isn't the 3Gs being retained for the low end market/developing nations?
I would assume that it would get a limited iOS 6 update.
I would assume that it would get a limited iOS 6 update.
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Will 3GS get iOS 6?
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I agree, works just fine with iOS 5. It is fast.
I think most of the people don't like the idea of 3GS getting iOS 6 because they are afraid that somehow 3GS getting iOS 6 will limit and hold back iOS 6.
I thought the exact opposite. I was very impressed with how much faster my 3GS was when I loaded iOS 5 on it. It drastically made my phone better. I even considered keeping my 3GS instead of upgrading to the 4S, and waiting for the next one.
Apple can take iOS to the CPU/GPU limits and cut features on older devices
I could have the same fears, however, I think Apple has done a good job with limiting features of any version of iOS that won't run great on a particular iPhone.
For example, the iPhone 3GS, 4, and 4S all have different video recording resolutions. I know this is part of the Camera App, but iOS comes with it.
Another example is Siri, certainly part of iOS 5, and it only runs on iPhone 4S even though it's been shown that the first generation of the noise canceling microphones in the iPhone 4 are somewhat adequate. (Perhaps, not good enough as the second generation in the 4S, and that's why Apple doesn't allow Siri to run on the iPhone 4, or the iPad 3, because the iPad only has one microphone, nothing to cancel noise out with.)
I could have the same fears, however, I think Apple has done a good job with limiting features of any version of iOS that won't run great on a particular iPhone.
For example, the iPhone 3GS, 4, and 4S all have different video recording resolutions. I know this is part of the Camera App, but iOS comes with it.
Another example is Siri, certainly part of iOS 5, and it only runs on iPhone 4S even though it's been shown that the first generation of the noise canceling microphones in the iPhone 4 are somewhat adequate. (Perhaps, not good enough as the second generation in the 4S, and that's why Apple doesn't allow Siri to run on the iPhone 4, or the iPad 3, because the iPad only has one microphone, nothing to cancel noise out with.)
Don't forget that the 3Gs is capable of 720p HD recording and the iPhone 4 is capable of 1080p recording.
True, I've suspected that all along.
However, Apple may have feared that the recording performance wouldn't have been perfect enough to enable 720p recording on the iPhone 3GS and 1080p on the iPhone 4.
The iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 have virtually the same CPU (Cortex A8), however the GPU in the iPhone 4 is considerably faster, I suspect the realtime H.264 encoding is done in the GPU, so the iPhone 4 may be better at 1080p than the 3GS at 720p.
I remember my iPhone 3GS, and thinking it should have come with 720p video recording all along, even if it didn't always do 30 fps perfectly. I never had an iPhone 4, so I was happy with the new camera in the iPhone 4S and it's 1080p video recording. I suspect that with the retina displays in the new Macs, the next iPhone could have 2160p video recording, especially if they go with a quad-core Cortex A15 with the next generation of quad core GPUs at 28nm process. But, it would have to be an non-default option because it would just simply fill up the memory too quickly. It would future proof future video recording for a few years though! (They would also have to increase the 8 MP camera to around 12 MP to be wide enough at 4:3 ratio to record 4K video at 16:9)
The 3Gs and the 4 have the exact same GPU. That's why the 3Gs is better when playing graphical intensive games. The 3Gs' SoC's spec sheet lists real time 720p hardware encoding and decoding. This provides plently of power to capture it. People have also secessfully gotten 20Mbps HD video streams from recorded via the 3Gs' camera. Don't forget the 3Gs can playback 720p and most 1080p videos without a problem.
Seeing as they have never given an iPhone 3 major updates, no, I doubt it will happen.
Yeh I agree, it seemed fine at first, but then got slower and more glitchy... jail break/no-jailbreak made no difference, fresh restore etc. Plus still had no wifi on it after iOS5 and able to dg back works fine on 4 which others have posted about and Apple finally admitted there was an issue with the 3GS and iOS5 and wifi yet doesn't know how to fix it nor figure out why some have the issue and others don't. Phone is flat out slower in everything from opening an app or browsing to typing, and same issue for the few people I know with one updated too. Even had an employee grab a used 4 b/c his 3GS had the same issue, fine at first then got worse as time went on.
My mistake.
You're right, the iPhone 3GS and 4 both have PowerVR SGX535 graphics. That makes more sense to what I used to think. That's why I didn't see much improvement with the speed in the iPhone 4 when I still had the 3GS.
I got confused with the release of the A5, and it's the one with the major graphics improvement with the PowerVR SGX543MP2 graphics. MP2 part meaning dual core (Multi Processor). I suppose the A5 release in the iPad 2 before the iPhone 4S (with the same A5) got me thinking of the wrong generation for a moment.
You're right, the iPhone 3GS and 4 both have PowerVR SGX535 graphics. That makes more sense to what I used to think. That's why I didn't see much improvement with the speed in the iPhone 4 when I still had the 3GS.
I got confused with the release of the A5, and it's the one with the major graphics improvement with the PowerVR SGX543MP2 graphics. MP2 part meaning dual core (Multi Processor). I suppose the A5 release in the iPad 2 before the iPhone 4S (with the same A5) got me thinking of the wrong generation for a moment.
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I suspect it will not get full iOS 6. Under 5, it is ok (nothing special) but definitely slower than the day I first switched it on, some 30 months back. It's not just the performance of the phone itself. Some apps (Facebook for example) have bloated a bit and run great on the 4/4S but not so well on the 3GS.
I suspect the 3GS is up for its End of Life soon anyway (RIP).
I suspect the 3GS is up for its End of Life soon anyway (RIP).
A resounding YES!
Let's wait till the official confirmation.
As said though, it does make sense. 3GS is still being sold and it's Apple we're talking about here.
Besides that I suspect since there are some pretty important changes rumoured for iOS 6, like Maps and maybe image attachment in Notes - iCloud, and that 3GS supports iCloud, they want to update it.
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