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iPhone 3G and iOS4 Lack Chemistry
adeelarshad82 writes "Granted that iPhone 3G is about 3 years old but some of us who still have it are tempted to update it to iOS 4 for the folders, threaded e-mail and iBooks even if it means jail-breaking the phone. Unfortunately though, as it turns out, it's really not worth the hassle. Not only does the update slow the phone, in some cases by a fraction of a second and in others much more, but it's a nightmare to downgrade back to iOS 3."
Goes without saying that Apple will deliver a sub-par experience on older devices in order to "persuade" users to upgrade to newer devices, thus making Apples more money. Everyone does it.
Apple has no qualms about making your computer obsolete so you have to buy new things. The promise of the PC was that you could keep upgrading on and on with inexpensive parts. That's not as true as I would like it to be, but it's not exactly a lie either.
But with Apple, they care almost nothing about backward compatibility and backward portability. This makes all the G4 and G5 devices out there all but useless... before that, the 68XXX based machines. Now, with multiple iProducts out there, they are also abandoning the people who bought their iProducts less than 5 years ago expecting them to spend more money... or to spin it another way, creating more waste in landfills.
Microsoft would LOVE to have the power Apple has to render OSes and hardware obsolete. The requirements for Vista were so high that no one wanted to buy whole new computers just to run it. The same is generally true of Win7 though to a lesser extent. But since Apple controls both the software and the hardware, you're pretty much at their mercy. Craigslist is filled with "great deals" for Macs with G4/G5 processors in them sold by people who already find them useless.
I'm "aware of the problem" but at least now with Intel based Macs, the machines will always be able to run Linux pretty well... hell, even Windows 7 for that matter. I'm guessing Apple is already regretting their decision to go with Intel based architecture.
I am not an iPhone user. What does he mean by this? Are folders something new?
1 (short ton / firkin) = 89.1432354 slugs / keg
Apple needs to be a bit more carefully about older versions of the OS and models. Case in point:
1. This: http://www.osnews.com/story/24428/The_Next_Brick_to_Decorate_Your_Wall_iOS_3_x_Devices
After months this article got posted, the App Store STILL DOES NOT work properly. You still can't update an app from within the device by hitting "update". The button does nothing! You need iOS 4.x or above before you can update via iOS (so we now have to use iTunes, which I don't want to use since that iPod has no music in it, I just use it as a PDA).
2. Apple REMOVED AirTunes support from iOS 4 when the second generation of AppleTV came out. What they did exactly was to stop supporting the original AppleTV (that was still sold at the time), from within iOS. So I can't use the 1st Gen AppleTV to send audio too from my iOS device anymore. This used to work just fine up to a few months ago. After the iOS 4.2 update, the support was removed.
Startling insights...a year after iOS 4 was released. Is there really anyone who has a 3G and is considering upgrading to 4 that isn't aware of this already? In other late-breaking stories, Barack Obama won the 2008 election! HOPE PREVAILS!
I recall when iOS4 came out, there were people still in contract with 3G iPhones. I'm not sure if there still are at this point, bit it's kindof a lousy thing to do, to take a phone that was slow to begin with and make it even slower.
Version 4.3.*
English is not this
Bad summary. TFA says that the iOS 4.2 on the 3G is a far cry from iOS 4.2 on newer ones (and, hence, doesn't count) and that it sucks so bad he had to jump through all kinds of hoops to downgrade back to 3.
I had huge perf problems with my 3G after installing iOS 4, and no update ever fixed it. However, it is relatively easy to fix, just a small bit of pain. To fix this, connect your phone to iTunes, then restore, but don't restore a backup... Do a new install. You then have to reinstall your apps/photos/music/etc., and reset all your preferences, but after doing that, my iPhone is basically back to where it was perf-wise with iOS 3.x, and I get the new features of 4.x (which I don't really care about). As others have said, it's very hard to go back to 3.x because they upgrade the baseband firmware in ways that are apparently incompatible with OS version 3.x.
There's an app for that
The iPhone 3G has an off-the-shelf 400 MHz CPU with 128MB RAM. The current model, iPhone 4, has a custom-designed 1 GHz CPU and 256 MB RAM. Is anyone really surprised that an OS designed to make the most of the latter is beyond the abilities of the former?
The 3GS is available today for $50 with a new contract, so it's not like Apple is asking a lot with the upgrade. The 3G does more today than it did when the last one was sold. Apple shouldn't support users who have long since stopped providing a financial benefit to apple if it would mean hobbling new devices purchased by paying customers today. It isn't worth it for them to try to keep "customers" who aren't even willing to pay $50 for the new features.
Apple has no qualms about making your computer obsolete so you have to buy new things. The promise of the PC was that you could keep upgrading on and on with inexpensive parts. That's not as true as I would like it to be, but it's not exactly a lie either.
Not a lie but somewhat misleading. Apple's computers are basically laptops, and hence no less upgradable than comparable PCs. Keep in mind that the iMac and mini are basically laptops embedded behind a monitor or without a monitor. All-in-one PCs designs like the iMac have similar limited upgrade options. Similar story for the ultra compact PCs comparable to the mini. Also keep in mind that Apple does offer computers in traditional tower configurations and their size, airflow, etc is such that you can fiddle with the components. Admittedly PCs towers are far more cost effective for most users. I think the real problem with Apple's product line is that they only produce a tower for the high end users, they don't offer a simplified tower for average users - basically what most PC towers are. So Macs are pretty much like their comparable PCs, Apple just ignores one particular niche of the market.
