iOS 9 to Focus Heavily on Stability and Optimization

[bawbac]

Glad to see Apple finally admitted they need serious improvements in Stability and Optimization in all areas.
May be we'll no longer have trivial issues like Safari or Mail crashing intermittently/randomly.
Hey, may be a file system would be nice... lets come out of the dark ages in to the new Millennium!

 

[Paddle1]

The 5C is the replacement of the 5, which is three years old this fall. To treat it like it was brand new when it first came out is silly and not exactly fair as that's not even how Apple positioned it when it was released.

Also, their speculation means far more than our speculations.




The fact that they still sell it today means nothing; Apple has discontinued OS support for devices that were sold in February of the same year that they lost OS support; this is not a new trend. If they're still selling it by the time WWDC rolls around then that'd be a whole new precedent to be set. That being said, if this is an update a la Snow Leopard, they are almost guaranteed to drop A5 support. I agree that also dropping the A6 seems hasty, but if the whole point of iOS 9 is to solely focus on 64-bit ARM so they can streamline things, then I can see them cutting off support a year early. Apple's not one to care if you're holding onto an old device.



Their end goal isn't longevity of device ownership. That's not how Apple makes so much more money on iPhones than they ever did on iPods. Their goal is to have a marriage of software and hardware that is the best thing out there. They are already having to bend the code backwards to retain iOS 8 support with the A5 and, I'm not sure if you've ever owned or used one of those devices running on that OS, the experience leaves much to be desired. If the A5 lacks support for the technologies that they want in iOS moving forward, the A5 will be dropped. Same goes for any other processor that isn't doing what Apple wants it to do with regards to future versions of iOS.

People are only reading one half of the "it's gonna be like Snow Leopard" story. That one half is fat-trimming and optimization; and if that's all Apple was going to do, it would be fair to assume that the A5 would get one more year. However, the second half that barely anyone on here seems to be paying attention to is under-the-hood technology overhauls and enhancements, which have historically eschewed the hardware on the older end of the prior OS's minimum system requirements. With Snow Leopard that meant the removal of support for 867MHz and faster G4s, and all G5s, which ran Leopard about as well as the A5 CPUs run iOS 8 today.

So, yeah, odds aren't good that the A5 will retain support even if we still have two A5 devices still sold today (one of which is on a very-clearly abandoned product line [iPod touch] and the other is on a product line that is very quickly headed down the same path [iPad mini] if the critical reception of this past October's update is any indication at all). I'd say that A6 will lose support ONLY if Apple decides to have iOS 9 and beyond be exclusively 64-bit (which isn't something I would put past Apple to do); otherwise, it's likely that the trend will continue as it has for the past couple years of iPhone and iOS releases.

iOS 8 does not run as badly on the 4S as everyone thinks, it lags and has stuttery animations but it otherwise is fine. iOS 7 was not laggy (or nearly as stuttery) on it so I don't think it's that far fetched for Apple to fix it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU06MwGikwA

And when did Apple drop a device in February and not support it? The iPod Touch is still there with the same internals as the 4S. I do agree that we need to be closer to WWDC to get a good idea though.

 

[theusualsuspect]

My guess is iOS 9 keeps A5 support, but it's 64 bit only when iOS X rolls around in 2016. Old hardware will work as well as can be expected this year, but moving forward it's upgrade or get left behind.

 

[Yebubbleman]

iOS 8 does not run as badly on the 4S as everyone thinks, it lags and has stuttery animations but it otherwise is fine. iOS 7 was not laggy (or nearly as stuttery) on it so I don't think it's that far fetched for Apple to fix it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU06MwGikwA

And when did Apple drop a device in February and not support it? The iPod Touch is still there with the same internals as the 4S. I do agree that we need to be closer to WWDC to get a good idea though.

Apple dropped the fourth generation iPod touch in May 2013, less than a month before they announced a version of iOS that wouldn't run on it. It's a precedent that Apple has already set and can very easily repeat on their less important products (i.e. the fifth generation iPod touch and definitely the first generation iPad mini) this year. Many have made the assertion that for Apple to drop the fifth generation iPod touch without a successor would imply that they would have to continue granting it OS support. However, this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Similarly, many have suggested that Apple needs a successor to its flagship iPod. Similarly this also makes no sense as the iPod is a product line that is very clearly being phased out of existence as the iPhone and many internet-reliant music services come in to take over. Luckily, they're still expanding the iPhone's storage for those that want their music libraries on their phones. Sad for those of us (myself included) that preferred the iPod touch for such purposes.

