Apple Lists iPhone OS 4 Compatibility, Excludes Original iPhone and 1st Gen iPod Touch

[theBB]

Windows Firewall was added in SP2, SP1 added USB 2.0 support and IPv6, SP3 adds

Many people may consider adding a firewall to Windows a bug fix. SP3 "features" are quite obscure. Besides, did XP SP3 come out after Windows 7? (OS4 vs. OS1 analogy)

In any case, cell phones hardly ever got OS updates with many new significant features before iPhone. Even now it is not all that commonplace. I doubt any WinMo phone from 2007 or 2008 will be upgradeable to WinMo7. Even many 2010 models are not upgradeable. Desire to criticize Apple at every turn is an odd obsession for many people. (I don't mean you Aiden, the last sentence is a general statement.)

Still, I am surprised that 2G will not get OS4 at all. I thought it would run some limited feature version. I guess they really don't want to spend any resources on testing it any more.

 

[Mr. Gates]

What's all this talk about 2G? I don't believe there ever was. Just the original iPhone, then 3G, then 3GS. There's a reason the OS is on 3 right now, right? Since there have been 3 models so far.

Anyhoo, no blaming a company for moving on from support of its older technology. Like Steve said, if it is an incentive for owners to upgrade, then great! Or get a Nexus One. =P (Not bashing!)

2G stands for second generation

Confusing ain't it

 

[deputy_doofy]

I know this is anecdotal at best but, while I love my iPhone 3G, I'd hardly refer to it as "snappy." Giving this thing multitasking would probably suck (not battery life), but what little speed it has left.

The 3G is a nice phone, but the 3GS definitely feels faster, without any lag. This summer, iPhone 4 is mine!

 

[3N16MA]

It might finally be time to upgrade from my 2G iPhone. I hope the new iPhone features some big upgrades in terms of hardware and is not just a small spec bump on the 3GS. However multitasking, iBooks, and folders is not really a big deal for me on the iPhone. I'm much more excited to see them on the iPad.

 

[rjflyn]

Like someone mentioned not the best poll, someone responding could be responsible for multiple options. My case 2- 3G phones, and a 1G touch and a 2G touch.

 

[akadmon]

What's all this talk about 2G? I don't believe there ever was.

2G = 2nd Gen (i.e., 3G).

Duh!

 

[Yaboze]

I have a 3G (July 2008) and skipped the 3GS last year. My 2 year ATT contract is up in July 2010. Will I be able to get a new Iphone HD for a new contract prices or will I have to pay $700 for it? lol

I concur with others.....the 3G feels sluggish, now wonder it won't support multitasking.

 

[TallManNY]

I can't imagine any real need to multi-task on my iTouch 2G. So while I'm going to like the upgrade (I suppose) I won't feel cheated that I can't multi-task. By this summer I will probably have an iPad anyway. So I doubt I will be using the touch that often anyway.
Great update Apple. I think we are going to see the iPhone once again put some distance between it and the other smart phones.

 

[mosx]

No one ever said they would stop producing security updates for 3.0.

They still release security updates for Leopard.

That they do. But they, so far, have provided only one update to an iPhone OS when it wasn't current. So history tells us that 3.x updates stop for iPhone and iPod touch as soon as 4 is released.

Also, if Apple wants people like me to upgrade to new iPhones then they need to offer it on multiple carriers. No way will I ever sign another contract with AT&T

 

[Craiglorocks]

If you think that this is frustrating, try being a current gen Droid Eris owner running Android 1.5 knowing that Android 2.1 for Eris has been completed by HTC/Google and is sitting at Verizon for months now.

It is one thing for old hardware to not get updates, but try shelling out your cash six months ago and having to wait on Verizon's whims on getting me an OTA update.

You guys would riot if AT&T every did anything close to this. I like my Eris, but this is really frustrating.

Seems like Droid fanboys gloss over a lot of the shortcomings of Android and many iPhoners think that the grass is greener on the other side. I wish I could have bought a $99 Verizon iPhone instead. At least I would have a workable media player. I have been reminded by my Eris of the pre-iTunes hell that existed before iPods.

