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New Features in iOS 6 Receive Spotty Support from Older Devices

thre89 said:
This is why my relationship with Apple is a love/hate relationship. I mean they have great hardware and software, but every update while I still own my iPhone for I just get more and more bent over and mad. :mad:
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Maybe every phone should have one version of the software... period.

New phone... new software.

I never really understood why companies would spent a lot of time, effort and money to develop a "new" OS for an "old" phone. But it's nice that they do.

At least Apple has a small collection of phones to maintain.

Imagine being an Android manufacturer. Not only did they have to produce a version of Android for when they sold the phone new... they now have to adapt the next version of Android for dozens of models they released over the past year or longer.

Or not :)
 
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If own iPhone said:
I have an iPhone 4, I heard that they were taking away streetview as they replace the Maps App; that's a real downgrade as I find it so usefull on roadtrips for previewing places before arriving and it's brilliant for finding a place I have forgotten the name of around town but do know the location. I thought at least It would be replaced by an utterly useless but fun feature like flyover where I can make my own sound effects as I pretend to flyover some cities. Apperently not. I knew eventually Apple would abandon supporting my device, didn't think they'd downgrade it though.
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I'm sure google will be quick to release a standalone maps app for iOS. Or just create shortcut form safari browser. Browser version is probably better than the app anyway!
 
If own iPhone said:
I have an iPhone 4, I heard that they were taking away streetview as they replace the Maps App; that's a real downgrade as I find it so usefull on roadtrips for previewing places before arriving and it's brilliant for finding a place I have forgotten the name of around town but do know the location. I thought at least It would be replaced by an utterly useless but fun feature like flyover where I can make my own sound effects as I pretend to flyover some cities. Apperently not. I knew eventually Apple would abandon supporting my device, didn't think they'd downgrade it though.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure they're allowing Google to continue to provide its own mapping solution which, I believe, will be better than before.

I don't think you'll lose any functionality.
 
Real men don't need or use turn-by-turn anyway.

All I need are three points of ref, a compass, and a map. There should be an app for that ... One that speaks to me too, so I don't have to look at it when I'm driving.
 
iStig said:
I must be missing where Apple is removing functionality from your device. Could someone tell me please what features that were on your phone when you bought it that Apple is taking away with iOS6? If you want new features and added functionality, surprise surprise, sometimes you gotta pay for it. Sorry if this comes as a shock to any of you but it's probably best you learn how the world works sooner or later.
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I would imagine Apple tested out performance on older devices and it wasn't up to par so those features were left off. I suppose they'd rather people whine about not getting certain features than have them calling customer service complaining that the OS upgrade crippled their phone. Just a guess on my part.
 
iShorty said:
Facetime over 3G not for iPhone 4? What the ....
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I'm a thousand percent sure it's just another way to get people to upgrade their phones but maybe Facetime needs HDSPA+, or whatever it's called that the iPhone 4S has, to not lag/be extremely pixelated over cellular. Does it lag badly on jailbroken iPhone 3GS/4's that have FaceTime over 3G enabled?
 
AlexJaye said:
This, plus no updated (even slightly) iMac...... has lowered my excitation levels regarding Apple this summer/fall.

Just last week I was extremely excited, too. I really wanted a new iMac and navigation on my iPhone 4. Oh well. The new iPhone better be worth it.
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I bet there's a redesigned iMac coming out soon. They just want to give the Retina MBP on the limelight at the moment.

Leo
 
QCassidy352 said:
Yes, they do want to sell you new hardware. That's the business model. and yet their support for legacy products is still better than the competition. So if it angers you that much, go buy a Samsung/blackberry/whatever and see how long they keep upgrading you to the latest.
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So then Apple's top execs should stop the ruse about not caring about the money and only caring about making the best products possible shouldn't they? Obviously in cases like these, what does matter is not the quality of the product but the $$$. This makes hypocrites of them. If they didn't toe that line, then yes we would have less grounds to complain, but you buy into an ecosystem with a philosophical view concerning products. That is what Apple sells us, so we as consumers should hold them to their sales pitch. Simple as can be no?
 
QCassidy352 said:
Yes, they do want to sell you new hardware. That's the business model. and yet their support for legacy products is still better than the competition. So if it angers you that much, go buy a Samsung/blackberry/whatever and see how long they keep upgrading you to the latest.
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I already have a Samsung Blu-Ray player and, of course, it had crap firmware day 1. It's had crap updates since then, but it's somewhat better.

I don't deny that Apple>Samsung in product support and software polish. That's why I like Apple products.

What this does for me is make me feel like Apple is out to screw me over just like every other mega corporation. I may be naive, but I didn't used to get that feeling from Apple.
 
Maybe Apple is limiting features to get people to upgradem but I doubt it. More likely, there is real reason for each one.

1st, the iphone 4 will still run iOS6 and its a 2 year old phone, 3 years when iOS6 comes out, with a processor that is 2 generations behind assuming the next iphone will debut with iOS6.

No flyover/turn by turn: Its processor intensive. You still get maps, and the same views you always had.

No Siri: Iphone 4 never suppprted Siri.

No 3G facetime: this one sucks, but I imagine its to prevent network overload from giving it to both phones. Might have been part of the deal to allow it. Regardless of how you feel, legal 3G facetime video calling is a big deal and it must have been tricky for Apple to negotiate.

