Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The newest software is always going to be built around the newest hardware so that the newest phone will have the best experience. Remember how fast the iPhone 4 was on iOS 4? iOS 5 ran circles around it with the A5 processor. iOS 7 was made for the A6 and A7. iOS 6 didn't even run that well on my 4 and iOS 7 just killed it dead. The software gets more and more demanding with all the new tricks Apple implements so eventually you will have to upgrade your device to keep up.
First you say the new software will be built around new hardware to be the best on it, then you say that it is done that way as a trick essentially to upgrade your device to keep up. Seems like the reasoning is contradictory between those two.
 
I think the A5 is being supported for a bit longer considering there are 2 more recent devices running the A5... iPad mini, and iPod touch. I think iOS 8 will be a deciding factor, and will be smooth on the A6 and A7 and A8
 
I think the A5 is being supported for a bit longer considering there are 2 more recent devices running the A5... iPad mini, and iPod touch. I think iOS 8 will be a deciding factor, and will be smooth on the A6 and A7 and A8

The use of A5 on the iPad mini was the biggest mistake apple did in the last 5 years ....

All the whiners bashed apple for the display, but the only real problem of iPad mini "1st gen" was PERFORMANCE (for people like me using it for work).
Ram and chipset were a very poor choice ....
 
really you're just complaining about simple stuff, of course the hardware of 3 years ago (forever in tech time) will do worse on an OS meant to show the power of the hardware of a month ago.
 
The newest software is always going to be built around the newest hardware so that the newest phone will have the best experience. Remember how fast the iPhone 4 was on iOS 4? iOS 5 ran circles around it with the A5 processor. iOS 7 was made for the A6 and A7. iOS 6 didn't even run that well on my 4 and iOS 7 just killed it dead. The software gets more and more demanding with all the new tricks Apple implements so eventually you will have to upgrade your device to keep up.

A crazy concept would b to let users continue using the OS that it was optimized for.
 
As someone who has been using technology for the past 25 years I can say Apple is without doubt the best in terms of keeping older devices current and usable. Yes eventually stuff starts to creak and you can see the benefits of an upgrade, e.g. I will replace my iPad1 with an Air but I still use the 1 every day its just getting slow now with all the new website technology but for email and basic apps its set still fine. iOS7 runs fine on my iPhone 4S and my daughter's 4
 
really you're just complaining about simple stuff, of course the hardware of 3 years ago (forever in tech time) will do worse on an OS meant to show the power of the hardware of a month ago.

That is sounds like planned obsolescence to me....

But you have to admit Apple is doing good Jon updating older hardware.... Everyone should give Apple credit to that.. However, some Apple's movie is questionable...
 
The newest software is always going to be built around the newest hardware so that the newest phone will have the best experience. Remember how fast the iPhone 4 was on iOS 4? iOS 5 ran circles around it with the A5 processor. iOS 7 was made for the A6 and A7. iOS 6 didn't even run that well on my 4 and iOS 7 just killed it dead. The software gets more and more demanding with all the new tricks Apple implements so eventually you will have to upgrade your device to keep up.

I agree that in general newer OS versions require newer hardware to run smoothly. But honestly - what can you do with an iPhone 5S under iOS 7 that you couldn't have done with an iPhone 4 under iOS 5 ?
The new chips are about 5 times faster than those of the iPhone 4 and iOS 7 consumes all their power. However, you only get 10-20% more features/utility from it.
 
A crazy concept would b to let users continue using the OS that it was optimized for.

And this is what it boils down to. Apple should not have deemed the iPhone4 to be compatible with iOS7, in my opinion.

Tell me that I can use iOS7 if I buy a new phone, but don't take usability of my existing phone away and tell me if I want it functional again that I have to buy a new phone.
 
I would rather have an OS built to take advantage of the fastest hardware vs. the slowest. I don't want an OS with Iphone 4s speed in mind. I want an OS that makes it fast as possible on what they just released.