But with Apple, they care almost nothing about backward compatibility and backward portability. This makes all the G4 and G5 devices out there all but useless... before that, the 68XXX based machines. Now, with multiple iProducts out there, they are also abandoning the people who bought their iProducts less than 5 years ago expecting them to spend more money
Just like PCs. I had a Dell Latitude with a Pentium-M 1.6 GHz and 1GB RAM running WinXP. It was OK, but an upgrade to Vista would have seriously degraded the performance. Much like the iPhone 3G running iOS4.
I'm guessing Apple is already regretting their decision to go with Intel based architecture.
Bad guess. Going Intel basically doubled their market share.
Seriously, I've been running iOS 4.x on my 3G iPhone since it was released. 4.0 kinda sucked... but 4.2.1 seems pretty stable and much faster than the other 4.x variants. Version 4.0 was released June 21, 2010... that's almost a full year ago. If you haven't upgraded to 4.x yet, you've either decided long ago you're not going to, or you're living under a rock.
-=JML=-
I have iOS 4 installed on my gen 2 iPod Touch and it runs just fine.
UPGRADE YOUR PHONE. If you care so much about problems with 4.0, why not upgrade to 4.2.1? It's a significant performance improvement over 4.0 on the 3G. But for fux sake, get a newer device. Seriously. I had an HTC G1 that I hobbled along with Cyanogenmod updates, but old hardware can only do so much. It's like asking an Edsel to do what a BMW M5 does.
I would have completely agreed with the premise of the topic when iOS 4.0 was released. It brought my 3G to a crawl. But, the majority of the sluggishness problems were fixed in iOS 4.1. Don't lump the current version in with the original release of iOS 4.
It obviously would have been better if Apple actually tested 4.0 on 3G devices, which would have immediately revealed a problem. They apparently didn't, or didn't care .. which is bad. But, the fix did come.
Also, a lot of the observed problems may actually have less to do with the OS version, and more to do with the fact that most users don't use the optimal method of upgrading their OS. If you just accept iTunes' prompt to upgrade when you connect your iPhone, you'll likely eventually wind up with a phone that's bogged down and sluggish. I've had much better results instead backing up my phone (apps, data, music, etc.), then using the "Restore" process to go to the new OS as a clean slate. You then, of course, have to restore from backup, after going to the new OS. It's an extra step, and probably shouldn't be necessary, but it gets better results than the basic "upgrade".
Make sure you're not confusing these two issues (OS suitability for older hardware, and the problems with direct upgrades).
http://www.enscand.com/roller/enscand/entry/upgrading_iphone_3g_to_ios4
We have a 3G, not a 3Gs you insensitive clod! We can't upgrade to 4.3 because Steve said no.
Seriously, my 3G is at 4.2.1 and will stay there forever. iTunes (which I *do* use, because I have both music from CDs, podcasts and my calendar on that phone) upgraded my phone to 4.0 without asking much - well, ok, it threatened that I wouldn't get any security updates for it if I insisted on keeping on using 3.1.3.
So my iPhone 3G is now a Windows98 PC force-upgraded to XP, or have you seen any security fixes for 98 around lately? *That* is what those not having upgraded to 4.x are missing, mostly, because all the new-fangled stuff needs a 3Gs or 4, so you won't see much of that anyway. And, as I said, since 4.3 we don't even get those security updates. Actually I'd be very surprised if the 3G gets a Locationgate fix.
Which is exactly why my next phone will *not* be a fscking iPhone. Thanks for the (slightly rotten) fish and so on, but Android is looking better every day.
In other news, I hear Apple is making more than half its revenue with the iPhone and iPad product lines. If stuff like this isn't fixed I'd be very surprised if their rise continues.
Simple, install iDroid and forget iOS :)
http://www.idroidproject.org/
-- If I were a fish, I'd be wet
Whenever I update my Android phone to a newer version it only seems to get faster, slicker and more features. There's also a plethora of aftermarket ROMs which in some cases beat out stock carrier stuff on performance, stability and features.
.
Every update to my old iPhone had gotten slower, and features were introduced that Android already had.
Of course we know Apple does this deliberately, there's no incentive for them when they have billions to make, and they will quietly introduce features they see doing well on Android.
You pay a premimum for ccess to Apple walled garden in more ways than one. That's just how it is.
After logging in slashdot still does not take you back to the page you were on. It's been that way for 20 years.
More and more new apps are iOS4.x only. Old compatible apps are being upgraded and some are now iOS4.x only. And iTunes upgrades apps without checking compatibility first (it overwrites old compatible ones with new incompatible ones without a warning !).
People with iPhone1, at iOS313, are doomed.
-- Rastignac was here.
Slashdot has an icon for Apple, iPhone, and iOS, and yet this gets tagged with handhelds?
an unlocked iPhone 3G can be used for significantly less money on T-Mobile's network
T-Mobile? Isn't that (soon to be) a division of AT&T?
Ok.. who let Grandpa use their computer?
BTW.. posting this from my phone. You mad bro?
-Lod
This is only a problem for users in the US. In Europe or Australia we can simply buy phones outright which have no carrier customisations installed.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
BEST basic phone, hands down: Nokia 1100.
It's rubber! It has phenomenal reception, sounds great, easy to use, and it's got a built-in flashlight. Battery life is better than any other phone I've ever used; standby, at least 2 weeks; turned off, it will hold its charge for months. Talk all day. Text longer. Can't do that with an iPhone.
Has a loop so you can attach a lanyard to wear around your neck. Good for hiking, walking, driving.
Sometimes simple is better. [Find it on ebay for $10-$1000]
Yes, hardware is overloaded on OS4