# iPhone OS 4 -- All the New Features



## G-Mo (Sep 26, 2007)

iPhone OS 4: All the New Features - iPhone - Gizmodo

Multitasking, App Folders, Unified Inbox, iBooks, Custom Backgrounds, GameCenter and more!


----------



## MomentsofSanity (Jul 9, 2008)

I just want to be able to mark all emails as read in a single click and to be able to skip songs via bluetooth. Is that so much toask?


----------



## Elric (Jul 30, 2005)

None of the GOOD features are available for 3G  that is UBER lame.


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

App folders! YAY!


----------



## whatiwant (Feb 21, 2008)

MomentsofSanity said:


> I just want to be able to mark all emails as read in a single click and to be able to skip songs via bluetooth. Is that so much toask?


maybe in a couple of years.... you know, so they do it right... hehe


----------



## a7mc (Dec 30, 2002)

Elric said:


> None of the GOOD features are available for 3G  that is UBER lame.


I agree. Think about it... what if you bought a brand new iMac less than 2 years ago, and they suddenly they stopped providing updates for it. I get that there are hardware limitations, but still. The 2G wasn't even mentioned... that means it will have NO upgrade path at all? When devices become obsolete before the contract they force us onto even ends, that's a very bad sign.

The whole keynote seemed like a pretty big money grab. Between forcing people to upgrade for the good stuff, and iBooks, iAds, and App store pushing, looks like Apple is getting to be just about the $$$.

At least, that's how it came off to me.

A7


----------



## wonderings (Jun 10, 2003)

Elric said:


> None of the GOOD features are available for 3G  that is UBER lame.


What stuff cant be used besides multi tasking? At work and have not been able to really follow whats going on.


----------



## andreww (Nov 20, 2002)

I wonder if the 2G was left out because it is obsolete or because Apple simply wants us to buy a new phone. I wonder how long it will take the Jailbreak community to get the 2G up and running on OS4?


----------



## spiffychristian (Mar 17, 2008)

.


----------



## spiffychristian (Mar 17, 2008)

.


----------



## motoyen (Aug 15, 2001)

A little disappointed at the potential lack of 2G support given that the Mac OS does a pretty good job of supporting legacy hardware. Maybe there is an issue with hardware but is the 3GS that different from the 2G/3G models as far as processing power?


----------



## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

Gotta remember that this wasn't an event for consumers - it was for developers. So the "money grab" is exactly what _that_ audience would be interested in.


----------



## Elric (Jul 30, 2005)

I was giddy for all of it, then he told me my phone is obsolete


----------



## fyrefly (Apr 16, 2005)

The ONLY thing I've heard so far that the 3G can't do with iPhone OS4 that the 3GS can do is multitask. The 3G still gets every other feature. 

Apple - iPhone - iPhone OS 4 Preview

There's been no mention of iPhone 2G at all - maybe it's over for that device, but it will be 3 years old by the time iPhone 4 comes out. Things move fast in the Smartphone world. The Android G1 phone was released in October 08 and can't get the newer Android updates.

Besides, Apple's not to blame for the 3 year contracts - Apple mostly cares about AT&T and they only have two-year contracts. Blame Robbers for the 3 year nonsense we all have to deal with.



motoyen said:


> A little disappointed at the potential lack of 2G support given that the Mac OS does a pretty good job of supporting legacy hardware. Maybe there is an issue with hardware but is the 3GS that different from the 2G/3G models as far as processing power?


Yep, the iPhone 3GS runs at 600mhz vs. the 3G at 400Mhz. There's some good performance-review stuff here:

iPhone 3GS Performance: A Significant Performance Bump - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News


----------



## lreynolds (Dec 28, 2005)

It's too bad about original iPhone owners being left behind, but I think we've gotten spoiled. For all the stuff an iPhone can do, it is a phone, not a computer. Can anyone name another phone that is getting major software updates 3 years later? Can you name more that a couple that have gotten any updates that are of the magnitude of 2.0 and 3.0?


----------



## G-Mo (Sep 26, 2007)

lreynolds said:


> Can anyone name another phone that is getting major software updates 3 years later?


Motorola Razr (2003) and Slvr L7 (2005?) both get occasional firmware updates.

Blackberry still does firmware updates for at least the 7000 series and possibly the 5000-6000 series phones (and they data back to 2002).


----------



## fyrefly (Apr 16, 2005)

Do those firmware updates include new features?

I have a friend who has an 18-month-old Blackberry that's still EDGE and also can't get the new Blackberry OS that's on the newer models.


----------



## G-Mo (Sep 26, 2007)

fyrefly said:


> Do those firmware updates include new features?
> 
> I have a friend who has an 18-month-old Blackberry that's still EDGE and also can't get the new Blackberry OS that's on the newer models.