Haha! The point you're seriously missing is that the version of iOS designed to run fast on a 4s would more than likely make for the fastest OS when run on the fastest hardware.

Design to run fast on the lowest system resources and you'll generally scream along at the highest...
 
Haha! The point you're seriously missing is that the version of iOS designed to run fast on a 4s would more than likely make for the fastest OS when run on the fastest hardware.

Design to run fast on the lowest system resources and you'll generally scream along at the highest...
But then you aren't taking advantage of everything the new hardware would be providing, which kind of diminishes the advantages of new hardware by at least bit if not more than that.
 
But then you aren't taking advantage of everything the new hardware would be providing, which kind of diminishes the advantages of new hardware by at least bit if not more than that.

You can support all the latest and greatest hardware features without problems using drivers whilst at the same time significantly reducing the processing and memory requirements of the OS.

* OS X Mavericks has the same system requirements as Mountain Lion and supports the latest hardware and by all accounts is significantly faster.

* Windows 8 and Android 4.4 have gone a step further. Not only have they improved performance, but they have actually lowered the resources required to run them whilst also supporting the latest hardware.

Apple really need to take a step back from this feature obsession they have been engaging in and release a highly optimised version of iOS (i.e. the iOS equivalent of Snow Leopard). iOS 7 noticeable drops frames and stutters on my iPad 4 which should not be the case. They can't really do this though because they are still playing catchup to Android feature-wise and the general public expects each iOS release to have dozens of new features...

Android and iOS took very different paths. iPhone started out buttery smooth but lacking a lot of features. Android was adding features as fast as they could without much regard for the smoothness of the OS. 18 months ago, Google started optimising the hell out of Android and Apple started adding features to iOS.

The problem for Apple is that stock Android is now just as fast and as smooth as iOS but iOS is still missing a lot of features - Android is improving at a far faster rate.
 
Last edited:
Apple really need to take a step back from this feature obsession they have been engaging in

Have they? The feature set of iOS, even on the API level, is significantly worse than that of Android. Let's take the case of both the stock camera app and the camera API as an example. (I could also point out other, directly comparable stock apps / APIs like the stock video player in Android, which is also much better and more flexible than that of iOS. Or Bluetooth - OBEX, BT support for mice / external GPS etc. - all present in Android and missing from iOS). Android has always supported essential manual functions like manual WB, manual ISO and manual exposure compensation, even in their own stock camera app (and, of course, the camera API). iOS not only doesn't support these in the stock camera app, but not even in the API, making it impossible to do it properly (or, at all) from third-party apps.

Apple has a long way to go. And they shouldn't, IMHO, deliberately make old hardware uselessly slow with new OS versions. For example, I have two iPad 3's: one with iOS 6.1.2 (JB'n) and one with the latest iOS7.0.4 (non-JB'n, of course). The latter is definitely more sluggish and the stock AppStore app is plain useless - it takes MINUTES for it to render an app list or start a download. All this on an absolutely clean machine.

Given that there haven't been much change between iOS6 and iOS7 (apart from changing the appearance but it shouldn't have much - if at all! - effect on the CPU / RAM needs of the OS), this shouldn't happen. Consequently, I think Apple is either neglecting these "old" devices or, worse, deliberately making them work unbearably slow to force owners to upgrade.
 
Pal, do your homework before attacking others.

Says he, using the word 'Pal'.



Now, do this on ANY pre-iOS 7.0.4. Even if you do the second (the first will always upgrade), you'll see the error message "This device isn't eligible for the requested build." All this because Apple doesn't sign those firmwares any more.

You didn't say anything about downgrading or installing an older version, you said fresh install. Which you can do. The other option is to just hit restore. You get 'upgrade and restore' or 'restore'.

Noone forces Apple not to innovate. Just some examples of what Apple failed to add to their flagships:

Less of the failed. They chose not to. They didn't fail.

