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General Rule with iOS: Don't update from it's intial OS?

glsillygili

glsillygili

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 16, 2011
507
457
New York
These seems to be the norm Apple likes dropping off it's old devices (especially ones that were very popular) on a version that is unusably slow and seems to be a motive to get people to buy new devices. I'm not sure why the iPhone 4S is so slow on iOS 8, I feel like Apple is doing it on purpose iOS 8 is really not that different from iOS 7, let's go through Apples devices that they discontinued and see how they run shall we?

iPhone, 3.1.3: Decent
iPhone 3G, 4.2.1: Unusable
iPhone 3GS, 6.1.6: Decent
iPhone 4, 7.1.2: Unusable
iPhone 4S, 8.X: Unusable

iPod Touch 1G, 3.1.3: Decent
iPod Touch 2G, 4.2.1: Unusable
iPod Touch 3G, 5.1.1: Fine
iPod Touch 4G, 6.1.6: Usable
iPod Touch 5G, 8.X: Unusable

iPad, 5.1.1: Fine
iPad 2, 8.X: Unusable

iPad Mini, 8.X: Unusable
 
Common sense indicates that the device which is lowest on the compatibility list (due to age) is going to have the least desirable experience. The list shows the devices containing hardware that will tolerate the software upgrade, not a promise that the ride will be smooth and trouble-free for all.

Another example of "just because you CAN do something doesn't mean that you SHOULD do it."
 
As I recall iOS 7.1 was more of a usable experience on the iPhone 4 vs. unusable, which was more consistent with iOS 7.0.

----------
lelisa13p said:
Common sense indicates that the device which is lowest on the compatibility list (due to age) is going to have the least desirable experience. The list shows the devices containing hardware that will tolerate the software upgrade, not a promise that the ride will be smooth and trouble-free for all.

Another example of "just because you CAN do something doesn't mean that you SHOULD do it."
Click to expand...
The problem really comes down to that it actually takes some work (and pretty much ongoing work) to stay away from updating to the latest supported iOS version on those devices and still have everything working fine as it did before on the version you want to stay on.
 
lelisa13p said:
Common sense indicates that the device which is lowest on the compatibility list (due to age) is going to have the least desirable experience. The list shows the devices containing hardware that will tolerate the software upgrade, not a promise that the ride will be smooth and trouble-free for all.

Another example of "just because you CAN do something doesn't mean that you SHOULD do it."
Click to expand...

your last sentence is that directed at users who installed the pre downloaded update to reclaim space they paid for or apple by downloading it on your device?
 
The problem with this is, if Apple stopped updating device software when performance stops being the same as release day people would still complain. No matter what they do, people are going to say Apple is trying to make their devices "expire" to make customers buy the new version.
 
omgipown said:
The problem with this is, if Apple stopped updating device software when performance stops being the same as release day people would still complain. No matter what they do, people are going to say Apple is trying to make their devices "expire" to make customers buy the new version.
Click to expand...
Why would performance stop being the same as it was before? If nothing is changing then performance should be the same, and updates certainly don't really seem to make the performance better on older devices.
 
C DM said:
Why would performance stop being the same as it was before? If nothing is changing then performance should be the same, and updates certainly don't really seem to make the performance better on older devices.
Click to expand...

I think what omgipown means is:

Apple releases firmware updates to older devices.
>> People complain it slows down their devices. Oh noes, Apple is slowing down older devices forcing people to buy new hardware!

Apple doesn't release firmware updates to older devices.
>> People complain they can't get the latest features. Oh noes, Apple is withholding latest features forcing people to buy new hardware!

Apple can't win either way.
 
Night Spring said:
I think what omgipown means is:

Apple releases firmware updates to older devices.
>> People complain it slows down their devices. Oh noes, Apple is slowing down older devices forcing people to buy new hardware!

Apple doesn't release firmware updates to older devices.
>> People complain they can't get the latest features. Oh noes, Apple is withholding latest features forcing people to buy new hardware!

