No iOS 5 for iPhone 3GS?

[ABernardoJr]

iPhone 3G was supported until 4.2.1. Why would the 3GS not get 5.x following the same path ?

What part of the iPhone 3G being strained by iOS 4 do you choose not to accept? I wasn't sure if you were asking for the 3GS to receive iOS 5 in its entirety or at least a lighter version, in which case the latter would be reasonable, but it sounds like you're hoping for the 3GS to fully support iOS 5 like the 3G did with iOS 4 (for a while at least).

If that's the case, then why are you so adamant about getting iOS 5 if it might not function as well on your phone? Or are you insinuating that iOS 5 should be dumbed down for the iPhone 4 and 4s/5 just so it can be "fully supported" for the 3GS?

Either way, it sounds like you're just complaining for the sake of complaining. If Apple releases iOS 5 in its entirety for the 3GS and it slows it down like iOS 4 did with the 3G, then you'd probably complain about your 3GS not functioning as efficiently. If Apple dumbs down iOS 5 for the iPhone 4 and 4s/5 so it is "fully supported" by 3GS *without* hampering it, then that's just selfish to restrict the next two iterations just so you can say that your one model is "up to date" when your model already got its upgrade from 3.0 to 4.0.

 

[kasei]

My guess is we're going to see something like an iPhone 4s as an interim release with minor upgrades like a dual core chip as in the iPad 2. This makes sense from a production standpoint. If the iPhone 4 is slated to release to other US carriers prior to iPhone 5 it would again make sense. Why use two different processors to run essentially the same OS. Give it a bump and buy in larger quantities, that'll keep materials costs low.

I can't imagine Apple doing a major new release until 4G LTE capabilities are ready. Thereby making two variants of the iPhone 4 and keeping in line with user expectations.

iOS 5 will most certainly be optimized for a dual core processor with plenty of RAM. I've seen first-hand how many Android devices go straight to hell when OS upgrades come out and the hardware can't handle them. They become nearly unusable. I'm sure Apple wants to prevent that.

While I understand that someone with a 3Gs might be disappointed they can't take advantage of the new upgrades, that's just how technology works. If you want to get years of use out of a device, be it a computer, a phone or a tablet you have to buy based on needs for the future, not just what works today.

As for the average person who buys an iPhone 3Gs today not understanding that it isn't new--sorry, I'm not buying that. Every iPhone model is highly publicized, you'd have to live under a rock to not know which one is the old model. Beyond that, the iPhone 4 is what gets advertised and displayed. You've got to seek out the 3Gs, and the only reason to do that is because you're making a conscious decision to buy the old technology in order to save money. Not running new OS's is the risk you run. Every salesperson in the store you buy it in will tell you that.

Well said...

 

[Skika]

My guess is we're going to see something like an iPhone 4s as an interim release with minor upgrades like a dual core chip as in the iPad 2. This makes sense from a production standpoint. If the iPhone 4 is slated to release to other US carriers prior to iPhone 5 it would again make sense. Why use two different processors to run essentially the same OS. Give it a bump and buy in larger quantities, that'll keep materials costs low.

I can't imagine Apple doing a major new release until 4G LTE capabilities are ready. Thereby making two variants of the iPhone 4 and keeping in line with user expectations.

iOS 5 will most certainly be optimized for a dual core processor with plenty of RAM. I've seen first-hand how many Android devices go straight to hell when OS upgrades come out and the hardware can't handle them. They become nearly unusable. I'm sure Apple wants to prevent that.

While I understand that someone with a 3Gs might be disappointed they can't take advantage of the new upgrades, that's just how technology works. If you want to get years of use out of a device, be it a computer, a phone or a tablet you have to buy based on needs for the future, not just what works today.

As for the average person who buys an iPhone 3Gs today not understanding that it isn't new--sorry, I'm not buying that. Every iPhone model is highly publicized, you'd have to live under a rock to not know which one is the old model. Beyond that, the iPhone 4 is what gets advertised and displayed. You've got to seek out the 3Gs, and the only reason to do that is because you're making a conscious decision to buy the old technology in order to save money. Not running new OS's is the risk you run. Every salesperson in the store you buy it in will tell you that.

>implying u can compare **** tier Android to clearly superior iOS.

iOS5 will run just fine on iPhone4.

 

[edenwaith]

We're not used to it in the fairly mature hardware world of laptops and desktops, where gains is software are significant, but hardware doesn't change too much. But at the moment, mobile hardware capabilities and development is outpacing software development. We can't expect the same amount of OS backward compatibility on mobile devices.

