iPhone Speed Differences

[pk7]

Hi everyone,

I was thinking about this lately and I had a theory/question to run by all of you and get your take on it.

First off, I am in no way trying to take away from the speed of the iPhone 5, nor am I upset by the iPhone 4S being slower. I'm just curious here.

If you took a variety of iPhones running their native iOS version, wouldn't they all be about the same in terms of speed? I'm not referring to network speed or graphically intense games, I'm talking about general everyday usage speed: app launching, animations, etc.

For example, wouldn't an iPhone 3GS running iOS 3, an iPhone 4 running iOS 4, an iPhone 4S running iOS 5, and an iPhone 5 running iOS 6 feel about the same speed to the everyday user?

I definitely realize that the hardware differences between each model are substantial, but to the everyday user, would the speed of the phone not feel the same if it's running its original iOS version? It's when you upgrade iOS on the older phone that it starts to feel slower, compared to the new model.

What are your thoughts?

 

[bowlerman625]

The processor chip A4/A5/A6 and memory RAM truly makes a difference in the speed and response of the device. The devices have gotten faster since 2007 because of these items, plus others.

 

[beavo451]

I've had the original iPhone, 3G, and 4s. Played with friends' 3Gs and 4. To me, iOS operated smoothly and quickly on each phone with their respective iOS version.

 

[RyanTheGeneral]

Each os should run smooth. But like first reply mentioned. The chip makes the apps load up quicker. I notice it with pulse news app - the 5 loads it a decent amount faster then the 4s

 

[acorntoy]

No, while they would feel snappier while running the os they shipped with they would not at all be as fast as each other.

 

[pk7]

Thanks for the replies. I was curious about this because I compared an iPhone 4S running iOS 5 to an iPhone 5 running iOS 6 at the Apple Store and they ran just as fast. I've also noticed an iPhone 4 running iOS 4 running just as fast as an iPhone 4S running iOS 5.

 

[maverick22]

I played around with the 5 at Best Buy. My mom's/sister's 4S on ios5 seemed just as snappy for everyday usage like you said (moving around in menu, opening apps). I honestly couldn't tell the difference in speed.

 

[pk7]

I played around with the 5 at Best Buy. My mom's/sister's 4S on ios5 seemed just as snappy for everyday usage like you said (moving around in menu, opening apps). I honestly couldn't tell the difference in speed.

Exactly! And, contrary to other people's experiences, my iPhone 4S is actually substantially slower on iOS 6. Occasionally, just "Settings" alone will take about 5-10 seconds to open. Maybe I should try a restore.