Your friends Blackberry can't get the new Blackberry OS, but it should be able to still get updates for the OS it supports. Older phones don't support the newer features (newer Blackberry OS), but I know that they do add additional features to the older OS firmware updates or upgrade features (ability to access a 1GB microSD card instead of 512GB on the Motorola's). I know the 7000 or 7100 series Blackberries had a significant upgrade to their web browsing capabilities several years after release. I would think that Apple is still going to release a few more incidental iPhone OS 3.x upgrades for the "original" iPhone.


----------



## iheartmac (Jan 5, 2006)

Elric said:


> I was giddy for all of it, then he told me my phone is obsolete



You also have to remember that this stuff was never promised to us when we bought our phones. It would be nice to be included in every update but you can't lose something you never had!


----------



## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

I'm running the beta on my 3GS now, and the UI is a lot faster than 3.x. Very nice update, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it pans out.


----------



## Garry (Jan 27, 2002)

Elric said:


> None of the GOOD features are available for 3G  that is UBER lame.


I can't find a list of "all the good features" that won't work with the 3G.. what are they?

1) Multitasking

That looks like a feature


----------



## G-Mo (Sep 26, 2007)

Garry said:


> I can't find a list of "all the good features" that won't work with the 3G.. what are they?
> 
> 1) Multitasking
> 
> That looks like a feature


As far as I can tell from what I read today, Multitasking is the only of the new features not available to the iPhone 3G.


----------



## Rounder (Aug 9, 2008)

John Clay said:


> I'm running the beta on my 3GS now, and the UI is a lot faster than 3.x. Very nice update, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it pans out.


Running it on my 3GS as well. Only hickup that I can't figure out is it will no longer connect to my WIFI. Tried everything, resetting network settings, even went as far as doing a full restore and still isn't connecting, tried changing the security on my Router even, and still nothing. And my 3G running 3.1.3 connects to it no problem. 

Any ideas?


----------



## fyrefly (Apr 16, 2005)

G-Mo said:


> Your friends Blackberry can't get the new Blackberry OS, but it should be able to still get updates for the OS it supports. Older phones don't support the newer features (newer Blackberry OS), but I know that they do add additional features to the older OS firmware updates or upgrade features (ability to access a 1GB microSD card instead of 512GB on the Motorola's). I know the 7000 or 7100 series Blackberries had a significant upgrade to their web browsing capabilities several years after release. I would think that Apple is still going to release a few more incidental iPhone OS 3.x upgrades for the "original" iPhone.


I feel like you answered your own post there. The iPhone 2G will still get iPhone OS 3.X updates. And probably some security updates even after iPhone 4.0 is released. That's about on par with other branded smart phones three years after their release. 



John Clay said:


> I'm running the beta on my 3GS now, and the UI is a lot faster than 3.x. Very nice update, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it pans out.


Glad to hear that! I'm already looking forward to the 4.0 update for my 3GS.


----------



## daniels (Jul 27, 2009)

multitasking is the biggest thing any one would want, im so glad i just sold my iphone 3G on Saturday now that i know multitasking is not available for it


----------



## Dr_AL (Apr 29, 2007)

The 4.0 beta is way more stable than the first 3.0 beta was last year. I can actually use my iPhone with 4.0. 

After 5 minutes of a custom background I went back to black.


----------



## Rounder (Aug 9, 2008)

Are you guys able to back up your iPhone in iTunes after using 4.0? Mine says the iPhone has refused the request...


----------



## keebler27 (Jan 5, 2007)

a7mc said:


> I agree. Think about it... what if you bought a brand new iMac less than 2 years ago, and they suddenly they stopped providing updates for it. I get that there are hardware limitations, but still. The 2G wasn't even mentioned... that means it will have NO upgrade path at all? When devices become obsolete before the contract they force us onto even ends, that's a very bad sign.
> 
> The whole keynote seemed like a pretty big money grab. Between forcing people to upgrade for the good stuff, and iBooks, iAds, and App store pushing, looks like Apple is getting to be just about the $$$.
> 
> ...


maybe it's b/c they think most folks have moved on from the 2G? There's nothing wrong in NOT doing that, but think of how many cell phones/gadgets people go through - i'm not saying it's right b/c we all know it's a waste, but I'm on my 4th cell phone and i'm not a power user. I think it's the nature of the beast.

And they are in business to make money and I think they see a market with the iads and everything else to make a ton of it.

It's up to us to decide if we're game to buy into that system 

I know i'll be suckered into buying the new iphone. doh!


----------



## motoyen (Aug 15, 2001)

Can we set our own sounds for SMS messages in 4.0?