Mobile hardware is in a similar stage where PCs were about two decades ago. Go back to ~1990, a computer could be expected to be good for about three years before it could no longer run modern software. I would say it took to around the turn of the century and the introduction of GHz speed processors before computers were able to extend their lifespan to 5+ years. At one job I had, we still had some computers originally intended for Windows 98/NT4, but they ran Windows XP just fine. Even 400 MHz PowerMac G4s could run Tiger somewhat decently.

One big differentiator between the PC and mobile industries is that customers weren't get subsidies to buy a new PC (but then, they didn't have a monthly contract, either). But since most contracts tend to be around 2 years, I (along with many others) would not be too surprised if the iPhone 3Gs was excluded from the next iteration of iOS. Look at what happened with the iPhone 3G and its handling of the none-too-stellar performance of iOS 4.

Does this suddenly make the iPhone 3Gs useless? No. It may not be quite as useful in the future as a newer phone, but I don't imagine it would lessen in its current state of usefulness. Fortunately, mobile hardware is churning pretty quickly right now, so I don't see this possibility as surprising. Perhaps 10 years down the line we will expect (and receive) phone which can extend their life cycle past two years.

 

[Rot'nApple]

I agree. It's forced obsolence, nothing more. If an ip4 can handle iOS5, so can a 3GS. Their processors are from the same family of ARM cores and they share the same GPU IIRC. That's different than the comparatively slow 3G to 3GS.



Hardware yes. Last I checked, they had iOS 4 just like iphone 4 users.

Forced obsolescence or dum, dum, dummmmmmm... Apple Fragmentation?!

I've had two cell phones since I got one. My current one is going on six years. Some people have had every single iPhone since it's release which is fine. However, if someone doesn't care to purchase the latest and greatest every year and thus eventually can't update to the latest iOS, and app developers take advantage of newer technologies within the latest iOS or iPhone, then when they put their app on the app store, won't they have to start applying a disclaimer of what version(s) iPhone with what iOS, will their apps need to work? How's that going to work for someone with an older iPhone with the maxed out version of iOS that the phone can take, handle that?

It may not be the same fragmentation that Android deals with, but won't it become fragmentation none the less? Especially if you keep a phone as long as I do?

 

[jettredmont]

The fact that Apple is still selling the iPhone 3GS makes this pretty ridiculous. At least 3G supported some versions of iOS 4, although it didn't get much of the new features and made it laggy as hell. Buy a brand new phone today and you won't be able to get the newest OS in few months. Well, I guess it is Apple's way to make money.

Well, to be fair, you should say "Buy a (bargain bin, old-model) new phone today and you won't be able to get the newest OS in a few months". It's important to note that the 3GS is an old model. They still sell it alongside the iPhone 4, but it is clearly the "value proposition" model. It's like the car dealership that is selling last year's models alongside this year's models (yes, flawed analogy as car manufacturers tend to have very little production line overlap between last year's models and this year's, so they sit alongside each other on the lot primarily as a way to burn through remaining stock).

In any case, contrast this with RIM who announced that their current top-of-the-line phones will not receive the next OS update (just like they did with their previous phones, by the way, which they still sell for full price, meaning that phones they have on the shelves right now won't run the latest OS and won't run the OS to be released in July or whenever either), and I have a hard time saying Apple's hardware obsolescence policy is anything but generous. At least if you buy the top-of-line hardware any time in its cycle, so far you've had the lifetime of a standard cell phone contract (2 years) with the top-of-line OS updates.

 

[miamialley]

How does this work for Android phones? Meaning...how far out can their hardware update the OS?

 

[roadbloc]

I expected this to be honest. I expect my iPhone 4 to be out of support in a years time as well. It's just the way Apple roll unfortunately.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Forced obsolescence or dum, dum, dummmmmmm... Apple Fragmentation?!

I've had two cell phones since I got one. My current one is going on six years. Some people have had every single iPhone since it's release which is fine. However, if someone doesn't care to purchase the latest and greatest every year and thus eventually can't update to the latest iOS, and app developers take advantage of newer technologies within the latest iOS or iPhone, then when they put their app on the app store, won't they have to start applying a disclaimer of what version(s) iPhone with what iOS, will their apps need to work? How's that going to work for someone with an older iPhone with the maxed out version of iOS that the phone can take, handle that?