Its a great phone, great with social media, some good widgets and much better than any b-berry. How it does media and the app marketplace completely suck and I think will hinder any Droid tablet. The best selling Droid has a keyboard! iPad sold more in the first hour than Nexus 1 has total. Most Droiders are like me running sub 2.0. I wish I knew of this Droid many of you speak of.

My thoughts exactly. Some days I will go into settings just for fun and see if there is a system update. Nope not yet. My Verizon rep told me Q1 2010 for 2.1. HA! I love my Android phone because it is now the closest thing to a mediocre Iphone. Hence my lackluster hopes that Verizon wakes up, gets on their knees, and does as Mr. Jobs says. Android is nice, but when on the web and trying to preform other tacks, I would rather find WiFi and use my Ipod touch or Ipad. The UI is clean and smooth. The controls make sense. Cheers to 4.0.

 

[B. Hunter]

I will continue to use my 1st Gen iPod Touch.
Has served me well. I also use a microphone with it to talk on Skype.

Next time around I will probably jump to an iPad. Hopefully by then it will have a camera.

 

[Plasmastrike]

Who the **** isn't sure? lol

EDIT: f u c k

 

[cinwick]

I have a 3G but until recently had the original iPhone. Thats too bad they're not doing the software updates for it anymore. Its like if you want software fixes or more features they're forcing you to upgrade.

 

[Jimmy James]

3G > 3GS

"It's a minor upgrade"

lol

 

[trekkie604]

I have a 3G. This is exactly why I didn't buy a 3GS... if the rumors hold, the next gen seems to be way more of a significant upgrade.

 

[JAT]

I love how this turned from 4.0 not supporting the oldest hardware to OH GOD APPLE IS ABANDONING ME!!!!

Apple made no announcements about not shipping any more 3.x security updates. Of course they will fix major bugs found in 3.x. Just like they did with Tiger when Leopard was released and how the do with Leopard now that Snow Leopard is out.

You're all jerks and short-sighted fools. Fine, if you don't have a 1G device, go away. Why the F*** do you even come into such a discussion?

For those of us that do, this is a complete abandonment, far worse than I expected at 1pm when details weren't all complete. Security updates? Who cares? There have barely been any since they aren't needed much on these devices.

What happens when the apps start going "4.0 Required", which I fully expect due to the radical changes? Even apps I already own! Where is the capacity in the appstore to deal with multiple versions for multiple hardware configs? There isn't! Compare: the upgrade to Intel necessitated such a cutoff with the computers, but that was an understandable issue that had to be dealt with in the cpu market, and companies can easily keep versions separate in the open market. It sucked for some, but the choice was basically the company or the cpus. This is just crap to do the same thing to the iPhone/iPod for no apparent reason, esp since the inclusion of the 3G phone proves they could easily allow the 1Gs to have 4.0.

I look to be back to JBed by year end, cause I don't see buying a new device this year.

 

[zeemeerman2]

This sucks. I got my wife the iPod Touch 8gb which is the NEWEST MODEL, yet it is considered 2nd gen and won't run multitasking?!? If the device can't handle multitasking, then the 4.0 update better be cheaper than $9.99. Otherwise it's not even worth it.

Same problem here, mate.

I got my iPod 8 Touch GB just about Christmas, so it's not that long.
Guess jailbreaking is a solution...

 

[darijoe]

The original iPhone and 1st Generation iPod touch are excluded from iPhone OS 4 compatibility

Ah well. All good things must come to and end. I wondered when my 32 GB 1st generation iPod touch would stop being at least a little awesome. Thanks, Apple, for 2-3 years of near full support for early adopters!

 

[koobcamuk]

Points that make me laugh about the iPhone

• No custom sounds for SMS or mail
• No changes to alerts for missed calls/mails/whatever
• Lock screen still sucks

 

[diamond.g]

2G = 2nd Gen (i.e., 3G).

Duh!

Actually 2G = original iPhone (or at least it does when I use it). I also like using the model number -> iPhone1,1(2G) versus iPhone1,2(3G) versus iPhone2,1(3GS).