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

initially i thought that maybe the 2g iphone couldn't run the iphone os 4 because of limitations with the 2g's processor or memory....which would be an acceptable explanation,

but a bit of reading seems to suggest that the 2g has the exact same processor & ram as the 3g... in which case that is totally INEXCUSABLE. (unless i'm missing some other technical drawback the 2g has)

i feel really put off by apple right now. that's disgusting treatment of their customers, and just downright greedy.


----------



## Rounder (Aug 9, 2008)

Is anyone with the 4.0 Beta on 3GS having WIFI issues? Do you have any suggestions that I could try to get WIFI working?


----------



## G-Mo (Sep 26, 2007)

It's a common issue, people have been posting about it on multiple forums... Here's one solution:
iPhone OS 4.0 WiFi issues


----------



## Rounder (Aug 9, 2008)

G-Mo said:


> It's a common issue, people have been posting about it on multiple forums... Here's one solution:
> iPhone OS 4.0 WiFi issues


Thank you G-Mo, I will try this when I get home in hopes that it fixes the problem


----------



## Elric (Jul 30, 2005)

i-rui said:


> initially i thought that maybe the 2g iphone couldn't run the iphone os 4 because of limitations with the 2g's processor or memory....which would be an acceptable explanation,
> 
> but a bit of reading seems to suggest that the 2g has the exact same processor & ram as the 3g... in which case that is totally INEXCUSABLE. (unless i'm missing some other technical drawback the 2g has)
> 
> i feel really put off by apple right now. that's disgusting treatment of their customers, and just downright greedy.


To be fair, the hardware in a 2G and 3G iPhone MAY very well be identical, but that explains why neither get the multitasking. The 3Gs has (I believe) double the RAM and whatnot. Also to be fair, the 3G IS 2 years old (in July), VERY outdated in the tech world.


----------



## Chookaboom (May 1, 2005)

While I have not seen any definitive list of what works and what does not on the various models of iPhone, it is interesting to note Steve's words from the keynotes:


3GS/iPod Touch 3rd Gen "they will run *pretty much* everything"

3G/iPod Touch 2nd Gen "they will run many things"

When he says "pretty much everything" in reference to the 3GS, it seems to imply that there will be features that are not supported there too… so what features will be brought to light that only the potential new iphone 4th Gen model supports. I guess we won't really know until closer to release, WWDC perhaps. 

I glance over at my trust 3G and wonder it it will soon be relegated to wifi only use for my kids' games, no wait, that is what that new iPad will be for when I get it.


----------



## G-Mo (Sep 26, 2007)

Chookaboom said:


> While I have not seen any definitive list of what works and what does not on the various models of iPhone, it is interesting to note Steve's words from the keynotes:
> 
> 
> 3GS/iPod Touch 3rd Gen "they will run *pretty much* everything"
> ...


As you say, note Steve's words from the keynote:

"So, iPhone 3G and iPod touch second generation will not support the multitasking the hardware just can't do it, but, *iPhone 3GS and iPod third generation will support everything you see today*."


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

Elric said:


> To be fair, the hardware in a 2G and 3G iPhone MAY very well be identical, but that explains why neither get the multitasking. The 3Gs has (I believe) double the RAM and whatnot. Also to be fair, the 3G IS 2 years old (in July), VERY outdated in the tech world.


i don't understand what you're trying to say in reference to my point. i know the 3G can't multitask (to a required performance standard) because of it's limited ram.
that makes sense. i have no problem with excluding devices that are no longer technically capable.

But the 3g can still run OS 4 (minus some features). But the 2g can't. And they have the same hardware (minus the 3g having 3g & a GPS...neither which affect the phones processor & ram to run an OS)

Crippling a device because it's a few years old does not fly in my books. It's greedy, and i'd hope that apple would be above just pure greed.

(p.s. incase anyone wonders, i have a 3G iphone and will be able to upgrade....my frustration has nothing to do with being a 2g iphone owner, only the principle)


----------



## G-Mo (Sep 26, 2007)

i-rui said:


> Crippling a device because it's a few years old does not fly in my books. It's greedy, and i'd hope that apple would be above just pure greed.


It's possible there is some other technical factor that "we" are unaware of that is precluding the original iPhone from running OS 4 with the same feature set as the iPhone 3G. If not, I have to agree with i-rui, it's in very bad taste to exclude original iPhone owners just for early adoption and force them to upgrade to get the latest features.


----------



## polywog (Aug 9, 2007)

G-Mo said:


> It's possible there is some other technical factor that "we" are unaware of that is precluding the original iPhone from running OS 4 with the same feature set as the iPhone 3G. If not, I have to agree with i-rui, it's in very bad taste to exclude original iPhone owners just for early adoption and force them to upgrade to get the latest features.


