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Why original iPad can't run iOS6?

robertosh

robertosh

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 2, 2011
1,225
1,054
Switzerland
It's a non sense for me!, it's the same hardware than the ipod touch 4G, and the touch is underclocked, so it should run better on an iPad.

any reason apart from forcing people to buy a new one?

PD: sorry if this had been talked before, i used the search and didn't found nothing about it.
 
robertosh said:
It's a non sense for me!, it's the same hardware than the ipod touch 4G, and the touch is underclocked, so it should run better on an iPad.

any reason apart from forcing people to buy a new one?

PD: sorry if this had been talked before, i used the search and didn't found nothing about it.
Click to expand...

Nope, AFAIK, that's the only reason. To make you buy another. It's even faster than the iPhone 3GS.
 
The iPod is still a currently sold device, so it's kind of 'supported'. Besides, it doesn't get most of what iOS6 has to offer anyway, I think.

But to be honest, I'd rather NOT have iOS6 on my iPad 1. iOS5 has most of the features I need, and it's kind of sluggish as it is. iOS6 may push it over the edge and actually make it unuseable like my iPhone 3G.
 
robertosh said:
any reason apart from forcing people to buy a new one?
Click to expand...
That's probably the main reason, other being, original iPad would be too slow to run iOS6.

There are many examples:

My iPod Touch won't run Siri

My non-Thunderbolt Mac won't do AirPlay mirroring.

My MacPro 1,1 won't run Lion and Mountain Lion.

My Mac Pro 3,1 doesn't support wake-on-wireless.

My Leopard and Snow Leopard can't use iCloud.

My Apple USB Modem doesn't work on Lion and Mountain Lion.

LOL, the list just goes on and on ....
 
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Well the iPad-1 was not the same in terms of specifications as you guys are pointing out, It didnt have a Dual Core Processor used the A4 chip didnt even have a 512 MB ram !! Maybe this is the reason why it cant take iOS 6 ?

Yes it would be too slow, like trying to fit a 2012 Mclaren Mercedes Engine in a 1972 Cadillac just wont take off :)
 
dchao said:
That's probably the main reason, other being, original iPad would be too slow to run iOS6.

There are many examples:

My iPod Touch won't run Siri

My non-Thunderbolt Mac won't do AirPlay mirroring.

My MacPro 1,1 won't run Lion and Mountain Lion.

My Mac Pro 3,1 doesn't support wake-on-wireless.

My Leopard and Snow Leopard can't use iCloud.

My Apple USB Modem doesn't work on Lion and Mountain Lion.

LOL, the list just goes on and on ....
Click to expand...


The touch 4g will run it more slow!! My girlfriend has the original iPad and it runs iOS5 more fast than my touch...

Another for your list:

My iMac can't do airplay mirroring :)
 
robertosh said:
The touch 4g will run it more slow!! My girlfriend has the original iPad and it runs iOS5 more fast than my touch...

Another for your list:

My iMac can't do airplay mirroring :)
Click to expand...

Depends on the iMac
 
The Touch and the iPad 1 have the same chip although the ipad has to push more pixels maybe thats the reason?
 
Skika said:
The Touch and the iPad 1 have the same chip although the ipad has to push more pixels maybe thats the reason?
Click to expand...

Yes, at least when it comes to the memory usage of those pixels. It's the lack of RAM memory that the iPad1 suffers the most from. For example, rendering the same Web page takes appr. two times more memory on the iPad 1 than on the Retina-screen iPhone 4 / 4S / iPt4 and at least 5-6 times more than on the 3GS.
 
lepeos said:
Breaking news - New Software not supported by Old Hardware
Click to expand...


It's not because of that... after all, the 3GS is a 2009 model, while the iPad 1 is 2010.

It's just that the iPad 1 was given too little memory; this is why, among other things, its Safari can't keep in more than one (or, in best cases, two) pages in memory and it's constantly crashing under iOS 5.
 
