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Just because the iPod Touch 5 and iPad mini 1 are still being sold doesn't mean they have to support iOS 9. The iPod touch 4 was discontinued in May of 2013, just one month before iOS 7 was announced. The iPod Touch 4 did not support iOS 7. I think the same thing will happen with the iPod Touch 5 and iPad mini 1. They will be pulled just in time for the WWDC event in June where iOS 9 will be unveiled. iOS 9, assuming it is not mostly based around performance and bug fixes, will support the following devices, I think:

iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPhone 6+, iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S+, (iPhone 6C if that happens)

iPad 4th generation, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad Air 3, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4.

I do not believe a new iPod Touch will happen, sadly. I hate to see it go, but I don't think it is very enticing anymore for Apple, sales for the iPod Touch have been rapidly declining since 2009.

Now, what do you guys think about the iPad 3? As you may know, it has an A5X chip. Twice the GPU cores as the A5 found in the iPad 2, and also twice the RAM at 1GB which matches the iPhone 5 and newer, and iPad 4 - Air. In the past, iOS devices have lost support due to RAM constraints. (i.e, the iPod 4 stayed with iOS 6 due to only having 256mb of RAM while the iPhone 4 had 512mb) Anyway, I personally think the iPad 3 will stay with iOS 8. Yes it has twice the RAM and GPU cores but after the taxing retina display, I think it all levels out. All A5 devices of any kind will be dropped in iOS 9 in my opinion.

If iOS 9 is mainly based around performance and bug fixes, all devices running iOS 8 should run iOS 9, however I doubt iOS 9 will be a polishing break. Just a gut feeling, even though I would love that.

There will be no version of iOS where iPhone 4S is left out but iPod 5/iPad mini 1 aren't. They have the same chipsets, that just isn't happening, even though the iPod 5 and iPad mini are still being sold after the iPhone 4S has been discontinued. Just no. This should be obvious.


The iPod Touch 4 was different. For many reasons. It was the only device left with 256MB of ram. There are 4 devices with 512 MB of ram left supported, two are currently for sale. The iPod Touch 4 had a very very small share of iOS device usage, where as the iPad Mini 1 holds over 20 percent of the iPad usage share (45 percent if you count the iPad 2 which is the same device in a different package performance wise).

The other thing to ponder is that originally iOS 7 development started under Scott Forstall, and continued into early 2013, when it was taken over by Johnny Ive - Thats when it gained the new design and power sapping features, quite late in the game. When the decision to keep the iPod Touch 4 around was made, presumably iOS 7 was going to be far less resource heavy. By contrast, we know iOS 9 was in testing ages ago, so Apple probably made the decision to keep not 1 but 2 A5 devices around because it knows that iOS 9 will run on them. Just my guesses based on the rumours we heard during iOS 7 development.
 
Just saw an article saying only iDevices with 64bit processors will get iOS 9.

My iPhone 5 and I are crying. In all honesty though, this just can't be true because of the fact that the Apple Watch is going to be compatible with the iPhone 5. Based on this logic, Apple wouldn't drop iOS 9 support for the iPhone 5 and similar A6 devices because they are Apple Watch compatible. Also, it makes no sense to drop the A6 due to the fact that A5 hasn't been dropped yet. I don't know what is going to happen with the iPod line as a whole but I would bet that the A6 devices are safe for this round.
 
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I'm guessing that only the iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad mini 1, and iPod touch 5th gen will be killed off. Those are the devices with only 512 MB of RAM. Of course, they will need to replace the iPod touch quickly, or completely discontinue it fast if that is the case.
 
Just saw an article saying only iDevices with 64bit processors will get iOS 9.


Never gonna happen. That would completely break Apple's upgrade cycle. Plus the majority of people are still on 32 bit devices.

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I'm guessing that only the iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad mini 1, and iPod touch 5th gen will be killed off. Those are the devices with only 512 MB of RAM. Of course, they will need to replace the iPod touch quickly, or completely discontinue it fast if that is the case.

Well over the majority of iPad users are on a5 devices. I don't except we will see them killed off with iOS 9. Plus if performance improves on them, why would they kill them?
 
My iPhone 5 and I are crying. In all honesty though, this just can't be true because of the fact that the Apple Watch is going to be compatible with the iPhone 5. Based on this logic, Apple wouldn't drop iOS 9 support for the iPhone 5 and similar A6 devices because they are Apple Watch compatible. Also, it makes no sense to drop the A6 due to the fact that A5 hasn't been dropped yet. I don't know what is going to happen with the iPod line as a whole but I would bet that the A6 devices are safe for this round.