It was bound to happen with the iPhone, especially as they refreshed hardware. I personally don't expect them to hold the majority of the hardware back because of a 1st gen device. There is fun in being an early adopter, but there is a well known price to pay too. I think that a 3 year old device managed to see 3 major OS revisions is pretty spectacular.

Last I checked, about 8 months ago, there were no less than 5 OS versions floating around for Blackberry - from 4.5 to 5. Their 3 year old phones, heck even younger phones like the 8330 (not even 2 years old), cannot run OS 5.


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

i'm sorry, but people comparing apple to RIM or windows mobile is silly. I hold them to a higher standard. I expect more from them.

If there is no technical reason for holding back the iphone 2g then the reason is greed. IMO that isn't acceptable. Apple charges a premium rate, and i'm fine with paying that with the understanding that i get a greater return from it.


----------



## G-Mo (Sep 26, 2007)

polywog said:


> It was bound to happen with the iPhone, especially as they refreshed hardware. I personally don't expect them to hold the majority of the hardware back because of a 1st gen device. There is fun in being an early adopter, but there is a well known price to pay too. I think that a 3 year old device managed to see 3 major OS revisions is pretty spectacular.


The problem is, the Original iPhone* and the iPhone 3G have the same hardware (processor and RAM), therefor, it would seem like there is no technical reason why the Original cannot run the same flavour of iPhone OS 4 as the 3G. That's what's upsetting people, that from the outside looking in, it appears as though the Original is being is being excluded by choice not based on technical merit (perhaps to drive profits from upgrades??!).

* Retroactively, Original iPhone is the official name Apple has given the first generation iPhone, not iPhone 2G.


----------



## fyrefly (Apr 16, 2005)

I agree about the Original iPhone not supporting OS 4 is weird. But as far as I've heard, Apple hasn't officially confirmed that the 1st gen Ipod Touch and Original iPhone will not support OS 4. They've just been silent about it in general. So we'll see. 

Interestingly, it seems like iPhone 3G owners can get multitasking enabled by changing an argument in a plist file from false to true. So jailbreakers may be able to get multitasking close to on par with the iPhone 3GS. 

Enable OS 4.0 Native Multitasking on iPhone 3G | iPhone


----------



## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

fyrefly said:


> I agree about the Original iPhone not supporting OS 4 is weird. But as far as I've heard, Apple hasn't officially confirmed that the 1st gen Ipod Touch and Original iPhone will not support OS 4. They've just been silent about it in general. So we'll see.
> 
> Interestingly, it seems like iPhone 3G owners can get multitasking enabled by changing an argument in a plist file from false to true. So jailbreakers may be able to get multitasking close to on par with the iPhone 3GS.
> 
> Enable OS 4.0 Native Multitasking on iPhone 3G | iPhone


Nice, I love hackers.


----------



## biggyk (Jun 12, 2007)

wow, I hope thats true


----------



## MattOnDemand (Nov 5, 2008)

MLB At Bat 2010 crashes when going into gameday on 4.0.

The Rogers Account app also crashes.


----------



## Commodus (May 10, 2005)

Right now, you're definitely living on the edge if you install the 4.0 beta. It'll undo your folders on the iPhone if you sync with iTunes right now!

I like being on the edge, just not on the bleeding part of it.


----------



## smellybook (Aug 31, 2006)

*I can't help myself, against my own better judgment I*

find myself searching it & installing it...


----------



## MattOnDemand (Nov 5, 2008)

Commodus said:


> Right now, you're definitely living on the edge if you install the 4.0 beta. It'll undo your folders on the iPhone if you sync with iTunes right now!


hahaha i found out the hard way--when I wanted to install more apps I had in iTunes, it removed all my created folders. Booo!


----------



## andreww (Nov 20, 2002)

I find it very interesting that the devices with hardware exploits that have been deemed "jailbroken for life" are the very models that have been excluded from OS4. I think Apple is getting very serious about this and they are simply trying to phase out these phones, then control the rest with forced updates.


----------



## polywog (Aug 9, 2007)

Commodus said:


> Right now, you're definitely living on the edge if you install the 4.0 beta. It'll undo your folders on the iPhone if you sync with iTunes right now!
> 
> I like being on the edge, just not on the bleeding part of it.


I've read a few accounts of that happening, but haven't experienced it myself. I'd find it very hard to go back to the flat structure in the previous OSs even after just a few days with the folders.


---
EDIT:

Upon further reflexion - I haven't installed any apps through iTunes, nor have i tried to sort apps through the iTunes interface. Perhaps that's why I haven't noticed the problems others have?


