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Dmunjal

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 20, 2010
1,533
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Given the amount of memory problems I'm having with 4.3.3 on my iPad 1, I wonder if it will even run 5.0 with only 256MB of RAM.
 
No memory problems here either? Is the OP jailbroken?

Yes, I'm JBed. Not too many apps installed but I notice a slowdown when I have too many apps open. Free memory usually runs less than 10MB frequently.
 
Like everyone else is saying it probably will, but we have no way of knowing until it is actually released.
 
I would say it's almost guaranteed the original iPad will support iOS 5. If I remember correctly it states in the Terms and Conditions that devices will be supported for that firmware version as well as the next major update (i.e. started with 4, guaranteed to work with 5, after that it's up to them).

As for problems, I don't have any. I'm JB'd on 4.3.3 and I find it just as fast and stable as 4.2.1. The memory is also something I've found isn't worth worrying about; if an app needs more memory some is freed up automatically. If I really want to see a higher number in the status bar then I just use the 'Free Up Memory' option in SBSettings.
 
correction

I would say it's almost guaranteed the original iPad will support iOS 5. If I remember correctly it states in the Terms and Conditions that devices will be supported for that firmware version as well as the next major update (i.e. started with 4, guaranteed to work with 5, after that it's up to them).

As for problems, I don't have any. I'm JB'd on 4.3.3 and I find it just as fast and stable as 4.2.1. The memory is also something I've found isn't worth worrying about; if an app needs more memory some is freed up automatically. If I really want to see a higher number in the status bar then I just use the 'Free Up Memory' option in SBSettings.

You mention above that the iPad started with iOS 4. It actually started with iOS 3.
 
Available but not all features FULLY supported....

I think that's the most likely scenario. iOS5 will probably be supported 80-90% of the way, but there may be one or two big graphical features that are exclusive to iPad 2.

I think it's easy for people to forget the iPad 1st gen didn't even originally have multitasking in any shape or form! No double clicking of home button to bring up the task switcher. It's hard to imagine that now.
 
It's really hard to say.

The iPhone 3GS hardware is similar in many ways to the iPad Version 1. The iPad does have a faster processor (although it's single core, like the 3GS). The RAM is the same, but the iPad has a faster graphics processor, so animations are smoother.

If the limitation on iOS 5 for the 3GS is CPU speed, or "animation" speed, then I think the iPad version 1 has a good chance at getting iOS 5.

If the limitation on iOS 5 for the 3GS is RAM, then I'm afraid the iPad probably will cap out with iOS 4, which would be a shame.

As others have pointed out, sometimes Apple will have partial support for an older product. For example, allowing iOS 5 to run on iPad version 1, but with some key features (voice input? 3d display? split screen iPhone Apps? :D) disabled.

We'll probably find out in a few weeks at WWDC 2011.
 
You mention above that the iPad started with iOS 4. It actually started with iOS 3.

Yes, but the iPad was then updated and sold with iOS 4.2 pre-installed.

iPad is the same hardware as the iPod touch 4G but with the A4 clocked faster. It should run iOS 5 just fine.

I think iOS 5 will see the end of support on all non-Apple-branded processor devices. So the 3G iPod touch and iPhone 3GS get the boot.
 
The current iPod touch is essentially the same specs as the iPad 1. I would expect the iPod line to support iOS5, so it would make sense for the iPad1 to as well.
 
iPad 1 will most likely be supported with iOS5.

Reason: iPod (4th generation) with A4 processor and same 256MB RAM would need to be supported with iOS5 since Apple tends to give at least 2 years of software support for their iOS devices.
 
iPad 1? When was that?

Very soon after 4.2 launched. Product codes didn't change but the image on the box changed from the starry night lake scene to the ugly water drop picture that Steve thinks is cool.
 
Very soon after 4.2 launched. Product codes didn't change but the image on the box changed from the starry night lake scene to the ugly water drop picture that Steve thinks is cool.

True. I hate that picture too. I will eat seriously fat crow if I am wrong, but I don't see how the 1st Gen iPad wouldn't get iOS 5. Mine was made in December of last year, so I highly doubt it would be end-of-life on the update timeframe because it is only 5 months old. The 3GS yes, as the phone is 2 years old. I wouldn't expect mine to run iOS 6, but by then I will have passed my current one to one of my parents and upgraded to the iPad 3.
 
I just want to point out that the plans for iOS on the 3GS are just a rumor. Given that the 3GS is still being sold, and that it compares fairly very to the specs on the current iPod touch, I would be surprised I'd iOS5 is not made available for the 3GS. However it may not include the full feature set...

The iPhone 3G was dropped for very practical reasons. Continuing to support that little RAM was hindering the development of of the platform. So long as any 256GB devices are supported, the 3GS will remain capable enough for the upgrade.
 
Yes, I'm JBed. Not too many apps installed but I notice a slowdown when I have too many apps open. Free memory usually runs less than 10MB frequently.

Free RAM isn't really a useful measure on modern OSs as they all try to fill it up as much as possible. A much more useful measure on iOS would be to look at how much data is being transferred from flash. This would reflect how often iOS has had to dump data from memory and subsequently reload it. My bet is that this would be lower on average on an iPad2 because of the extra RAM it has.
 
I hope Apple makes multiple versions of the OS optimized for the individual devices. The OS for the iPad 2 shouldn't be held back by the iPod Touch.
 
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