To be clear I'm not the one claiming this. read the article on 9to5mac. Also I think iOS 8.3 is the apple watch build so technically you wouldn't need iOS 9 to use your phone with the watch.
 
To be clear I'm not the one claiming this. read the article on 9to5mac. Also I think iOS 8.3 is the apple watch build so technically you wouldn't need iOS 9 to use your phone with the watch.

I read it and it was a suggestion that perhaps it could be achieved that way. Poor journalism actually, because it was suggesting that was how performance was going to be improved, when actually better optimisation and coding is what is needed to improve performance.

I'd say Apple is more likely to support the iPhone 4 and 3GS in iOS 9 then it is to drop the iPhone 5.
 
I think anything without a lightning port is going to get cut. (iPad 2,3). Not that it would matter, because iOS 8 crippled these devices
 
My iPhone 5 and I are crying. In all honesty though, this just can't be true because of the fact that the Apple Watch is going to be compatible with the iPhone 5. Based on this logic, Apple wouldn't drop iOS 9 support for the iPhone 5 and similar A6 devices because they are Apple Watch compatible. Also, it makes no sense to drop the A6 due to the fact that A5 hasn't been dropped yet. I don't know what is going to happen with the iPod line as a whole but I would bet that the A6 devices are safe for this round.

8.2 8.3 and 8.4 will ensure Apple Watch works well with iPhone 5. So it doesn't need iOS 9 to continue to use Apple Watch. Iphone 5 has has its fair share of updates - time to go!
 
8.2 8.3 and 8.4 will ensure Apple Watch works well with iPhone 5. So it doesn't need iOS 9 to continue to use Apple Watch. Iphone 5 has has its fair share of updates - time to go!

You call 2 updates fair?

Anyone who thinks that iOS 9 will not support A6 devices is dreaming. The Marketshare of the iPhone 5 and 5C is massive (1 quarter of iPhone users), not to mention the 5C which is still sold, and will presumably be sold up until September.

Don't know why people are so for consumers being ripped off by lack of support. Not everyone can afford the latest technology.

If anything Apple's moving towards better support for older devices. The 3GS was the first to receive 3 updates and the iPad 2 was the first to receive 4. OSX has not had a change in requirements since Mountain Lion.

If iOS 9 can not run on A6 devices, Apple will have failed at creating an optimised and fast version of iOS 9. Apple should be aiming to get iOS 9 to perform decently on 512 MB of ram, as then it would perform well on anything. Lollypop can run on 512 MB of ram, so theres no reason for iOS (which is supposedly less of a resource hog than android is) to do the same.
 
You call 2 updates fair?

Anyone who thinks that iOS 9 will not support A6 devices is dreaming. The Marketshare of the iPhone 5 and 5C is massive (1 quarter of iPhone users), not to mention the 5C which is still sold, and will presumably be sold up until September.

Don't know why people are so for consumers being ripped off by lack of support. Not everyone can afford the latest technology.

If anything Apple's moving towards better support for older devices. The 3GS was the first to receive 3 updates and the iPad 2 was the first to receive 4. OSX has not had a change in requirements since Mountain Lion.

If iOS 9 can not run on A6 devices, Apple will have failed at creating an optimised and fast version of iOS 9. Apple should be aiming to get iOS 9 to perform decently on 512 MB of ram, as then it would perform well on anything. Lollypop can run on 512 MB of ram, so theres no reason for iOS (which is supposedly less of a resource hog than android is) to do the same.

There's a higher chance of iPhone 4s still being supported than A6 devices being dropped. iPhone 5 was a bigger performance update compared to 4s than 4s was compared to iPhone 4. (2x CPU and GPU and twice the amount of RAM)
 
iPhone 5S, 6/6 Plus
iPad Mini 2,3
iPad Air, Air 2

A7 upwards.

That's it!

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Just because it might be a performance update doesn't mean it will work in older devices. It might be completely rewritten and the devices which are not 64bit will be left out. Hopefully they will. They all lag on iOS 8 already, there's not much can be done to fix them apart from the bug fixes 8.2/8.3 will bring.

They can ALWAYS fix the lag. If these devices can run all these 3d games without stutter, they should be able to fly through simple animations with some blur. They've fixed lag before and stuttering/bugs are probably coding issues. Plus, there are areas in iOS where the OS runs smooth even under heavy blur but some lag a lot more. Sometimes just what you have open and how long your phone is open can affect the smoothness and that all can be fixed.