- 1080p60 / 4K video modes (LG G2, Note 3 etc.)
Absolutely pointless on such a small display. You can already not see the individual pixels at the screen resolution we have now. Raising it higher increases costs for the LCD panel for little gain.

- OIS (Lumia 92x, 1020, 1520, LG G2, Nexus 5)
This would be nice, but again, not essential. Remember of course that the 5S is still topping the Nexus 5 in most camera tests!

- Xenon flash (Lumia 920, 1020)
Bulky, requires capacitors, more prone to failure than LED.

- dual camera recording (LG G2, Note 3 etc)
Absolutely pointless. I have this feature on my S4 and have NEVER used it. Most, if not all of my S4 wielding friends also have this feature and either didn't know it was there or haven't used it anyway. I can't think of a practical use for this outside of gimmickery.

- Qi (all Nexuses, several Lumias etc.)
Handy, but not ideal. The charging current is quite low.

- flawless SlimPort-based HDMI (not the Lightning joke)
They don't need it. They can mirror the display to Airplay, that is their alternative. That is something I miss dearly on my S4. There's no difference in carrying a Mini HDMI cable to carrying an Apple TV really.

- Wacom support (all Notes)
Would be good for iPad, useless on iPhone.

- f.lux (possible to do w/o rooting on most Androids)
Nice, but definitely not a 'must'. And calling it a medical necessity is laughable.

- USB OTG (Android)
Handy, adaptors do already exist for iOS devices though (camera connection kit).

- decent Bluetooth support (for example OBEX; Android, WP8)
AirDrop...

- make their Wi-Fi unit much more sensitive (my Nexus 7.2 can operate over a much weaker Wi-Fi signal than my iPads and iPhones)
On the contrary, my iPad will quite happily find a wifi signal when my S4 won't. Swings and roundabouts.

Elaborate? Nothing here is jumping out at me...

Trying to give Apple some credit here and doing what THEY want to do rather than following the gimmick train.
 
4K video recording: Absolutely pointless on such a small display. You can already not see the individual pixels at the screen resolution we have now. Raising it higher increases costs for the LCD panel for little gain.

I haven't spoken of screen resolution but video recording. 4K, when implemented properly, does deliver far superior results. Compare for example the pixel-level detail of the Note 3's 4K framegrab at http://connect.dpreview.com/post/3690994318/samsung-galaxy-note3-first-look-review , in the "Video" section. 4K is far superior and delivers a lot of additional details.

- OIS (Lumia 92x, 1020, 1520, LG G2, Nexus 5) : This would be nice, but again, not essential. Remember of course that the 5S is still topping the Nexus 5 in most camera tests!

Yup, WRT shot-to-shot speed or sweep pano support, the 5s is significantly better - in those tests, the 5s is indeed better. When it comes to low-light or handheld video shooting, it definitely doesn't. According to for example the DPR test, the OIS implementation of the N5 easily allows for taking blur-less shots at 1/6s, which is pretty much impossible with the iPhone 5s:

"Thanks to its optical image stabilization, the Nexus 5 turns in a very good low-light performance as long as key subjects aren’t moving. When the lights go down, the phone drops shutter speeds to as slow as 1/6 sec, and with OIS keeping things steady shake-induced blur is rarely a problem. "

See http://connect.dpreview.com/post/2158701905/google-nexus-nexus5-smartphone-camera-review?page=6 for more info.

All in all, OIS is effective in the N5 (as is in the G2 or Nokia's phones). So would be in the iPhone - if it existed, that is. Unfortunately, it isn't.

- dual camera recording (LG G2, Note 3 etc) : Absolutely pointless. I have this feature on my S4 and have NEVER used it. Most, if not all of my S4 wielding friends also have this feature and either didn't know it was there or haven't used it anyway. I can't think of a practical use for this outside of gimmickery.