----------



## fyrefly (Apr 16, 2005)

Turns out 'ol S. Jobs has e-mailed someone and said the Original iPhone *won't* get the iPhone OS 4 update:

Apple to drop support for 1st gen iPhone

Shame, really.  Though I bet Jailbreakers will find a way to get an iPhone 4.0 ispw onto an Original iPhone.


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

shame on apple.


----------



## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

Does everyone who bought a first generation iPhone _three years ago,_ expect to run a fourth generation OS? What other cell manufacturer does this? Shame on Apple? Puh-lease! Apple owes you squat. Your old iPhone still does what it can when you bought it so stop bitchin'


----------



## Elric (Jul 30, 2005)

i-rui said:


> shame on apple.


Shame on every cell phone company in existence... 



actually, I think Apple supported their phone longer than any other cell phone company. I never got a firmware update on my old Sony phones... even though they had obvious flaws... and they certainly never ADDED features...


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

if you guys had actually read the entire thread you'd know my stance on it and know that i actually have a 3g iphone and will be able to upgrade to OS 4, so it doesn't affect me directly, but i do have a BIG problem with it on principle.

As for the remarks about other manufacturers....well i'm pretty sure they didn't charge as much as apple does. Apple charges a premium and I (and i would hope most other consumers) would expect premium service.

If there is no technical reason for the original iphone not getting the update then the reason is pure greed. Do other companies act that way? maybe. But i always held apple to a higher standard.


----------



## Guest (Apr 12, 2010)

i-rui said:


> If there is no technical reason for the original iphone not getting the update then the reason is pure greed. Do other companies act that way? maybe. But i always held apple to a higher standard.


I think that _higher standard_ is a key phrase here .. I think that Apple has taken the higher standard route in not giving us multitasking on the 3G. It's slow enough running one app sometimes, maybe it's a case of extremely sub-par performance if it was enabled on the 3G and it doesn't meet up to Apple's user experience standards. People that have done the hack to enable multitasking on the iPhone OS 4.0 preview probably know better than I do about this, it's just a guess ... but I imagine there's a reason that this hardware is not going to get multitasking. Either the processor is missing an important feature (which is possible) or it just plain can't cut it performance wise.

I know that my iPhone 3G lags really really bad a lot of times, I can't imagine how bad it would be with all kinds of apps running, would be mostly unusable.


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

mguertin said:


> I think that _higher standard_ is a key phrase here .. I think that Apple has taken the higher standard route in not giving us multitasking on the 3G. It's slow enough running one app sometimes, maybe it's a case of extremely sub-par performance if it was enabled on the 3G and it doesn't meet up to Apple's user experience standards. People that have done the hack to enable multitasking on the iPhone OS 4.0 preview probably know better than I do about this, it's just a guess ... but I imagine there's a reason that this hardware is not going to get multitasking. Either the processor is missing an important feature (which is possible) or it just plain can't cut it performance wise.
> 
> I know that my iPhone 3G lags really really bad a lot of times, I can't imagine how bad it would be with all kinds of apps running, would be mostly unusable.


i agree with all of that. i don't have a problem with multi tasking not being on the 3g...there just isn't enough ram.

But that has nothing to do with the original iphone not getting the update. it has the exact same tech specs as the iphone 3g. It should be able to run the exact same non-multitask version of os 4 as a 3g iphone.


----------



## whatiwant (Feb 21, 2008)

i-rui said:


> but that has nothing to do with the original iphone not getting the update. It has the exact same tech specs as the iphone 3g. It should be able to run the exact same non-multitask version of os 4 as a 3g iphone.


+1


----------



## andreww (Nov 20, 2002)

Bjornbro said:


> Does everyone who bought a first generation iPhone _three years ago,_ expect to run a fourth generation OS? What other cell manufacturer does this? Shame on Apple? Puh-lease! Apple owes you squat. Your old iPhone still does what it can when you bought it so stop bitchin'


Fair enough, but you are using the date that the 1st gen iPhone went on sale. Plenty of users purchased the 2G just a little over a year ago, and many more are still under contract. Sure other companies may never upgrade software, but Apple isn't just any other company. And yes, I do hold them to a higher standard than any other company. This may not seem like a big deal right now, but wait until OS4 hits the streets. You can bet that the majority of the new apps will require 4.0 to run, so essentially a very expensive, and quite capable device is being forcibly retired because Apple is being greedy. Remember, the iPhone was never marketed as just a phone, its the endless supply of apps that make it what it is. People aren't stupid, and one day they will get pissed off enough to see Apple for what they are becoming. Greedy and shady.


----------



## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

andreww said:


> People aren't stupid, and one day they will get pissed off enough to see Apple for what they are becoming. Greedy and shady.