Anybody else remember the old iPods that you bought with the built-in OS and which were never updated?

It's kind of good that Apple doesn't try to support a decade's worth of hardware with every OS upgrade. I just got a new PC notebook yesterday and it still has a damn BIOS setup just like every darn computer made in my lifetime. I have never seen a stupid "hit F2 for setup" screen on a Mac, which means a computer can obviously work without supporting that extremely old technology.
 
Menel said:
What more do they need?? Its Apple
Click to expand...

Every company does that, the original Nexus phone doesnt get ICS and its newer than the iPad 1.

From Wikipedia:

"The decision to support the 3GS instead of the iPad (which has a faster processor) has been open to wide debate. General consensus has been that the iPad is no longer sold, whereas the 3GS still is. However many people, especially developers, have stated that although the iPad has more superior hardware, its hardware is still proportionally weaker than the 3GS. The iPad has more than quadruple the pixels to power than the 3GS, yet still uses the same graphics processor. The iPad also has the same amount of RAM, 256 MB, which in proportion to its screen resolution, is hardly enough. The only hardware advantage the iPad has is a faster processor. However, the processor is not enough to make up for the lack of ram and graphics power. As a result, there have been numerous complaints on the performance of iOS 5 on the iPad. The 3GS on the other hand, had generally positive reviews of smooth performance on iOS 5 (some even claim better performance), making it still a good candidate for iOS 6."

The gist is that despite the 3GS and iPad 1 having similar hardware, the iPad's larger screen may be too much for it to handle smoothly with its limited RAM and GPU. That or its simply becausde the 3GS is still being sold.
 
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I'm sure it technically can, but one it might be very slow, and two Apple clearly wants to get you to upgrade.
 
While the 3GS and 4 are getting iOS 6 upgrades, they are not getting all features. For example they are not getting the fly over maps, turn by turn navigation, Siri or face time over cellular. iPhone 3GS is not getting offline reading either.

So while the 3GS and 4 are getting upgrades, they are not full upgrades. I also have a bad feeling that performance will be at the low end of acceptable (similar to how the original iPad is dealing with iOS 5).
 
I can't believe no one has mentioned the real reason. Sure, Apple wants you to buy a new one... but are you saying that Apple doesn't want people with an iPhone 3GS to upgrade? Sure, iPad 1 would run slower on iOS 6... but not slower than the iPhone 3GS.

The only devices that are getting iOS 6 and the devices that are still currently being sold. It's as simple as that. Not only is the iPad 1 no longer sold, but it has been nearly 1.5 years since it has been sold (non-refurbished).

My guess is that Apple's policy is "Free upgrades to all hardware that have no longer been sold (non-refurbished) for < 1 year." So with this philosophy the iPad 2 will still get iOS 7 next year because (assumingly) the iPad 2 will be sold until next March timeframe. This will give every new iOS owner, at minimum, 1 major OS upgrade (but of course my iPad 2 would have had three! :) )

This is the price to pay for "free" software upgrades. Apple gets to dictate who gets them. Sure it'd be nice if Apple would allow older hardware to upgrade for a cost, but that'll never happen.
 
The iPhone 3GS runs iOS6 rather quick. The fact is, Apple still sell the 3GS.
They don't sell the original iPad any more.
 
Eddy Munn said:
The iPhone 3GS runs iOS6 rather quick. The fact is, Apple still sell the 3GS.
They don't sell the original iPad any more.
Click to expand...

They may be selling it now, but I am expecting that to stop once the new iPhone is announced in September. I think at that time the iPhone 4 will take over the spot of cheapest iPhone available for sale and the model lineup available will be the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and new iPhone (not sure if it will be called iPhone 5).
 
iPhone 3GS and iPad are not the same. The iPad has a 10" screen. Believe it or not, it takes more memory for bigger screens and the iPad only has 256mb of memory. I wouldn't expect it to run IOS 6. I hear ios 5 is bad enough. Plus, the 3GS is getting a stripped iOS 6
 
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