YOU can't. For me, it'd be a godsend. My wife is always complaining about me not being shot in photos I take of her. And this is just one aspect of this feature's being useful. Think of how much easier this is in social situations, group photos etc.

- Qi (all Nexuses, several Lumias etc.): Handy, but not ideal. The charging current is quite low. .

With my N7.2013 in a pretty thick case + 1.5A charger It's much higher than I would have thought. Basically, it only takes 3-4 hours for my Nexus7 to get fully recharged from around 10-20%. Not as fast as via the microUSB but the convenience easily beats it being somewhat slower.

- flawless SlimPort-based HDMI (not the Lightning joke) : They don't need it. They can mirror the display to Airplay, that is their alternative. That is something I miss dearly on my S4. There's no difference in carrying a Mini HDMI cable to carrying an Apple TV really.

Then, a quick comparison (I've measured all these myself, for my video-specific articles, also published here in the MR forums):

AirPlay: lag: 130...150ms, maximum effective resolution: 720p, maximum framerate: 30p

SlimPort: lag: 0ms, effective resolution: 1080p, framerate: 60p

And the above AirPlay figures assumed the connection was flawless. When it's not as flawless, the quality / framerate severely drops, making it deliver even lower quality.

BTW, even a lag of 130ms is too much for most action / racing games.

- USB OTG (Android): Handy, adaptors do already exist for iOS devices though (camera connection kit).

Well, actually, USB OTG is far more versatile than just importing images from your memory card. Hooking up mice / keyboards, all kinds of memory sticks etc. all of them will work because there's no artificial 100mA restriction, unlike with Apple's CCK. And, of course, FULL access to the storage content, even for streaming (playback w/o transferring to built-in memory first) and even on a non-rooted Android device. And if you do root, which is a lot more easier on Android than on iOS (particularly with the current iDevices), you will have full filesystem access - without the 100mA restriction, of course.

- decent Bluetooth support (for example OBEX; Android, WP8)
AirDrop...

Is AirDrop compatible with:
- Bada
- feature phones
- Symbian
- WP8
- Windows Mobile (even as early as WM2003)
- Android
- all desktop computer OS'es with built-in BT support (OS X, Windows 7+, Linux etc.)?

Of course it isn't. OBEX is - it's supported by ALL OS'es listed above, and some. AirDrop isn't even compatible with pre-late 2012 iDevices... So much for it being a way to, say, quickly share a photo with an Internet-less p2p situation, for which OBEX is abolutely good.
 
Last edited:

Yeah, good points. To be honest the versatility is the reason why I went with a Galaxy S4 instead of a newer iPhone when my contract expired.

Out of interest - why are you posting this? It sounds like you would be much better off choosing an Android phone rather than complaining that Apple aren't implementing any of this stuff. None of what you've posted will happen, I'm afraid.
 
Yeah, good points. To be honest the versatility is the reason why I went with a Galaxy S4 instead of a newer iPhone when my contract expired.

Out of interest - why are you posting this? It sounds like you would be much better off choosing an Android phone rather than complaining that Apple aren't implementing any of this stuff. None of what you've posted will happen, I'm afraid.

Well, I've pretty much invested in the Apple ecosystem (I have all iPad and iPhone generations - and some iPod touches too) and have become pretty disappointed by the lack of innovation since mid-2012. Before that, I had been an Apple fanboy . I'd prefer to be handled more friendly after having paid this much for Apple stuff. I'd love to see Apple at least try to keep up with Android / Windows, feature-wise. This is why I'm posting here.
 
About as crazy as trying to providing features those users want and complain about that just aren't options with said older versions.:rolleyes:
They are perfectly happy with a bunch of users complaining about not being able to downgrade and have their devices worse off in some way (like iPhone 4 with iOS 7 for quite a few people), so it sounds like they would be just fine with what likely will be a smaller amount of people complaining about being on older versions and not having some features (especially from those that can actually upgrade if they really want to get those features).
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.