It may not be the same fragmentation that Android deals with, but won't it become fragmentation none the less? Especially if you keep a phone as long as I do?

yep. Devs should assume a phone will be used by the public say 1 year after it is no longer sold. So for the 3GS that means Sept 2012 at this rate. So no reason to jump to iOS 5 for any new products because way to many 3GS out there in terms of raw numbers Now going to iOS 4.0 was fine on day 1 because 3G were updated to handle those new hooks and what not.
Apple is doing some pretty major fragmentation here.

 

[mutchy126]

Expected!

I was expecting that, It was likely that iOS5 would not work on the iPhone 3GS in my opinion.

 

[pubwvj]

Apple, and all vendors, should support old hardware

It is irresponsible of Apple to create obsolescence of hardware by discontinuing operating system and technical support for older systems. This policy of Apple's creates more trash filling the landfills and is a waste of resources.

The solution is for Apple to make new software intelligently scaleable such that it recognizes the hardware it is being installed on and adjusts to fit within the memory footprint and hardware's capabilities. Yes, certain new features like transparent window shadows will not be available but there are many improvements which can be continued to offer for older hardware such as the folders in the new iOS which do not need any advanced hardware capability.

The benefit to Apple is they can continue getting sales of operating systems each year as they offer new versions of the OS with new features. Additionally Apple will gain more market penetration as the old hardware is kept active and passed down in families resulting in a larger user installed base. Charge for the technical support - obviously. Just keep offering AppleCare.

Apple should also encourage developers to support the furthest back operating systems and hardware possible.

 

[dave420]

That's exactly what I said, most people who are buying those phones are "dumb" in a sense.

Dumb? I already owned an iPhone 4, and wanted to replace a 3GS that I lost and was using as a second phone. I don't think it was a dumb decision to get the $49 offer.
Just want to add that I am happy with the 3GS, whether it gets upgraded to iOS 5 or not. I am planning on selling it when the next model comes out anyway.

 

[tbrinkma]

and that means about 10% difference at most. I am to lazy to crunch the numbers but we are talking very small difference here and when you add in other factors that 10% shrinks even more.

Sorry, you're going to have to provide *something* to support the idea that a 33% increase in processor speed only equates to a 10% (or less) upgrade in processing speed.

How does this work for Android phones? Meaning...how far out can their hardware update the OS?

It varies *widely*. It ranges from, "Sorry, no update coming. Ever. You're stuck on version 1.x." to "No official last version announced, and reasonably prompt upgrades available so far."

 

[iRobby]

The same could be said for ip4, but consider the consumer buying an iPhone and then hearing that apple is releasing a new OS, only to find out they can't get it, even though its a new phone.

IT I'S NOT A NEW PHONE!! it is 2 years old! selling for $49.00!! it's a lower end phone at this time therefore should expect not to get the high end IOS. Also people bitch that there is no iOS 5 on 3GS and if they get the IOS 5 they still bitch it too slow since it is a lower chip and has 1/2 the memory 256MB vs 512MB. They want the up to date technology but don't want to pay for it and want it supported by hardware that can't support it

 

[Nathan21585]

I agree that i think its just Apple trying to avoid the same problem 3G users had with IOS 4. I had a 3G updated to IOS 4 and it was almost unusable. I think its great idea that they wont be supporting it.

 

[KnightWRX]

What part of the iPhone 3G being strained by iOS 4 do you choose not to accept?

What part of the iPhone 3GS having the same hardware as the iPhone 4 do you choose not to accept ?

 

[akbarali.ch]

Good/bad move

i guess its a good/bad move together.
Bad Part for Apple, If it doesn't support ios5 on 3GS means the update cycle of iphone is about 2years and with Google proposing Android update cycle to be 1.5years makes the difference between iOS & Android even less. So, iOS & Android more comparable. So, Easier to jump to Android from iOS.
Good part for Apple, as obvious, less headache for upgrading older hardware and making/optimizing so it runs non-sluggish (remember iPhone3G on iOS 4.0)

But I seriously doubt apple will leave iPhone3GS from iOS5. cos i find sometimes (not tested on technical level) iphone3GS a bit smoother than iphone4 on iOS4.3.X. Like i notice Iphone3GS opens & closes the app with all the animations but my iphone4 just crash-opens and crash-closes it! If it works so smoothly on iOS4.3.X i dont see any reason why it should suddenly not capable of running iOS5.

 

[CQd44]

How does this work for Android phones? Meaning...how far out can their hardware update the OS?

Unofficially, gingerbread (android 2.3.x) runs pretty well on the G1. Of course, this requires several hacks to the way the partitions on the phone work, but if I'm pretty sure if apple tried hard enough they could backport OSes easily.

