No iOS 5 for iPhone 3GS?

[maclaptop]

As the saying goes, time flies.

Sensing that fact and using it's best intelligence gathering skills on the competition, Apple's worried.

iFans busy going at it in this thread are so interesting. Some have a good handle on it. They have the courage to speak the truth, even if not in Apples favor.

Others are so busy sucking up they miss the point. Others are just doing what followers do.

Some finger pointing victims reach out grasping at straws as they bring up Android to use as a punching bag. Lacking anything original to say, it's a well worn tactic.

Ah yes, what a great read.

I don't believe any of this.

As the fanboys love to say, It's innovation LOL

 

[Intell]

Some people are just pointing out its BS for anyone to claim Apple is doing this because the hardware is no longer capable of running iOS 5. It's an easy excuse to make.

iPad 1 has the memory of the 3GS.
iPhone 4 CPU is very close to the performance of the 3GS.

You can't mix and match requirements and claim the iPad 1 has a better processor so requires less RAM. Software doesn't work like that. iOS 5 will either run with 256 MB RAM or it will not. So if iPad 1 gets iOS 5 we know the OS is capable of running on 256 MB RAM. Pure and simple. Same with the processor. if the iPhone 4 has the processing power to run iOS 5, then so does the 3GS albeit a little more slowly as it is a few GHz slower.

But do not forget about the iPod Touch 4G. It also has 256Mb of RAM. If there is to be a real/fake limit made by Apple, it won't be the RAM amount.

 

[DeathChill]

What are the differences between the A4 and the chips used in the 3GS? I assume there is some different circuitry that warranted a custom chip solution that differs from the 3GS' chips. Maybe some sort of channel bandwidth, power savings, etc?

I've got no idea, but it is interesting to watch people say they're the exact same chip without any actual information on the design specifications.

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

What are the differences between the A4 and the chips used in the 3GS? I assume there is some different circuitry that warranted a custom chip solution that differs from the 3GS' chips. Maybe some sort of channel bandwidth, power savings, etc?

I've got no idea, but it is interesting to watch people say they're the exact same chip without any actual information on the design specifications.

i don't think anyone claimed they were the "EXACT" same... (if they did, they're wrong) they are very similar processors, the 3GS with a slightly slower clock speed.

 

[DeathChill]

i don't think anyone claimed they were the "EXACT" same... (if they did, they're wrong) they are very similar processors, the 3GS with a slightly slower clock speed.

I mean circuitry wise, not so much clock speed.

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

I mean circuitry wise, not so much clock speed.

3GS uses an ARM Cortex A8, the iPhone 4 uses the A4 which is essentially a tweaked Cortex A8 for higher clock-speeds and the PowerVR SGX 535 GPU on one chip.

 

[Adriana-white]

So pity for the iphone 3GS...

 

[AppleScruff1]

No real Apple fan would want a 3G anyway.

 

[intelliot]

No real Apple fan would want a 3G anyway.

The article refers to the iPhone 3GS, not the iPhone 3G.

 

[AppleScruff1]

The article refers to the iPhone 3GS, not the iPhone 3G.

Same difference. People buy the 3GS but they really want the 4G.

 

[bigdaddyp]

]The fact of the matter is the 3GS hardware just can't support the newer iOS[/B]. I am sure they will do some kind of security update, but going backwards by developing a new iOS for older hardware is not practical and economical. Besides they still sell the 3GS because it is a low cost introduction to the iPhone. The goal is to get people to buy the new phone. The fact Apple regularly updates the iOS puts them far ahead of everyone else. Most phone manufacturers roll out firmware updates once a year, if that much.

Hmm. On my last road trip I was using the Tom Tom Gps navigation app, Infinite Toons which streams radio stations over the 3g network and for a while was also using Pda Net to create a wifi hotspot. Besides exceeding the power available over the Apple connector and hitting the battery hard, it worked brilliantly. It did kind of hang and have a brain fart for about 5 seconds when a call came in but eventually cleared up. My wife's iPhone 4 could not do much better.

As a matter of fact I do not find the IP4 to be that much faster in day to day use. Performance wise, under certain circumstances, I can notice the extra ram but thats about it. And the battery is a bit better.

The difference between the screens however.......

Anyways, I just can't accept your premise that a 3gs can't run IOS4 well.

 

[bigdaddyp]

Not a surprise, really.

From Apple's iPhone License (pdf)


Since the 3GS shipped with iOS 3, they would be guaranteed support through iOS 4.x.

Except Apple is selling the 3gs with ios 4 installed.

 

[bigdaddyp]

You're all full of hot air.

Please, one of you know-it-alls explain to me how Apple is supposed to code new software for brand new devices with new capabilities based on new hardware components which are in most cases twice as fast/capable than their predecessor (3-4x in the case of the 3GS)....

...and at the same time make it all backwards compatible to a device with 1/4 the ability?

Someone explain to me, without using the word "magic" or "they could figure it out", how the 3GS and the iPhone 5 are supposed to run the same NEW software version iOS 5?

The iPhone 4 will run it, and it will do so poorly by comparison to the iPhone 5. You can bet on that with every dime you own.

Wow, so how does my core 2 duo iMac run snow leopard? Originaly shipped with Tiger. 2.16 ghz core2 duo versus latest iMac with 3.xxghz i5 quad core chip? Runs great.Must be "magic".

