading the firmware.
My iPhone 3s is partly usable after upgrading the firmware, and I say partly because iOS 7 is not suitable for iPhone 3s.

I proposed Apple to give us the ability to downgrade the firmware if we are not pleased with the new one. No one answered my email. Think of it, a firmware server where you can choose the firmware you want with the company suggesting the best for your model.

So, bye-bye Apple. You killed your products.

This makes no sense. All of your devices are over 6 years old. That's like complaining about a PS2 that can't run PS4 graphics.
 
I really don't understand the conspiracy on the performance, software development keeps advancing and older hardware has a limit to how much it can keep up. Thats just logical.

If code adds new features that require more processing, then yes it'll slow down older hardware.

But quite often, older devices get updates that do NOT include the new functionality. In that case, a good programmer will make sure that the older device does not take a performance hit.

In fact, with more updates I'd expect to see more optimization of code!

E.g. the iOS update that gave ad blocking ability, did not do anything on older devices. Yet my Safari got slower anyway.

(Missing major features is just one more reason why I find the whole "iOS gets more updates" meme to be so bogus. Yes, everyone gets the same NUMERICAL OS version, but they do not get the same FUNCTIONAL OS version.)
 
So how these days do you upgrade you Mac OSX?

For the last three, including all the betas, I have been doing it via the internet. I do not have a DVD to roll back my Mac to, so unless there’s a copy on the App Store of an older OSX there will not be any “roll backs.” Your future is nearer than you may think.

Cant you open App Store, go to your purchased tab, and download an older version of OS X ? that is how I did not last time.
[doublepost=1507560640][/doublepost]
If you dont like this stupid fruit company, then why the **** are you even here?
And you are complaining about 4s in 2017?
For real?

my original iPod still works......should I throw it out cause its 2017? For real?
 
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Perhaps the writers of the report should own an iPhone for a few years... maybe their findings might be a little different then!
 
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It feels like a conspiracy.. and while I don't think they do, iOS 11.1 was snappy and fast, and now that I can actually get the iPhone 8 in the Dutch shops here, the phone has an added slowness to every response in any app. Going back to the previous build and it's gone.

And you think about it, "gee what a coincidence", .. and then you read this on macrumors and you just want to believe they're douchy like that.

Regardless what some review might say: i honestly hope apple doesn't do something like that.

But yeah, fingers crossed it's just a bug and the next 11.1 update suddenly is snappy again huh.
 
I just restored my 6 back to 10. This thread is great and all but my performance got so bad I HAD too. The features in 11 are great but awful slow down
 
Cant you open App Store, go to your purchased tab, and download an older version of OS X ? that is how I did not last time.

Isn’t that what I pointed out?

But the answer is no El Capt and Yosemite no longer come up in the App Store when searching after upgrading to High Sierra. And yes it and the last two are in my purchased tab.

But maybe you or others can send a link to where one might downgrade.
 
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No conspiracy theory here but...

All those tests do is show the processor is doing what it was designed to do. Does it take into account actual real life experiences? Maybe experiences with a phone that's been updated several OS iterations vs. a flatten/re-build each major OS release. I've always wiped clean with a major update and never restore an iCloud backup. Lightning fast, all the time, even on older hardware.

I suspect the slowdowns affect people who just update iOS 8,9,10,11 and so on. Old code lingers and causes issues IMO. Major OS update: DFU, flatten, go from there. Always smooth afterwards for me.
This is true on any device, computer, phone, etc. It is always best to wipe and start fresh with a new OS, not exactly the most convenient, but the best.
 
I don't know if this has been mentioned here yet, but I think it deserves another mention even if it did.

I have an iPad 3 on 9.3.5. It was painfully slow to use, even after a DFU and restore. Then I found out that 9.3.5 can now be jailbroken, and I searched for a way to go back to a new OS. Turns out, there is a literally magical tool called Coolbooter that allows you to dual boot into ANY iOS version from iOS 5 to 8! Of course I tried that out, and oh my gosh what a difference going back to iOS 6 made!

My iPad 3 on iOS 6 was fast, responsive, and SMOOTH. It is literally 60FPS everywhere. Basic things like the keyboard and iOS bundled apps loaded instantaneously. It was just a joy to use. Not to say the old skeuomorphic UI was beautiful! It left iOS 9 in the dust in speed.

However, there are a number of apps that don't work with iOS 6, like Facebook Messenger. Therefore, I switched to iOS 7. It didn't run as fast or smooth as iOS 6, but it was still leagues faster and smoother than iOS 9. There are some frame drops, like when the keyboard appears, but at least the keyboard appears instantaneously instead of 3 seconds later on iOS 9. The app compatibility is MUCH better. I've only found one obscure app (Google Earth) that doesn't work with iOS 7.

Also, I've found apps to run much faster on iOS 7 vs iOS 9, even for apps that are on the latest version. I thought it might just be the responsiveness of the OS or the older apps aren't as bloated, but no, apps actually run faster. For example, the game Modern War supports iOS 7 even on the latest update. On iOS 9 it took 2 minutes 27 seconds to load. On iOS 9 it took about 1 minute 15 seconds. I've repeated this multiple times and the load times were within 5 seconds.

I highly recommend jailbreaking your old device and installing iOS 7 on it. Everything is so much faster and smoother. My iPad is now a joy to use again.
 
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