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The "S" Cycle

auxsend

auxsend

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 6, 2011
163
44
Harrisburg, PA
This is what kills me. I finally jumped on the iPhone at the 3Gs.

Then the 4 came out. And it was a huge, major, gigantic upgrade. Part of me knew today was going to be an "S" iteration, and that is what is disappointing.

I can either get another minor upgrade after waiting over 2 years, or wait another year to get back in the "good" cycle.

Or I can upgrade now, and then spend a fortune to get back on cycle for the real upgrades.

There are a lot of people in this cycle, and I think those are the ones who Apple stands to lose, and they won't get all of them, if any, back if they do release another great phone. Next year.

The "S" Cycle is torture.
 
What's wrong with your 3GS? It will be able to run iOS 5 so I don't think there is an issue. I also have a 3GS and don't plan on upgrading until the next iPhone (that's when software support for 3GS will be dropped at last).
 
Look at it this way: you get the 4S now, next year the 5 comes out and you're all sad panda, then the 5S comes out and you're happy panda again. It's a never ending cycle of being unhappy...it's like that with all technology.
 
I hate being on the "s" cycle as well. Luckily I can get this one and use my fathers upgrade to get the next one. I never like the 4 though, so maybe I will give something else a shot for a year.
 
Hellhammer said:
What's wrong with your 3GS? It will be able to run iOS 5 so I don't think there is an issue. I also have a 3GS and don't plan on upgrading until the next iPhone (that's when software support for 3GS will be dropped at last).
Click to expand...

It's just so slow. iOS 4 and many new apps are starting to well outpace the 3gs, and it's bothersome.

So will I buy a 4s? Yeah, probably. But do I hate this whole "S" concept? Yeah, it sucks.
 
You're still in that cycle. You would go from a 3GS to a 4GS. While the changes from the 4 to the 4GS may not be spectacular, you're not going from a 4 to a 4GS, you're going from a 3GS to a 4GS. So you're still getting all the major updates from the 3 line to the 4 line. It's just that nothing is "new" because you're on the second half of the cycle, not the first.
 
MEJHarrison said:
You're still in that cycle. You would go from a 3GS to a 4GS. While the changes from the 4 to the 4GS may not be spectacular, you're not going from a 4 to a 4GS, you're going from a 3GS to a 4GS. So you're still getting all the major updates from the 3 line to the 4 line. It's just that nothing is "new" because you're on the second half of the cycle, not the first.
Click to expand...

Well put, Sir. However, if I buy a new gadget I want it to look like a new gadget. Plus, unfortunately I find the iPhone 4 hideous.
 
You've got it backwards. The 'S' is the "good" cycle; it's more cutting edge. The iPhone 4 uses the same CPU and GPU as the 3GS. That means that it was essentially using year-old tech from the day it was launched. Why do you think that there's no feature of iOS 4 or 5 that the iPhone 4 is getting that the 3GS isn't? They are also stuck with a crappy antenna.

The A5 is dual-core processor based upon the latest chip architecture. It also has a more modern, multi-core GPU.
 
auxsend said:
It's just so slow. iOS 4 and many new apps are starting to well outpace the 3gs, and it's bothersome.

So will I buy a 4s? Yeah, probably. But do I hate this whole "S" concept? Yeah, it sucks.
Click to expand...


Same here... My wife upgraded myself to the 3GS after it was released and I was holding out for the 4 cycle. My 3GS is slow and glitchy so I had already anticipated replacing it. I had hoped to jump into a fresh number cycle, not just a numbers boost. Don't care too much for the 4's shape but I'll get over it I guess.

If I weren't tied to iTunes and a lot of apps for work purposes I'd consider another phone. iPhone just works well for my situation so it is what it is.
 
I feel the same. I was seriously unhappy with the first S-cycle and I know that I can never be happy with the 4S, considering how much of a disappointment it's premiere was.

I'll either skip the 4S or, should my 3GS die, get a cheap 8GB iPhone 4 off eBay. Or Android, because seriously, nowadays all smarthone OSes are good and usable.
 
If I could, I would upgrade on the S cycle. When the 4 came out, it had antenna gate and people who didn't understand that glass breaks when you drop the phone. Also, you have to wait a while for a decent case to come out. It took a while for the otterbox case to come out, so I didn't get my phone until then.
With the newest iteration of the S cycle, you can get a faster phone, in terms of processor and data speed; better cameras; siri; and a higher capacity, if you choose to get it.
Anyone with half a brain knew that there wasn't going to be a redesign; it's obviously reserved for even numbered years.
You get the advantages of the new design and you get most of the kinks worked out of any flaws that may happen in a redesign.
 
eastercat said:
If I could, I would upgrade on the S cycle. When the 4 came out, it had antenna gate and people who didn't understand that glass breaks when you drop the phone.
Click to expand...

You're not an early adopter. That's half the fun of getting a new gadget.
 
Eso said:
You've got it backwards. The 'S' is the "good" cycle; it's more cutting edge. The iPhone 4 uses the same CPU and GPU as the 3GS. That means that it was essentially using year-old tech from the day it was launched. Why do you think that there's no feature of iOS 4 or 5 that the iPhone 4 is getting that the 3GS isn't? They are also stuck with a crappy antenna.

The A5 is dual-core processor based upon the latest chip architecture. It also has a more modern, multi-core GPU.
Click to expand...

Well, no, the 3gs has whatever processor it has. The iPhone 4 added the A4 processor, a waaaay better camera, a waaaaay better screen, and waaaay better performance.

The 4 was a substantial jump in performance. I would know, my wife has one.
 
I'm glad to be on the "S" cycle. My 3GS was my first iPhone, which meant for me it was the first iPhone worth spending my money on. Now two+ years later this is exactly the update I was hoping for.
 
auxsend said:
Well, no, the 3gs has whatever processor it has. The iPhone 4 added the A4 processor, a waaaay better camera, a waaaaay better screen.
Click to expand...

iPhone 3GS

CPU: 600 MHz ARM Cortex-A8
GPU: PowerVR SGX 535

iPhone 4

CPU: 800 Mhz ARM Cortex-A8
GPU: PowerVR SGX 535

The only difference is that the iPhone 4 has a higher clock speed; it's the same, old, single-core technology. The camera upgrade is analogous to the upgrade you get on the 'S' cycle which you don't seem to find very impressive. The screen is definitely way better, but it was the biggest upgrade of the phone (as it certainly wasn't it's chipset).

auxsend said:
The 4 was a substantial jump in performance. I would know, my wife has one.
Click to expand...

It really isn't. It is slightly faster for just about everything. The average is somewhere between 10-15%. The iPhone 4S is "up to" 100% faster than the iPhone 4; the average performance increase will easily be over 85%.

Run your own tests side-by-side. You'll see that the iPhone 4 performs better but not dramatically so.
 
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