Well then that's great. Let people vote with their dollars. In the mean time, as an Apple shareholder, I want Apple to make as much profit as possible and that means, sell _new_ hardware. :greedy:


----------



## fyrefly (Apr 16, 2005)

While I agree that it's weird and crummy that Apple is not letting people update their Original iPhones to OS 4 (They are after all almost-identical on the inside to the 3G models).

It's also true that people who bought Original iPhones already have devices that let them do 10x the stuff the device let them do when they bought it. iPhone OS 3 is still light years ahead. It crap, but Apple is asking that people who have had their iPhones for 2+ years pay if they want the latest and greatest. 

Are the Original iPhones suddenly going to stop working and die (a la many Time Capsules)? No, it's not. It's still gonna make calls, receive e-mails, surf via Mobile Safari, and even do thousands of amazing things via the App store that the Original iPhone was never advertised (or purchased based on it) being able to do.

It's crap, yes. It'd be nicer if Apple supported the Orignal iPhone with OS 4. But do they *owe* it to iPhone purchasers? Not IMHO. The iPhone will still do great things, and in the cell phone world 3 year old phones are dinosaurs.


----------



## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

As a first-day-of-issue iPhone 2G owner, I'm not at all bothered by the news that OS4 won't be supported. I don't think it was an arbitrary decision on Apple's part at all; it has much more to do with operating speed, working RAM, future developments and location awareness (among other factors). Primarily, the main thing I think that drives Apple to make these sorts of decisions is the quality of the *overall experience.* OS4 might technically run on a 2G iphone with hobbled features, but time will quickly make the experience slide downhill. Apple is sooooo not into that, which I will admit contributes to faster obsolescence.

OTOH, a quick poll of my friends with cell phones reveals that three years is a bit HIGHER than the average lifespan of a cell phone for the people I chatted with. My wife routinely gets amazed remarks when mentioning that she's had her Nokia for more than four years (and would dearly love a replacement, but that's not a high priority right now).

Cell phones seem to be fairly disposable objects, so I don't think its unreasonable for Apple to make the 2G obsolete after three years. It will continue to work fine for the foreseeable future and I would even guess that a majority of apps that currently support the original iPhone will continue to support it for a couple of years yet, so those of us who are now "stuck" at 3.1.3 are in the same boat as people on Leopard -- slowly sinking, perhaps, but plenty of time till the inevitable happens.


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

chas_m said:


> As a first-day-of-issue iPhone 2G owner, I'm not at all bothered by the news that OS4 won't be supported. I don't think it was an arbitrary decision on Apple's part at all; it has much more to do with operating speed, working RAM, future developments and location awareness (among other factors).


i would agree with you if someone (anyone?) can point to any credible facts that would prove that the original iphone does not have the same technical specs of the iphone 3g. "operating speed & working ram" can't really be factors if the 3g has the exact same processor & ram, can it? 

i'd also point out this :

Apple - Environment

if apple wants to be a leader as a green company (which i applaud if they're sincere about it) then they really should learn about the first two 'R's......reduce & reuse. i'd suggest that crippling a device for no reason other than greed runs contrary to that way of thinking.


----------



## irontree (Oct 28, 2006)

I can already multitask with my iPhone 3G... stream the hockey game in the background (internet radio) while completely free to go on facebook, or play a game at the same time- while still able to receive notifications from eBuddy... I don't need more multitasking than that LOL but everybody's needs are different I suppose.


----------



## Elric (Jul 30, 2005)

irontree said:


> I can already multitask with my iPhone 3G... stream the hockey game in the background (internet radio) while completely free to go on facebook, or play a game at the same time- while still able to receive notifications from eBuddy... I don't need more multitasking than that LOL but everybody's needs are different I suppose.


I too used to do that, but very quickly does the snappiness wear off, I found myself having to reboot my phone every couple of hours because of performance degradation.

This is probably what Apple wants to avoid. Annoying the customer with "windows fixes"... is not a good thing.


----------



## Elric (Jul 30, 2005)

i-rui said:


> Apple charges a premium and I (and i would hope most other consumers) would expect premium service.


My iPhone 3G on release date=$199 3 year contract

My SONY Ericsson a year after release=$319 3 Year contract

iPhone support/upgrades=7ish? with free and 99 cent apps and games and free ringtones with MY music
SONY support/upgrades=0 with stale games for 9.99 and I actually had to hack it in order to get ANY music on it and it was a WALKMAN PHONE!

Personal Conclusion=Apple does not charge a premium price but you get premium service.


----------



## andreww (Nov 20, 2002)

Comparing what Apple does to other companies is not valid IMO. Apple has become who they are by providing their customers with services that their competitors could only dream of. Sure apple products are expensive (some say overpriced), but they have always had a much longer lifespan than their competition. If you become content with apple giving you exactly what other companies do, apple will simply become one of those companies.