Is it planned obsolensence? Maybe. But I think its silly to think Apple is still going to try and roll features out to 2 year old hardware and push it past its limit. Its a phone, not a computer.

All my apple products have lasted longer and had way more OS updates than any of my non Apple gear did back in the day. I used to be jonesing for a new phone after 1 year and a new computer after 18-24 months (and thats with fastidious care). My phone is 2 years old, I feel no need to upgrade, my laptop is 2 years old, and going strong and will be through Mountain Lion.
Complain all you want about "planned obsolesence"; my experience has not been that; Apple stuff support is pretty consistent as long as you stay somewhat current. And if you have old stuff, the cut offs are clear. There is no mucking about trying to get Airplay on G4 cubes and such.
 
Rogifan said:
I would imagine Apple tested out performance on older devices and it wasn't up to par so those features were left off. I suppose they'd rather people whine about not getting certain features than have them calling customer service complaining that the OS upgrade crippled their phone. Just a guess on my part.
Click to expand...

If some iOS 6 features passed muster on the iPhone 3GS, they sure as heck would on the iPad 1, so how do you explain that one?
 
JohnDoe98 said:
What has that to do with hardware and making products the best they can possibly be?
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I'm sure Apple has tested iOS 6 on the aging 2009 iPhone 3GS hardware and decided it would NOT be he best product if they added a bunch of new features.

The best the iPhone 3GS could possibly ever be was in 2009.
 
KnightWRX said:
"Android is fragmented. But iOS isn't." Where's the sandbox so I can put my head in there with all the other people claiming this ?
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You honestly don't see the difference? This chart shows that not 100% of the latest features will run on 100% of older hardware. This is a fact of life. I'm not saying it doesn't suck a little for iPhone 4 owners to not have, say, navigation. (Im in that boat) But this is not fragmentation.

Fragmentation is brand new hardware shipping with legacy operating systems 9 months after a new OS release. It's developers looking at the software/hardware landscape and saying "screw it".
 
This is funny.

When iOS 4 brought all kinds of features to the iPhone 4, the 3GS was left out as well. This is what Apple does.

WiFi hotspot on the 3GS? Nope, iPhone 4 only. Need 3rd-party app for 3GS.
HDR photos? iPhone 4 only. Need 3rd-party app for 3GS.
New text tones and alerts? iPhone 4 only. You're telling me the 3GS couldn't handle that?
When "Find My Phone" came out, it didn't work on the 3GS. (You could activate it on newer devices, then use it on the 3GS.)

They are doing it again with the 4S.

The differences between the 4 and 4S are pretty big:
- CPU is twice as fast.
- Memory bandwidth is doubled.
- Seven times faster graphics processing.
- Higher resolution camera.
- Better camera optics (better low-light photography, etc).
- 1080p video recording.
- Image stabilizer.
- Additional proximity sensor.
- New antenna design with "smart" switching (no "grip of death").
- etc...

The point is, it's a newer, better device, and Apple is obviously releasing stuff just for it. They did it before, they will do it again.
 
Difference between iPhone 4S and iPad 2?

Wow - Apple is really doing a disservice to itself by stating it those items won't be available on the iPad2 as they are on the New iPad.

I was ticked off to find that it wasn't for the original iPad. Because functionally, the iPad 1 is the same as the 3GS. But the really killer is this:

the iPad 2 is on par in every way with the iPhone 4S - so what is the difference and why won't they have the same options enabled? Because the iPhone 4S is the CURRENT SHIPPING MODEL while the iPad 2 isn't. But... the New iPad is the CURRENT SHIPPING MODEL so there it is.

It isn't that these features WON'T work... it is simply a matter of economics. Why would they give you all the features in iOS 6 for an older model device when they will try to funnel and channel your funds into the latest and greatest hardware.

I am an Apple fanboy who loves the products - but to me, this is just sad - I am trying to eek out as much life out of my devices as possible. I still have (not in my production) my original iPhone.

:rolleyes:
 
Michael Scrip said:
I'm sure Apple has tested iOS 6 on the aging 2009 iPhone 3GS hardware and decided it would NOT be he best product if they added a bunch of new features.

The best the iPhone 3GS could possibly ever be was in 2009.
Click to expand...

But why shouldn't it be the best it can be? Apple is making more money than they know how to spend (and that's not an exaggeration). They really could choose to have Siri on the iPhone 4 and iPad 2...just an example.

What Apple likely did was lots of market testing. They had users play with the new features and asked them how likely they would be to upgrade for such a new feature and then told their hackers to pull this from the iPad 2, this from the iPhone 4, and don't even let it run on the original iPad.

That blows.
 
Apple loves to brag about customer satisfaction, the more we complain about their OS upgrade model, the more they will take notice. It's pretty simple people. Stop giving them the benefit of the doubt, and demand explanations as to why some seemingly obvious features are being left out. Why no minimal iOS for iPad 1? Why no FaceTime Cellular for iPhone 4? etc.

When there were enough complaints about Lion and it's lack of SL Exposé, Apple took notice. When there was sufficient dissatisfaction with the lack of Save As feature in Lion, Apple took notice. Speak out.
 
As a 3GS user, I say... fair enough.

I will remain on 5.x until I change my phone. At least, I will not install the betas like I use to (with MY dev account, not one of them pay to "someone" to get you UDID registered).
 
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