There are several articles out there advising most on a non-3rd-gen-AppleTV A5 based iOS device to not update to iOS 8. I have multiple iPod touches running iOS 8 and I can personally attest that, while it's certainly usable, it's definitely not enjoyable.

 

[Paddle1]

Apple dropped the fourth generation iPod touch in May 2013, less than a month before they announced a version of iOS that wouldn't run on it. It's a precedent that Apple has already set and can very easily repeat on their less important products (i.e. the fifth generation iPod touch and definitely the first generation iPad mini) this year. Many have made the assertion that for Apple to drop the fifth generation iPod touch without a successor would imply that they would have to continue granting it OS support. However, this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Similarly, many have suggested that Apple needs a successor to its flagship iPod. Similarly this also makes no sense as the iPod is a product line that is very clearly being phased out of existence as the iPhone and many internet-reliant music services come in to take over. Luckily, they're still expanding the iPhone's storage for those that want their music libraries on their phones. Sad for those of us (myself included) that preferred the iPod touch for such purposes.

There are several articles out there advising most on a non-3rd-gen-AppleTV A5 based iOS device to not update to iOS 8. I have multiple iPod touches running iOS 8 and I can personally attest that, while it's certainly usable, it's definitely not enjoyable.

There is no proof that there will be no new iPod. iOS 9 could run on A5 if it runs better than 8.

 

[Yebubbleman]

There is no proof that there will be no new iPod. iOS 9 could run on A5 if it runs better than 8.

There is no proof that there WILL be a new iPod. And certainly all signs don't point toward it happening. There are no supply part leaks. None of the things that traditionally happen when a new iPod, let alone iPod touch is in the pipeline have happened, so there's nothing to suggest that one is coming. The absence of evidence is definitely a decent sign that

Similarly, there's nothing to suggest that iOS 9 will support A5, even if it runs smoother than 8 does. Again, if it is a Snow-Leopard-esque update, odds are that much greater that they will drop legacy support for the A5 as Snow Leopard was made leaner, meaner and faster by dumping tons of legacy technologies (support for older processors especially included).

Nothing you or anyone else has said so far suggests with any credible amount of logic that they will continue to support the A5 moving forward. Just because they make the OS faster doesn't mean that it will be faster universally across the board.

You can continue to repeat "There is no proof that there will be no new iPod. iOS 9 could run on A5 if it runs better than 8." all you like, but that doesn't mean that there's any truth or even logic to support that.

 

[Paddle1]

There is no proof that there WILL be a new iPod. And certainly all signs don't point toward it happening. There are no supply part leaks. None of the things that traditionally happen when a new iPod, let alone iPod touch is in the pipeline have happened, so there's nothing to suggest that one is coming. The absence of evidence is definitely a decent sign that

Similarly, there's nothing to suggest that iOS 9 will support A5, even if it runs smoother than 8 does. Again, if it is a Snow-Leopard-esque update, odds are that much greater that they will drop legacy support for the A5 as Snow Leopard was made leaner, meaner and faster by dumping tons of legacy technologies (support for older processors especially included).

Nothing you or anyone else has said so far suggests with any credible amount of logic that they will continue to support the A5 moving forward. Just because they make the OS faster doesn't mean that it will be faster universally across the board.

You can continue to repeat "There is no proof that there will be no new iPod. iOS 9 could run on A5 if it runs better than 8." all you like, but that doesn't mean that there's any truth or even logic to support that.

There are two A5 devices on sale which does suggest iOS 9 support. Just like the iPad 2 last year got iOS 8 even though it already had 4,5,6 and 7. This is the most recent example of Apple dropping something mid-refresh. Not to mention most iPad usage is on A5 devices.

There are more hints that 9 will come to A5 than the opposite, the only point is the arbitrary "iOS devices are only allowed x years of support" which Apple can change at any time. And iOS 8's poor performance does not count as iOS 9 is allegedly better in that area than 8.

"Snow Leopard update" is clearly in reference to the performance improvements that it brought. Not the computers it dropped support for. Remember that iOS is not the same as OS X.

 

[Yebubbleman]

There are two A5 devices on sale which does suggest iOS 9 support. Just like the iPad 2 last year got iOS 8 even though it already had 4,5,6 and 7. This is the most recent example of Apple dropping something mid-refresh. Not to mention most iPad usage is on A5 devices.