My iPhone 5 is pretty much smooth all the time (except lock screen) but it would be nice to fix all those random graphic glitches that happen a few times a day or more. Nothing that affects my workflow, but it'd be amazing to get those fixed.

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8.2 8.3 and 8.4 will ensure Apple Watch works well with iPhone 5. So it doesn't need iOS 9 to continue to use Apple Watch. Iphone 5 has has its fair share of updates - time to go!

I have an iPhone 5 and AT&T is making it hard for me to upgrade right now so I'd be pretty upset if Apple decided to keep me out of iOS 9 which supposedly won't do much that needs all the new fancy chips.
 
There's a higher chance of iPhone 4s still being supported than A6 devices being dropped. iPhone 5 was a bigger performance update compared to 4s than 4s was compared to iPhone 4. (2x CPU and GPU and twice the amount of RAM)

I think the 4S will get support for a number of reasons!
 
Optimisation comes with dropping support for older devices simple. 64bit devices only please.

How does getting rid of the less powerful devices help? They'll just make the OS even more resource heavy and then they'll suffer (even more) as well.

If they can make it run better on the oldest devices imagine how well it would work on the newer ones.
 
How does getting rid of the less powerful devices help? They'll just make the OS even more resource heavy and then they'll suffer (even more) as well.

If they can make it run better on the oldest devices imagine how well it would work on the newer ones.

Not true, iOS has to be optimised for all the older devices instead they could just drop them all and be thinner and lighter.

Just one example; iPhone 6 apps have iPhone 5 and 4 images to fit the display, which of course isn't needed on new devices but are included anyway.

Removing support for older devices will also cut the size of the OS and Apps
 
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I read it and it was a suggestion that perhaps it could be achieved that way. Poor journalism actually, because it was suggesting that was how performance was going to be improved, when actually better optimisation and coding is what is needed to improve performance.

I'd say Apple is more likely to support the iPhone 4 and 3GS in iOS 9 then it is to drop the iPhone 5.

Rumors are pointing to iOS 9 being a stability, performance release just like Mountain Lion was instead of a feature release. if they can get it to run smoothly on older devices my hats off to Apple.

Still, I wish they would create a new branch of iOS code for the 6 plus specifically to take advantage of the real estate of the screen. Minus the few native apps that run in a pane view in landscape the 6 plus is still literally a big iPhone.
 
I personally think Apple will support all the current devices that run iOS 8. By making the OS more efficient, and using less RAM Apple can make iOS 9 not just more efficient, we may even see battery life increase. Apple recently had the developer guidelines updated to include 64-bit support, I think this will be specifically important when iOS 10 arrives as was the fact of iOS 8 apps requiring Retina Support before the release. I think 10 will be the 64-bit only OS.
 
Not true, iOS has to be optimised for all the older devices instead they could just drop them all and be thinner and lighter.

Just one example; iPhone 6 apps have iPhone 5 and 4 images to fit the display, which of course isn't needed on new devices but are included anyway.

Removing support for older devices will also cut the size of the OS and Apps

Or how about they further optimise the OS for each device instead of cutting devices that are owed anoth under update?

You do know that around 60 percent of iOS users are on 32 but devices right?
 
Sure but the 4s needs to be dropped

Why? It has a large installed based (Larger than the iPhone 4 had last year) and runs iOS 8 far better than the iPhone 4 ran iOS 7. Also it is identical hardware wise to the iPod Touch 5 which is till for sale now.

If Apple can make iOS 9 run better than iOS 8 on A5 devices, or even the same speed, there is no reason to drop them.
 
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No matter what Apple does they can NOT win with some people on this forum.

Don't include old devices in iOS 9 upgrade:

"Planned obsolescence!!!, they want me to buy a new device if I want the new features! "

Include old devices in iOS 9 upgrade:

"Planned obsolescence!!! they want me to buy a new device because it won't run fast on my 3 year old device!!"

:rolleyes:
 
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If it doesn't run on everything that runs 8 then their stated purpose for 9 is dead before they even began.

Apple said something about 9 already?

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Why? It has a large installed based (Larger than the iPhone 4 had last year) and runs iOS 8 far better than the iPhone 4 ran iOS 7. Also it is identical hardware wise to the iPod Touch 5 which is till for sale now.

If Apple can make iOS 9 run better than iOS 8 on A5 devices, or even the same speed, there is no reason to drop them.

It needs to be dropped eventually. And this year fits their schedule.
 
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