 

[benedetti]

My guess is we're going to see something like an iPhone 4s as an interim release with minor upgrades like a dual core chip as in the iPad 2.

From technological view, going from A4 to A5 it is a major upgrade.

 

[QuarterSwede]

What part of the iPhone 3GS having the same hardware as the iPhone 4 do you choose not to accept ?

It doesn't have the same hardware. A4 is faster than the 3GS chip. 512MB RAM vs 256MB RAM. I know you know that Knight; what's your angle?

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Sorry, you're going to have to provide *something* to support the idea that a 33% increase in processor speed only equates to a 10% (or less) upgrade in processing speed.

I can not find my text book or notes on hand for the exact formal and I was doing a quick guessimation but it comes from there is a lot of things that control how quickly data goes threw and then there is the CPI (clocks per instuction) which is different from processor to processor. so if you CPI increases along with your Clock speed you get less gains and then there is a long list of things that can effect things.
Just 33% gain while in clock speed does not mean 33% gain in perforce of the CPU.

I do remember from class it is not what most people think it is and always works out to be less even with same CPI. It counter intuitive and the processor manufacturer let people continue to believe the falany because hey it is great free marketing.

 

[chrmjenkins]

From technological view, going from A4 to A5 it is a major upgrade.

Absolutely. The Cortex A9 core is 25% faster clock for clock and there's two cores versus 1. The GPU doesn't even compare.

I can not find my text book or notes on hand for the exact formal and I was doing a quick guessimation but it comes from there is a lot of things that control how quickly data goes threw and then there is the CPI (clocks per instuction) which is different from processor to processor. so if you CPI increases along with your Clock speed you get less gains and then there is a long list of things that can effect things.
Just 33% gain while in clock speed does not mean 33% gain in perforce of the CPU.

I do remember from class it is not what most people think it is and always works out to be less even with same CPI. It counter intuitive and the processor manufacturer let people continue to believe the falany because hey it is great free marketing.

The CPU architecture is the same between the two so the CPI or IPC (same thing inverted) is consistent across the two. (I believe the iphone 4 has the same bus speed and type of RAM as the 3GS, which would be a big point if not).

The bus speed on the A9 is greatly increased and the IPC is vastly different because the A9 is an out-of-order architecture. It uses LPDDR2 RAM as opposed to LPDDR1. It's a whole new beast. The 3GS and iPhone 4 share MUCH MORE in common.

 

[mrboult]

3Gs owner, not really surprised and not really bothered.

I'll have the newest iPhone of them all again some day.

Till then, I couldn't be without my 3Gs.

 

[chris975d]

What part of the iPhone 3GS having the same hardware as the iPhone 4 do you choose not to accept ?

Seems like a lot of people here can't grasp that concept. It's the same thing as if Apple came out and said that the MacBook Air with the 1.86Ghz processor and 4Gb of RAM could run the next version of Mac OS (Lion), but that the 1.4Ghz machine with 2Gb of RAM couldn't. People would bitch to high heaven if that was the case, yet the difference in components in that example is roughly the same as in this potential iPhone scenario. If it's a RAM issue (the iPhone 3GS having only 256mb of RAM), then the iPad 1 is left out for iOS 5. If Apple is going to come out and say that the 600Mhz processor in the 3GS isn't "powerful enough" to run iOS 5 and that is the reason it's left out, then iOS 5 would more than likely slow the iPhone 4 to a crawl as well. So it seems like a BS reason, if any of this is true to start with. I just wish that people could see that even though the 3GS is "a year older" than the iPhone 4, it's not all that different internally, in the components that actually matter. The "guts" of the iPhone 4 are not much more than a power optimized 3GS with double the RAM.

 

[KnightWRX]

It doesn't have the same hardware. A4 is faster than the 3GS chip. 512MB RAM vs 256MB RAM. I know you know that Knight; what's your angle?

200 mhz slower processor, the iPad 1 has the same RAM as the 3GS.

My Angle is that the iPhone 3GS is much closer to the iPhone 4's hardware than the 3G was to the 3GS, so claiming "performance" reason is quite disingenuous. The iPhone 3G suffered because there was a real gap in the underlying hardware.

Also, the iPhone 3G got updates until 4.x. They got 3 generations of iOS. Why would suddenly the 3GS only get 2 generations of iOS ?

It doesn't make sense. This rumor is BS. It's either untrue or Apple is forcing obselescence of the iPhone 3GS, which they still sell today, brand new, in box, sealed.