A5 iPad usage is declining. The only reason why it's even up at all is because Apple sold the iPad 2 for three years and has continued that trend with the first generation iPad mini. That doesn't mean that they absolutely are incapable of making the decision to discontinue the first gen iPad mini and fifth gen iPod touch come June right before they announce that iOS 9 won't run on them. They did this in 2013 with the fourth generation iPod touch; the precedent has been set. I'm not sure why you guys seem to ignore that blaring fact.

There are more hints that 9 will come to A5 than the opposite

And they are...?

(By the way, I'm pretty sure that "because the devices are still being sold today is just as much non-logic as "iOS devices are only allowed x years of support", which, by the way isn't a reason I'm citing here.)

, the only point is the arbitrary "iOS devices are only allowed x years of support" which Apple can change at any time. And iOS 8's poor performance does not count as iOS 9 is allegedly better in that area than 8.

Poor performance DOES count if the reasons why it exists in the first place are all due to architectural limitations, which, if this was an update in the true style of Snow Leopard, would make it LESS likely to get an update as it is optimizing for CURRENT hardware and FUTURE software and not LEGACY hardware that is otherwise very clearly on its way out in terms of support. That said, A5 to A6 isn't JUST about raw speed. Each time Apple updates the Ax chips, there are architectural changes under the hood.

"Snow Leopard update" is clearly in reference to the performance improvements that it brought. Not the computers it dropped support for. Remember that iOS is not the same as OS X.

When the words "Snow-Leopard-like update" are used, it is implied that it is an update that, like Snow Leopard, brought to the table NOT JUST performance improvements, but architectural foundations and frameworks that retrofit the OS at a core level and give it support for a new generation of underlying technologies. With Snow Leopard, that meant dropping support for PowerPC (which existed just fine in Leopard). If you're saying that the article only means to say that it's a performance improvement update, then I think you didn't read it carefully or completely.

 

[Paddle1]

A5 iPad usage is declining. The only reason why it's even up at all is because Apple sold the iPad 2 for three years and has continued that trend with the first generation iPad mini. That doesn't mean that they absolutely are incapable of making the decision to discontinue the first gen iPad mini and fifth gen iPod touch come June right before they announce that iOS 9 won't run on them. They did this in 2013 with the fourth generation iPod touch; the precedent has been set. I'm not sure why you guys seem to ignore that blaring fact.



And they are...?

(By the way, I'm pretty sure that "because the devices are still being sold today is just as much non-logic as "iOS devices are only allowed x years of support", which, by the way isn't a reason I'm citing here.)



Poor performance DOES count if the reasons why it exists in the first place are all due to architectural limitations, which, if this was an update in the true style of Snow Leopard, would make it LESS likely to get an update as it is optimizing for CURRENT hardware and FUTURE software and not LEGACY hardware that is otherwise very clearly on its way out in terms of support. That said, A5 to A6 isn't JUST about raw speed. Each time Apple updates the Ax chips, there are architectural changes under the hood.



When the words "Snow-Leopard-like update" are used, it is implied that it is an update that, like Snow Leopard, brought to the table NOT JUST performance improvements, but architectural foundations and frameworks that retrofit the OS at a core level and give it support for a new generation of underlying technologies. With Snow Leopard, that meant dropping support for PowerPC (which existed just fine in Leopard). If you're saying that the article only means to say that it's a performance improvement update, then I think you didn't read it carefully or completely.

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/20783630/

About dropping the iPod Touch the iPad 2 was dropped in March 2014 and still got support. As opposed to May 2013 for the iPod Touch then not getting support. Not much of a pattern to follow.

The Snow Leopard thing is open to your interpretation I suppose, which can change the whole argument. We're going to have to wait and see what Apple does.

 

[oldmacs]

The whole Snow Leopard update thing can be read two ways I guess - That Apple used it to drop a whole generation of processors.

However, I do believe that the intended use by most news articles is in terms of an optimisation release with few new features - I don't think its being used to specify what will and won't be dropped - especially since macrumours does not know what Apple will do.

Snow Leopard is also different - The Power PC was a completely different processor to Intel processors. A5 to A6 does not represent the massive architectural changes seen in PPC to Intel.

The biggest change I can see is 32 bit vs 64 bit, and there is almost no way that iOS 9 will be 64 bit only - Well over the majority of iOS users are still on 32 bit devices. The iPad installed base would be about 67 percent 32 bit. ( iPad 2 - 23 Percent market share, iPad Mini 1 - 20 Percent market share, iPad 3 - 10 percent, iPad 4 - 14 percent).

Apple is definitely testing iOS 9 on A5 devices anyway - its been picked up running on the 4S.