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iPhone 4s Users May Want to Avoid iOS 8 Due to Performance and Screen Size Issues

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Apr 12, 2001
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Apple's public launch of iOS 8 is happening today, but there is one group of iPhone owners who may want pass on the upgrade for now. According to Ars Technica, the overall experience of iOS 8 on the iPhone 4s is degraded enough that owners of this device may want to consider bypassing the update and remaining on iOS 7, despite the new features offered in Apple's latest iOS version.

Apple's iPhone 4s was launched in 2011 and is falling quickly behind the times. It includes a much slower A5 processor, doesn't have an option for LTE connectivity, lacks Touch ID, and ships with 2.4GHz-only 802.11n Wi-Fi support. To maintain compatibility with the device, Apple has removed some features from iOS 8, including AirDrop and Handoff for apps. iOS 8 on the iPhone 4s also drops underlying support for OpenGL ES 3.0, the Metal graphics API, and 64-bit ARMv8 apps. As a result, overall app performance is slower and animations often are choppy.

iphone_4s_siri.jpg
The iPhone 4s suffers not only from the expected feature loss and slower performance, it also is hindered by its 3.5-inch screen. With iOS 8, Apple is designing the OS with a larger screen in mind and this limitation is apparent throughout the OS. Apps appear cramped, and those such as Mail that require text input provide very little space to compose a message.

Apple faced a similar challenge with the iPhone 4 and iOS 7 last year and managed to improve performance on older devices with its iOS 7.1 update. As a result, there is reason to hope the company can do the same this year for iPhone 4s owners looking to take advantage of iOS 8 and address some of the issues in a future update. iOS 8 will be available today and includes interactive notifications, third-party keyboard support, a new QuickType keyboard, extensions and more.




Article Link: iPhone 4s Users May Want to Avoid iOS 8 Due to Performance and Screen Size Issues
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/09/17/ios-8-iphone-4s/
Imagine if Apple introduced the iPhone 4S like Macrumors done above:

It includes a much slower A5 processor, doesn't have an option for LTE connectivity, lacks Touch ID, and ships with 2.4GHz-only 802.11n Wi-Fi support. And it can be yours to pre-order today!
Click to expand...
 
This post would have surely disheartened me, had I not been already keen on upgrading to the 6 or 6 Plus! :rolleyes: :D
 
SethBoy said:
OS upgrade = planned obsolescence
No OS upgrade = planned obsolescence

:eek:
Click to expand...

True, but not really. OSX Lion is still pretty usable these days, although Mavericks runs smooth IF you upgraded your hardware with more RAM and a SSD. You can't upgrade iPhone parts, though.
 
iOS's wide range of support for older/newer devices is already much better than Android can say for their devices.
 
I've barely noticed any difference from IOS7, though I've always had 'reduce motion' switched on.
 
I bet the first gen iPad Mini will have the same experience then as they have similar internals
 
MacRumors said:
Apps appear cramped, and those such as Mail that require text input provide very little space to compose a message.
Click to expand...

Hmm so the keyboard is larger now in iOS 8? Wonder how the smaller screen size is only NOW becoming too small and cramped to compose an email?
 
SethBoy said:
OS upgrade = planned obsolescence
No OS upgrade = planned obsolescence

:eek:
Click to expand...

OS upgrade = Things get slower, buyer thinks about buying new phone soon.
No OS upgrade = Phone remains as zippy as it always did, lacks new features. Buyer happy enough as phone is still zippy and may buy a new phone at some point.

That's how I see it and the reason why I hear folk buying a new phone, "it's running slow these days". You wouldn't expect Apple to let iOS 8 run as smooth on a 3 year old device as well as it did on their new flagship model!
 
And this is why releasing the 6/6+ with 1GB of RAM is why I'll be waiting another upgrade cycle.
 
So, I've been using iOS 7 on my 4S with reduce motion turned on, as well as Increase Contrast. It is pretty fast with these two options set.

With iOS 8, having the same settings enabled, can I expect the same performance or will it be slower? Hopefully someone out there has been on the Gold beta and has tested with the same settings as me?
 
Hopefully us iPhone 5 users don't get a huge hit on battery life like iOS 7. My Battery has been (s) ever since.
 
lotzosushi said:
iOS's wide range of support for older/newer devices is already much better than Android can say for their devices.
Click to expand...

Unless you own a Nexus phone.

Unless you're geek enough to flash a custom firmware into your phone which is a pretty easy process.

My 2011 Samsung phone is running the latest Android version (with the new ART runtime). I know it's not a procedure which could be made by anyone like OTA updates. A Nexus phone provides a similar experience as iPhone. However, it usually lacks the most recent hardware improvements in the market -- just like iPhones.
 
sbailey4 said:
Hmm so the keyboard is larger now in iOS 8? Wonder how the smaller screen size is only NOW becoming too small and cramped to compose an email?
Click to expand...

The word suggestions will probably take up a significant amount of space.

To be honest, I've always felt on a 3.5" display the keyboard, even in iOS7, quickly became a problem after a few lines of text.

Glassed Silver:mac
 
Last edited:
Fail

This is one place where I think Apple was exceptionally wrong:

Both the a6 and the a7 (especially), not to mention the a8, are exceptional leaps in SoC complexity/quality. it was pretty clear that anything before the a6 could (and would) very well face a shorter life (based on support).

If we also throw that the 30 pin was discontinued, screen size increased, it was an year of iPhone redesign, the 4s seemed extremely old compared with the iPhone 5.

The moment the 5c arrived, Apple should've been more aggressive with it and they should have killed the 4s that year. Too much legacy. The same can and should be said about the iPad 2 (it lived at least a year too long) and even the a5 iPad mini.

Those were bad decisions.

Also, the a5 was an experiment to them. They used 2 or 3 manufacturing processes (size), disabled one core in some products, etc.

----------
brdeveloper said:
Unless you own a Nexus phone.

Unless you're geek enough to flash a custom firmware into your phone which is a pretty easy process.

My 2011 Samsung phone is running the latest Android version (with the new ART runtime). I know it's not a procedure which could be made by anyone like OTA updates. A Nexus phone provides a similar experience as iPhone. However, it usually lacks the most recent hardware improvements in the market -- just like iPhones.
Click to expand...

Nexus only have a maximum of 18 months of the support. The Galaxy Nexus didn't have even that.

Flashing firmware should never be mentioned on a serious discussion.
 
I've been running iOS8 for around a week on an iPad 2, iPad 4, and an iPhone 5. I don't notice any speed differences on the iPads (the UI may be a bit snappier), but my iPhone 5 is perceptibly faster with iOS 8. It's been a while since an iOS update felt faster, so that's a nice change.
 
Not good. I was prepared to upgrade my 4S this year, but the new phones are just too large. The only other option for a new phone is the 5S, but Apple no longer sells the 64GB version, which I would require.

Arggh.
 
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