 

[Dbrown]

Planned obsolescence... how lame of apple. Don't have to worry about that with android (with a few exceptions).

 

[GekiRed]

And that is why I thank God that I own a Galaxy S II with Android on it! (And before anyone bitches, I do own a iPod Touch 4th Gen and will buy a iPad 3rd or 4th Gen when they come out, I just think that iPhones are outdated compared to Android phones, that's all!)

 

[KnightWRX]

Planned obsolescence... how lame of apple. Don't have to worry about that with android (with a few exceptions).

Apple has not announced anything yet. This is a rumor from a Russian mobile rag... How can you even call Apple lame at this point ?

Guys, this is a rumor. This is not an official announcement. Stop acting like it is. Why is every thread on MacRUMORS, whatever the source of the news piece being discussed, always never questioned by most of the posters ?

A lot of facts point to this rumor has being BS. Let's wait to see what Apple actually does before starting to drop names.

 

[JASApplications]

Planned obsolescence... how lame of apple. Don't have to worry about that with android (with a few exceptions).

Here we go again! I've tried the iOS and Android. Android is the definition of ****!!

 

[Beaverfish]

This is gonna upset so many people......... But i guess its because the 4 was such a dramatic change from the 3GS

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

Planned obsolescence... how lame of apple. Don't have to worry about that with android (with a few exceptions).

instead you have to wait for the hardware manufacturers to skin the latest version of the OS or the carriers to send it out OTA....

It's really 6 in one, half a dozen in the other, but if you think android updates are better you are joking yourself.

Some phones waited months before getting froyo, now they are still waiting to get upgraded to gingerbread, and google has already announced ice cream.

and as knight said, this is not even confirmed.

 

[RafaelT]

There have been some good points made about android here recently... trying to say the updates with android is better is not one of them.

 

[Cod3rror]

I'll be disappointed if it does not come to 3GS, give people choice and let them decide to update or not.

3G was an ARM 11 architecture.

3GS is ARM A8, iPhone 4 is the same, and difference between them is 200MHz, iPhone 4 is clocked at 800MHz, 3GS at 600MHz, GPU is the same, RAM should not be a problem.

There is no reason it should not come to 3GS if it comes to 4, unless Apple just does not want 3GS to run it.

 

[chris975d]

instead you have to wait for the hardware manufacturers to skin the latest version of the OS or the carriers to send it out OTA....

It's really 6 in one, half a dozen in the other, but if you think android updates are better you are joking yourself.

Some phones waited months before getting froyo, now they are still waiting to get upgraded to gingerbread, and google has already announced ice cream.

and as knight said, this is not even confirmed.

The only way I think Android is slightly better (in some cases) than iOS in this regard is if you have one of the many handsets that support the Cyanogenmod ROMs. Cyanogenmod is very well supported, and gets the latest version of Android running flawlessly on handsets months before even the manufacturers do, with the added advantage that the OS is better performing than even what the manufacturers can do (these developers know Android better than the manufacturers). Granted, this is 3rd party and you have to root your handset, but in every phone I've rooted, root is always easily reversible. I just equate it to jailbreaking an iPhone. Some people have requirements that make them unable to use an iPhone unless it's jailbroken. And for the record, I use both Android handsets and iOS (iPhone 4 and iPad).

 

[Quu]

I currently have a 3GS, if it ends up being true I'll be slightly dissapointed. But then I've had 18 great months with my 3GS and I do envy that iPhone 4 Retina Display.. Might be worth getting the next iPhone after iOS 5 releases.

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

The only way I think Android is slightly better (in some cases) than iOS in this regard is if you have one of the many handsets that support the Cyanogenmod ROMs. Cyanogenmod is very well supported, and gets the latest version of Android running flawlessly on handsets months before even the manufacturers do, with the added advantage that the OS is better performing than even what the manufacturers can do (these developers know Android better than the manufacturers). Granted, this is 3rd party and you have to root your handset, but in every phone I've rooted, root is always easily reversible. I just equate it to jailbreaking an iPhone. Some people have requirements that make them unable to use an iPhone unless it's jailbroken. And for the record, I use both Android handsets and iOS (iPhone 4 and iPad).

agreed, that's cool, but there is a small percentage of people that actually do it. Most people wouldn't want to, nor know how to install custom ROMs, easy as it may be.

At the same time, even if this rumor is true, I don't see this upsetting that many people other than those on MR who like to bitch when apple "discludes" them.

The majority of people I know don't even update their phones. They don't back them up to their computers, they just use their phone from the day they buy it until they get rid of it. Can't tell you how many people I know on iPhones still running 3.x

I think Android, or WP7 and WebOS are better in this regard because of the OTA updates at least peoples phones are getting updated, but I would bet if it weren't for OTA you would still have a lot of people running whatever version of android their phone came with.

 

[alcides11]

Whatever!

I for one own a 3Gs and I still love it! In regards to not getting the new OS whatever, I have OS 4.3.2 and it runs fine no lag like others claim.

They will not stop me from using my, "dinosaur", until they release an LTE (4G) capable phone. I am not going to upgrade to some trivial CPU, camera, and memory bump in specs just for the sake of upgrading.

Bring on 4G!!!!