Apple can't win either way.
Click to expand...
In that sense of it, I agree.
 
omgipown said:
The problem with this is, if Apple stopped updating device software when performance stops being the same as release day people would still complain. No matter what they do, people are going to say Apple is trying to make their devices "expire" to make customers buy the new version.
Click to expand...

where to begin

make it an optionable download. make it possible to downgrade.

thats two options that drastically change things and are much more consumer friendly.

why should a operating system run slower than its predecessor on hardware?
 
numlock said:
where to begin

make it an optionable download. make it possible to downgrade.

thats two options that drastically change things and are much more consumer friendly.

why should a operating system run slower than its predecessor on hardware?
Click to expand...
There can be plenty of reasons why performance on less powerful hardware might becomes worse. That aside, the two mentioned options would certainly be a good thing to see.
 
lelisa13p said:
Common sense indicates that the device which is lowest on the compatibility list (due to age) is going to have the least desirable experience. The list shows the devices containing hardware that will tolerate the software upgrade, not a promise that the ride will be smooth and trouble-free for all.

Another example of "just because you CAN do something doesn't mean that you SHOULD do it."
Click to expand...
The problem though is if you have to restore your device because of an issue you're having, you have no choice. So basically you have to pray that nothing ever goes wrong.

I firmly believe that Apple needs to allow users to restore a device to whatever software is on the device. So if I have an iPhone 5 and I updated to iOS 7, then have to restore, let me restore to iOS 7. I'm not asking to allow people to revert to an older version of iOS but only to whatever you currently have installed.

I believe that to be reasonable and easy to implement
 
numlock said:
your last sentence is that directed at users who installed the pre downloaded update to reclaim space they paid for or apple by downloading it on your device?
Click to expand...
Neither, really. Just speaking for myself. Just because you see a nag badge doesn't mean that you have to act on it. But I don't have the low space consideration because I always buy the largest GB and then use the device until it's no longer practical.

I've ignored upgrades on a permanent basis, depending on the device model. iPhone 4 is still running iOS 5 (latest release) and my son uses it every day until he gets my iPhone 5 next month. I just upgraded iPhone 5, iPad 4 and Mini-R from iOS 6 to iOS 7.1.2 on the day before iOS 8 was released because I knew if I didn't, I'd be stuck either falling behind or upgrading to iOS 8, which I suspected would be less than optimal.
terraphantm said:
Problem is, we can't downgrade, and should something go wrong, you're forced to upgrade to the newest version
Click to expand...
That's why I'll leave iPhone 5 on iOS 7.1.2 when passing it along to my son next month. It runs very well as is. If something goes wrong (although there's been no indication of any problem whatsoever from Launch Day), it'll be a hardware issue and then it won't matter.
 
Last edited:
Night Spring said:
Apple releases firmware updates to older devices.
>> People complain it slows down their devices. Oh noes, Apple is slowing down older devices forcing people to buy new hardware!

Apple doesn't release firmware updates to older devices.
>> People complain they can't get the latest features. Oh noes, Apple is withholding latest features forcing people to buy new hardware!

Apple can't win either way.
Click to expand...

I think Apple looks good if the users of the oldest device on their list of compatibility for their new software are able to downgrade. That way they've given the users a chance to use the new features and leave it up to them to decide if it they want their devices to run a new way to get those features. Users can make the decision to keep using a device they are happy with sans new features, and not grumble that Apple has forced them to keep software that ITO has made those devices perform worse.
 
glsillygili said:
These seems to be the norm Apple likes dropping off it's old devices (especially ones that were very popular) on a version that is unusably slow and seems to be a motive to get people to buy new devices. I'm not sure why the iPhone 4S is so slow on iOS 8, I feel like Apple is doing it on purpose iOS 8 is really not that different from iOS 7, let's go through Apples devices that they discontinued and see how they run shall we?

iPhone, 3.1.3: Decent
iPhone 3G, 4.2.1: Unusable
iPhone 3GS, 6.1.6: Decent
iPhone 4, 7.1.2: Unusable
iPhone 4S, 8.X: Unusable

iPod Touch 1G, 3.1.3: Decent
iPod Touch 2G, 4.2.1: Unusable
iPod Touch 3G, 5.1.1: Fine
iPod Touch 4G, 6.1.6: Usable
iPod Touch 5G, 8.X: Unusable

iPad, 5.1.1: Fine
iPad 2, 8.X: Unusable

iPad Mini, 8.X: Unusable
Click to expand...

iPhone 4s on 8 is not unusable! I have one of the newish ones bought in January 2014 and it works great!
 