 

[spazzcat]

I think a better poll would be, How many 3G users are waiting for the next iPhone. I can upgrade now, but I am waiting for the new one...

 

[goosnarrggh]

They are not doing it arbitrarily. Their position is that the iPhone 1G will not support the level of user experience (speed, performance etc) necessary for their standards to be met.

No, their position is that the iPhone 3G and 2nd generation iPod touch will not support the level of user experience (speed, performance, etc.) necessary for standards of the full OS 4.0 to be met. Therefore, they are releasing a feature-reduced version of OS 4.0 for those devices. It is highly likely that this position is the truth.

They didn't actually express any official position about the original iPhone or the original iPod touch. If they had tried to express such an official position, then they would have been faced with the contradictory situation that the difference between the user experience (speed, performance, etc) on the original iPhone and the original iPod touch versus the iPhone 3G, would have been virtually undetectable.

Additionally, it costs money for the company to keep porting it back to the original hardware. Where does this money come from? Apple no longer gets a monthly revenue cut from the iphone 1g.

This.

And also, the fact that Apple's interpretation of generally accepted accounting principles leads them to the conclusion that they must "pay for" future feature enhancements to products that have already been delivered to the customer.

They use a trick of accounting to hold back some of the money from the initial sale of the device. They gradually put this held back money on the books over the course of several years, to account for the new features that are being added through software updates.

The held back money from the original iPhones has all dried up, so there is no more money left to "pay for" new features in the original iPhones. So, if they wanted to continue releasing new features for the original iPhone, they would have had to charge the customers directly to purchase the upgrade. That would create a schism in the market, where some iPhone customers get the OS for free, but others have to pay for it. Many original iPhone owners would probably feel even more indignant about having to pay for the upgrade even though other iPhone owners didn't, and wouldn't bother buying the upgrade at all. So Apple wouldn't be able to stand to recover the costs they incurred in engineering the upgrade in the first place. It's easier and less damaging to their image to simply not release the OS for the original iPhone at all.

Best of all, if anybody questions the decision, Apple can count on 3rd party apologists to make up unfounded, technological-sounding FUD about the iPhone being fundamentally under-performing, from a computational standpoint, compared to the iPhone 3G.

 

[diamond.g]

This.

And also, the fact that Apple's interpretation of generally accepted accounting principles leads them to the conclusion that they must "pay for" future feature enhancements to products that have already been delivered to the customer.

They use a trick of accounting to hold back some of the money from the initial sale of the device. They gradually put this held back money on the books over the course of several years, to account for the new features that are being added through software updates.

The held back money from the original iPhones has all dried up, so there is no more money left to "pay for" new features in the original iPhones. So, if they wanted to continue releasing new features for the original iPhone, they would have had to charge the customers directly to purchase the upgrade. That would create a schism in the market, where some iPhone customers get the OS for free, but others have to pay for it. Many original iPhone owners would probably feel even more indignant about having to pay for the upgrade even though other iPhone owners didn't, and wouldn't bother buying the upgrade at all. So Apple wouldn't be able to stand to recover the costs they incurred in engineering the upgrade in the first place. It's easier and less damaging to their image to simply not release the OS for the original iPhone at all.

Best of all, if anybody questions the decision, Apple can count on 3rd party apologists to make up unfounded, technological-sounding FUD about the iPhone being fundamentally under-performing, from a computational standpoint, compared to the iPhone 3G.

But I don't think that is necessarily true. My wife still uses an iPhone1,1 and I still pay 20 dollars for the data plan. I am fairly certain Apple still gets a cut of that money as that well. That should be the case for all iPhone1,1 owners until they get a new data plan.

 

[E.Lizardo]

What about all of the apps that will no doubt require the 4.0 OS? Are all of those old iPhone owners supposed to just abandon their investment into the app store? It's not that simple dude. Apple is screwing all of their consumers.

So you think there are no OS X applications that require Leopard?
Same thing.Deal with it.

 

[E.Lizardo]

oh really, then explain me why iPhone3G is in the contract?

iPhone OS is FREE? really? where went the contract money? 24 X30$???

I really can't understand what you wrote.What are you trying to say?