So, iOS 6 will make its way to devices all the way back to the 3GS... But many key features are not available at all on the 3GS, and even the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 are seeing features held back. "Some features, like the VIP List for email, the Offline Reading List, and Shared Photo Stream won't work on the iPhone 3GS. Even flagship iOS features like Flyover, turn-by-turn navigation, and FaceTime over cellular won't work on recent devices like the iPhone 4 or the iPad 2 - not to mention the iPhone 3GS." Pretty scummy and misleading.
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Member since:2005-06-29
Okay, but what about true hardware obsolescence? You have to admit there comes a time when the hardware simply won't handle new features. I think about my fiancée's first gen iPad, which has gotten progressively slower with each update. At some point you have to put away the old hardware to maintain the same level of usability given current software.
For the same reason, I'm not trying to encode video with the Athlon XP sitting in the corner behind me; I've got a dual core Athlon 64 that does it nearly three times as fast.
Or to put it in more relative terms, my old Motorola Cliq may be able to install ICS (though I doubt it) but given how horribly CM7 ran on it, I wouldn't even attempt it.
And I do get what you're saying, it does suck that mobile hardware is obsoleted so soon, and often for profit reasons. But for once I feel Apple is actually doing something good here: They are supporting a device (the 3GS) that they have no reason to from a profit standpoint. Please tell me how this is a bad thing for those holding on to their 3GS phones?
Member since:2006-07-26
Turn by turn navigation should be an application on top of an OS, not part of the OS itself.
Android does this correctly. A year or so ago Apple had to update iOS to be able to share photos directly to twitter or to facebook or something. This should have been an update to the photo application, not iOS... and they still hardcoded it so that the next social site would have to wait for an iOS update to be able to accept photos.
Again, android had this right from day one. You have an application that provides photos, and you have an application that accepts photos... Android facilitates them interfacing with each other. Its beautiful. The very first Android phone without any OS updates can take advantage of a camera application and a social application created tomorrow.
I'm upset about the state of Android and getting OS updates. ICS is awesome but being stuck on Gingerbread or Froyo doesn't limit any of my applications in any way noticeable.
Member since:2005-07-06
That's not really accurate? They are releasing partial* iOS6 for an old device which they still actively promote and sell to (dump on?) consumers.
By now, Apple could probably drop iPhone4 prices to the level of 3GS, and they would still turn a profit (but they get so much more mark-up from the obsolete hardware of 3GS...)
* it possibly took more effort to cut some of those things out, at least for part of them there doesn't seem to be any technical reason for exclusion.
Member since:2005-07-06
I don't see you calling Android companies scummy, though. And keep in mind, that Apple couldn't get away with offering untested upgrades for older hardware. They'd end up with a lawsuit. I think offering broader support for a fee would be nice, but people would probably complain about that too. There does have to be a cutoff point where companies quit worrying about bringing nifty new features to old devices for free.
Given that Apple's policy is the best in the industry on this, I'd like to see the other guys called scummy and misleading before Apple is called that. Otherwise, it just looks like an anti-Apple rant. Giving a 3 year old device most of the benefits of a major new release for free seems like a pretty good deal. And those who just bought one bought it with it already clearly segmented as a device with fewer software features than the higher end models.
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Member since:
2005-06-29
Bingo.
I complain about Android's update mess, and I will also complain about this. Artificially limiting hardware through software to sell more newer devices is scummy, no matter who does it.