The most you can upgrade to its the third gen of iOS before all hell breaks loose on your phone or iPad.. Eg. iPhone 4 to iOS 6 wasnt too bad, iOS 7 was crap.
 
The only rule is 'wait until a bunch of other suckers with the same device as you have performed the update, and decide whether or not to update yourself once you've read up on their experiences'.
 
I found 7.1.2 fine on the iPhone 4.

iOS 4 on the iPhone 3G was just terrible. It should never have got the update.
 
glsillygili said:
These seems to be the norm Apple likes dropping off it's old devices (especially ones that were very popular) on a version that is unusably slow and seems to be a motive to get people to buy new devices. I'm not sure why the iPhone 4S is so slow on iOS 8, I feel like Apple is doing it on purpose iOS 8 is really not that different from iOS 7, let's go through Apples devices that they discontinued and see how they run shall we?

iPhone, 3.1.3: Decent
iPhone 3G, 4.2.1: Unusable
iPhone 3GS, 6.1.6: Decent
iPhone 4, 7.1.2: Unusable
iPhone 4S, 8.X: Unusable

iPod Touch 1G, 3.1.3: Decent
iPod Touch 2G, 4.2.1: Unusable
iPod Touch 3G, 5.1.1: Fine
iPod Touch 4G, 6.1.6: Usable
iPod Touch 5G, 8.X: Unusable

iPad, 5.1.1: Fine
iPad 2, 8.X: Unusable

iPad Mini, 8.X: Unusable
Click to expand...

iPad Mini on 8.X is far from unusable. It works great. I have found devices to slow down and have problems when they were updated on the device rather than in iTunes.
 
I guess we all have our own definition of unusable.

I am running iOS 8 on my iPad 2. Yes the performance sucks compared to previous versions, but its far from being unusuable imo
 
glsillygili said:
These seems to be the norm Apple likes dropping off it's old devices (especially ones that were very popular) on a version that is unusably slow and seems to be a motive to get people to buy new devices. I'm not sure why the iPhone 4S is so slow on iOS 8, I feel like Apple is doing it on purpose iOS 8 is really not that different from iOS 7, let's go through Apples devices that they discontinued and see how they run shall we?



iPhone, 3.1.3: Decent

iPhone 3G, 4.2.1: Unusable

iPhone 3GS, 6.1.6: Decent

iPhone 4, 7.1.2: Unusable

iPhone 4S, 8.X: Unusable



iPod Touch 1G, 3.1.3: Decent

iPod Touch 2G, 4.2.1: Unusable

iPod Touch 3G, 5.1.1: Fine

iPod Touch 4G, 6.1.6: Usable

iPod Touch 5G, 8.X: Unusable



iPad, 5.1.1: Fine

iPad 2, 8.X: Unusable



iPad Mini, 8.X: Unusable
Click to expand...


You high mate? On what planet is the first gen iphone on 3.1.3 better than iphone 4 on 7.1.2
 
1) Decent, Unusable, and Fine are subjective.

2) iPad Mini iOS8 is not unusable by any stretch. Runs perfectly on my 1st Gen iPad Mini.
 
bitslap47 said:
1) Decent, Unusable, and Fine are subjective.

2) iPad Mini iOS8 is not unusable by any stretch. Runs perfectly on my 1st Gen iPad Mini.
Click to expand...

My friend updated his, while I still have mine on iOS 6.1.3 and it is noticeably faster in doing any task.
 
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