This is what bothers me about iOS devices the most.

Unlike the Mac OSX upgrades, iOS upgrades seem to slow down the devices. iOS upgrades turned my 3G into an unusable mess. The same happened with my iPad 1.

My iPhone 4 slowed down noticeably with iOS 6.0, and even though I stopped upgrading after 6.0.1, it's been getting progressively slower-- and 95% of what I do on my phone is email, rss and browsing.

> iOS upgrades turned my 3G into an unusable mess

It's their strategy to push us to consume ever more goddamn iPhones. We need to stop that.

I have to admit, I found it extremely refreshing how the last couple of OS upgrades for Android actually made my Nexus 7 faster.

Stop advancing software because people want to run a seven year old hardware platform?

I have a 3 year "recycle" policy with my own hardware. My iPad 1 became unusable in less than 3 years. It doesn't feel good to spend ~$800 (a 64gb wifi with taxes in) on a device only to have it ruined by OS upgrades.

If Apple let you downgrade the OS easily, I probably wouldn't be nearly as pissed about it.

--edit-- In retrospect, I feel like a fool for plunking the extra $ for the 64GB model, thinking that it would help 'future proof' my purchase.

> Stop advancing software

Nobody said that. Apple can "advance" software for the newer devices and just patch the security holes for the older ones. Nobody's asking for downgrades.

I'm running Windows 8 on my 2007-era notebook. Runs a lot faster than the copy of Vista it was designed for, actually.

Your 3GS has nothing to do with the iPhone 5S. iOS 7 was probably designed with the iPhone 5 in mind. The 3GS probably had support hacked together.

I think that at this point, you can stop using a 4 year old phone. Or, if you insist on using it, you shouldn't complain if modern software doesn't run 100% on it.

> I think that at this point, you can stop using a 4 year old phone.

You sound like an Apple salesman. Who the hell says 4 years is old? It worked PERFECTLY WELL.

> Or, if you insist on using it, you shouldn't complain if modern software doesn't run 100% on it.

It's Apple who pushes consumers the whole time with "upgrades". Besides, all the consumer is asking for is security patches. If "upgrades" do effectively downgrade the product, then why do the produce this "modern software"? Because the want to sell the latest iPhone.

Well then, let's stop advancing technology now because you think it's fine where it is. Let's stop writing more feature-packed programs because hey, features cost resources. I'm sure you're using a recycled computer running Puppy Linux or something else ridiculously resource effective but lacking in features, am I right? I doubt it. But if you are, you're in the MINORITY.

What do you want from Apple? For them to support every single phone in different ways? Security patches for the first iPhone but no new features? Same for the 3GS? And if customers with the 3GS complain about having no new features, well then, let's do ANOTHER fork and do security patches + features. Why then, let's do that for every single model.

Four years is old. That's the difference between having a kid and watching them go off to school. If you can't buy a new phone after 4 years, then don't. But quit bitching that it isn't rainbows for you.

> Who the hell says 4 years is old?

Usually, your carrier, who after three years or so will toss you a new phone for free, in exchange for renewing that contract.

Running Beta might not reflect the true battery impact on the device. But 4x more battery consumption sounds pretty bad.

I think the grandparent is speaking of iOS 6. iOS 7 has iPhone 4 as the minimum requirement.

Yes, version 6.1.3 to be precise.

Just don't do it.

Hell, I would add that you shouldn't do it on an iPhone 4.

Thankfully, my wife's iPhone 4S is about as fast as it was when she got it, because she hasn't done any OS upgrades on it at all.

Probably time to move past the 3GS. I certainly don't want Apple to waste resources supporting phones that old.

Are you kidding me?

1. That phone is NOT old. Who says we should buy a new phone every time some company wants to make some cash? The thing worked great and there was absolutely nothing that needed to be changed.

2. I do NOT want to be part of a throw-away society that benefits nobody but some company. Our planet does NOT have unlimited resources, yet we keep throwing away electronics like there's no tomorrow.

This STINKS!

I think you've been reading the egregiously inaccurate and agenda driven Story of Stuff.

Then don't upgrade the software on your phone either. You consume energy every time you upgrade, further depleting our planet of its finite supply of resources.

Guess what:

The consumer expects "upgrades" to actually upgrade the device, as in "making it better" not worse.

And: Apple prevents us from downgrading once we understand the surprise we got, after pushing for "upgrades" all the time.

Also, the consumer needs updates to keep the devices bugs/security holes patched.

The consumer is damned lucky that Apple even bothers to support phones beyond the last two generations.

If they did what they probably should have done, your phone would have reported, "Sorry, this update is not supported by your device," when you tried to install the latest iOS version. Then we'd be treated to even more wailing and gnashing of teeth from people who feel entitled to perpetual updates. Apple literally can't win here.

Edit: I will agree that they could 'win' by the simple expedient of permitting OS downgrades. There's no reason they couldn't let you revert to the last version you were happy with.

FYI: the 3GS was sold until September last year. I have non-techie friends who bought one. Probably in the reasonable expectation that a phone that is still being sold (and not in the aftermarket) gets updates for a while.