----------



## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

andreww said:


> Comparing what Apple does to other companies is not valid IMO
> 
> _~ snip ~_
> 
> ...apple products are expensive (some say overpriced)...


Contradicting? How can Apple be expensive or overpriced if there's no one to compare to? If Apple is alone in what they do, then the price is the price.

(I know I'm nitpicking details.)


----------



## andreww (Nov 20, 2002)

Spoken like a true mac fan boy


----------



## irontree (Oct 28, 2006)

Elric said:


> I too used to do that, but very quickly does the snappiness wear off, I found myself having to reboot my phone every couple of hours because of performance degradation.
> 
> This is probably what Apple wants to avoid. Annoying the customer with "windows fixes"... is not a good thing.


I've never had any issues... No noticeable lag or latency of any kind.


----------



## Guest (Apr 14, 2010)

irontree said:


> I've never had any issues... No noticeable lag or latency of any kind.


I have latency/lag issues with my 3G constantly, especially when any multitasking is happening (like using Navigon with iTunes playing in the background). I reboot it at least a few times a week.


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

mguertin said:


> I have latency/lag issues with my 3G constantly, especially when any multitasking is happening (like using Navigon with iTunes playing in the background). I reboot it at least a few times a week.


i have a lot of lag on my 3g as well.... but i've always chalked that up to it being jailbroken (and running a lot of extra stuff)


----------



## Guest (Apr 14, 2010)

i-rui said:


> i have a lot of lag on my 3g as well.... but i've always chalked that up to it being jailbroken (and running a lot of extra stuff)


Mine's not jailbroken and it is running only official stuff from the App store. Sometimes even pressing the home button to wake it up or to return to the home screen while another app is running can result in a 4-5 second pause before it either wakes up or returns to the home screen. When it gets that bad I reboot, and then it's bit better ... for a while. I've done re-installs, etc and nothing helped, it always ends up like this.

I'm holding out for the new iPhone they should be releasing this summer .. until then I'll limp along on my "old" 3G


----------



## wilecoyote (May 25, 2008)

mguertin said:


> Mine's not jailbroken and it is running only official stuff from the App store. Sometimes even pressing the home button to wake it up or to return to the home screen while another app is running can result in a 4-5 second pause before it either wakes up or returns to the home screen. When it gets that bad I reboot, and then it's bit better ... for a while. I've done re-installs, etc and nothing helped, it always ends up like this.
> 
> I'm holding out for the new iPhone they should be releasing this summer .. until then I'll limp along on my "old" 3G


I'm experiencing the same thing - sometimes my 3G is very responsive, but at least once every few days it gets very slow. The thing I notice the most is that in any app where I have to enter text, it just halts for a few seconds, then suddenly catches up. It's very annoying.

The one thing I've noticed is that when this happens, I often also notice a marked shortening of the battery life. So I think that some process is left doing something in the background, but I haven't figure out what it is yet. 

I've heard that there is an app that will tell you every process currently running on the phone - maybe that will help me get to the bottom of it.

But I'm also anxiously waiting for the next gen phone.


----------



## Guest (Apr 14, 2010)

wilecoyote said:


> I'm experiencing the same thing - sometimes my 3G is very responsive, but at least once every few days it gets very slow. The thing I notice the most is that in any app where I have to enter text, it just halts for a few seconds, then suddenly catches up. It's very annoying.
> 
> The one thing I've noticed is that when this happens, I often also notice a marked shortening of the battery life. So I think that some process is left doing something in the background, but I haven't figure out what it is yet.


Yep, the same experience here. Sometimes when initially bringing up the on-screen keyboard I see a lag of 5 seconds or more until the keyboard initializes, and then sometimes another 2-3 seconds before anything I type shows up in the text field and then it does a big fast catch-up of what I've typed (sometimes missing some chars).

Something is wheezing the juice, but it's nothing consistent from what I can figure out.


----------



## irontree (Oct 28, 2006)

mguertin said:


> I have latency/lag issues with my 3G constantly, especially when any multitasking is happening (like using Navigon with iTunes playing in the background). I reboot it at least a few times a week.


Mind you in the background I'm streaming a very low bitrate AM radio station in safari so it can't be too demanding while in games are facebook. I have a 3G and it's not Jailbroken.


----------



## Elric (Jul 30, 2005)

irontree said:


> Mind you in the background I'm streaming a very low bitrate AM radio station in safari so it can't be too demanding while in games are facebook. I have a 3G and it's not Jailbroken.


How are you in Facebook and streaming in safari if you aren't jailbroken?


----------



## Guest (Apr 15, 2010)

Elric said:


> How are you in Facebook and streaming in safari if you aren't jailbroken?


Safari can play audio in the background since OS 3.x


----------



## kkritsilas (Mar 1, 2010)

I personally believe that a lot of the latency/lagging issues are related to the OS itself, and in particular the OS not freeing up RAM after an application has been stopped/closed. I have downloaded iStat from the app store, and when my iPhone 3G gets slow, or I start to see uneven responses and I look at the iStat device information, the amount of free Ram is down to 3-5 MB. When I restart the phone, going to iStat directly without starting any other applications shows 38MB free. This is a standard 3G 16GB flash memory phone, no jailbreaks or anything. All the apps that I have (23) are from the App Store.

Apple may end up fixing this in OS 4.0, as this memory leaking will be a major problem in an OS that is designed to multitask. Fixing this issue, along with having Safari cache web pages would really help the 3G become more responsive, even if it won't be permitted to multitask.

Kostas


----------



## irontree (Oct 28, 2006)

mguertin said:


> Safari can play audio in the background since OS 3.x


Yep! I also use Wunderadio from time to time which gives you the option to background stream some stations from Safari. Great app btw!


----------



## wilecoyote (May 25, 2008)

kkritsilas said:


> I personally believe that a lot of the latency/lagging issues are related to the OS itself, and in particular the OS not freeing up RAM after an application has been stopped/closed. I have downloaded iStat from the app store, and when my iPhone 3G gets slow, or I start to see uneven responses and I look at the iStat device information, the amount of free Ram is down to 3-5 MB. When I restart the phone, going to iStat directly without starting any other applications shows 38MB free. This is a standard 3G 16GB flash memory phone, no jailbreaks or anything. All the apps that I have (23) are from the App Store.
> 
> Apple may end up fixing this in OS 4.0, as this memory leaking will be a major problem in an OS that is designed to multitask. Fixing this issue, along with having Safari cache web pages would really help the 3G become more responsive, even if it won't be permitted to multitask.
> 
> Kostas


That makes a lot of sense - it's kind of what I suspected, although I'd love to figure out if it's one or two bad apps that leak because sometimes I can go for much longer before seeing a problem. I guess it's possible that when the available RAM gets very low there is a lot more swapping which reduces battery life? Because I also notice much higher battery drain when it's in this bad state.

Maybe I'll have a look for iStat and see if I can figure out a pattern.


----------



## kkritsilas (Mar 1, 2010)

The memory leaking sort of fits with what a lot of people are seeing, and in the grand scheme of things. 

-Restarting the iPhone after a power down forces the unused memory to be released, which is why after a restart, all of the stuttering/lag problems go away.

-The 3GS has 256MB of RAM vs. the 128MB of Ram in the iPhone 2G/3G. This probably means that the 3GS will be able to run a lot more applications before the free memory is reduced to the point of impacting peformance. As per my above experience, I have 38MB free after a restart. I would think that the 3GS would have at least 160MB free (if the OS in the 3GS takes up the same memory as it does on the 3G, i.e. 90MB or so). Much of the 3Gs's performance improvements are probably due to the faster CPU, but I would be willing to bet that some of the performance improvement is due to the increased amount of on-board RAM.

-Memory fragmentation will be a serious issue on any iPhone that multitasks. WIth multiple applications in memory at the same time, and some running in the background (audio, etc.), memory leaking will really impact responsiveness, and probably cause a lot of hangs/crashes. I thnk that iPhone OS4 will fix this problem, because it absolutely has to. The one thing that I am unsure of is whether iPhone OS4 will be available for the 3G (abeit without multitasking), or will it only be for the 3GS and new iPhone. If it is available on the 3G, it should still be a significant improvement, even without multitasking, as long as the routines to free up memory are still included.

Have any of the folks running jailbroken iPhones noticed the same sort of problems with memory leaking? Are there applications on the jailbroken iPhones that will clear out unused memory, and if so, does the iPhone work better after the routines are run?

Kostas


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

kkritsilas said:


> Have any of the folks running jailbroken iPhones noticed the same sort of problems with memory leaking? Are there applications on the jailbroken iPhones that will clear out unused memory, and if so, does the iPhone work better after the routines are run?
> 
> Kostas


yes, there's an app called 'm quick duo'...which does a few things, but one of them is it allows you to see all apps that have memory being used.

The phone app is always running, but even starting safari, mail, ipod (and maybe one or 2 others) will keep part of those programs partially using memory. 'm quick do' allows you to fully quit those programs.


----------



## capjap (Jan 22, 2009)

I searched for m quick duo and it is not coming up....is there another spelling of it ?


----------

