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I use iOS 6.1.3 on an iPhone 4S, jailbroken and running offline apps, syncing with iTunes 10.6.3 over USB, no iCloud. It worked great 6 years ago, and it still

I use iOS 6.1.3 on an iPhone 4S, jailbroken and running offline apps, syncing with iTunes 10.6.3 over USB, no iCloud. It worked great 6 years ago, and it still works now. I'm not persuaded by the "updates" Apple keep trying to tell me to run; I think I'll lose more features and stability and battery life and USB sync, and not gain anything of any practical purpose to me. If Android had USB sync, I'd consider converting. But swapping one cloud ecosystem for another just doesn't work for me, I want to keep my data offline.

runeks 9y ago
Aren’t you missing a lot of security updates, though? Or does Apple backport these to previous iOS versions? E.g. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/07/broadcom-chip-bug-opened-1-billion-phones-to-a-wi-fi-hopping-worm-attack/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/07/broad...
- endemic 9y ago
  You do miss the security updates. The trade-off is you have a device that isn’t dog slow. Today I tried using an an old iPad 2 that was upgraded to iOS 7. It was literally unusable.
y4mi 9y ago
> If Android had USB sync, I'd consider converting. But swapping one cloud ecosystem for another just doesn't work for me, I want to keep my data offline. Uuuh,it does last time I checked. You can even create backups with debug enabled. Nobody uses it though because plugging the phone to the PC is annoying. You are also not required to use the Google drive services for file syncing. Setting up an owncloud server gives you pretty much the same benefits and interactions that gdrive provides
- mjevans 9y ago
  Andorid phones (the modern ones anyway) do support the MTP protocol... but it's horrid if you're trying to do something like transfer large files for storage of any type; it's like it was written with the old 4GB file limits in mind.
  - josteink 9y ago
    Iirc «adb backup» is a command these days and it doesn’t rely on MTP.
    - tortasaur 9y ago
      Google has an adb-sync script that works really well.
- interfixus 9y ago
  https://syncthing.net/ https://syncthing.net/ I never think about it. If it's on my phone, it's on my PC.
  - peterburkimsher 9y ago
    What do you use to manage your music library? I don't just need a backup option, I need apps that can manage my music/contacts/calendar databases.
    - tgragnato 9y ago
      OwnCloud / NextCloud includes native support for CalDAV and CardDAV (using SabreDAV internally). You can synchronize your music library too.
- bane 9y ago
  If you really need to transfer files to-from your phone just install an ftp server or something on it and remote into it. I do it all the time and it's great. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.icecoldapps.serversultimate&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.icecoldapp...
Yizahi 9y ago
I was using 4S with 6.x until a year ago too.
lokelow 9y ago
I have an up to date 4s, but that means iOS 9.3.5. It works great, only problem is web browsing. Most sites load too much junk and can crash the phone. Brave is the only browser I can use, and it works pretty good for most sites.
- nmstoker 9y ago
  On another practical point: isn't your battery completely shot by now? I've never seen a phone where it isn't obviously somewhat impaired after 2 years, so what is it like on something that's 3 to 6 years old? Or do you get it replaced often?
  - majewsky 9y ago
    I had a Nexus 4 from 2013-2016 (so three years) and now have a OnePlus One (for 1.5 years now), and I didn't observe any loss of battery capacity on either.
  - brookside 9y ago
    I would assume replaced often. But replacing, not getting it replaced. At least on my 5 it is a few screws worth of work to swap.
  - peterburkimsher 9y ago
    I tried to buy a replacement battery, but that expanded dangerously until I noticed marks coming from behind the screen, so I popped open the case to have a look and promptly removed it. I use a Third Rail case, so I can recharge easily. I don't use 3G, and all my apps work offline. https://www.amazon.com/Third-Rail-Protective-Compatible-Rechargeable/dp/B0050SHBOU https://www.amazon.com/Third-Rail-Protective-Compatible-Rech... One of the reasons I still like my phone is because of that case. I wish there was something similar for another phone. The external batteries also have microUSB in and out, so I can charge friends' phones too.
ungzd 9y ago
> If Android had USB sync It has, but last time I tried it (on Galaxy Nexus with Android 4.x), it was completely unusable. Transfers freezed and crashed all the time. I was unable to upload a single music album even after few tries.
elsurudo 9y ago
I use a 4S with 7, but decided not to upgrade further. There was a performance decrease from 6 to 7, but it's still very usable.

runeks 9y ago

Aren’t you missing a lot of security updates, though? Or does Apple backport these to previous iOS versions? E.g. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/07/broadcom-chip-bug-opened-1-billion-phones-to-a-wi-fi-hopping-worm-attack/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/07/broad...

endemic 9y ago
You do miss the security updates. The trade-off is you have a device that isn’t dog slow. Today I tried using an an old iPad 2 that was upgraded to iOS 7. It was literally unusable.

y4mi 9y ago

> If Android had USB sync, I'd consider converting. But swapping one cloud ecosystem for another just doesn't work for me, I want to keep my data offline. Uuuh,it does last time I checked. You can even create backups with debug enabled. Nobody uses it though because plugging the phone to the PC is annoying. You are also not required to use the Google drive services for file syncing. Setting up an owncloud server gives you pretty much the same benefits and interactions that gdrive provides

mjevans 9y ago
Andorid phones (the modern ones anyway) do support the MTP protocol... but it's horrid if you're trying to do something like transfer large files for storage of any type; it's like it was written with the old 4GB file limits in mind.
- josteink 9y ago
  Iirc «adb backup» is a command these days and it doesn’t rely on MTP.
  - tortasaur 9y ago
    Google has an adb-sync script that works really well.
interfixus 9y ago
https://syncthing.net/ https://syncthing.net/ I never think about it. If it's on my phone, it's on my PC.
- peterburkimsher 9y ago
  What do you use to manage your music library? I don't just need a backup option, I need apps that can manage my music/contacts/calendar databases.
  - tgragnato 9y ago
    OwnCloud / NextCloud includes native support for CalDAV and CardDAV (using SabreDAV internally). You can synchronize your music library too.
bane 9y ago
If you really need to transfer files to-from your phone just install an ftp server or something on it and remote into it. I do it all the time and it's great. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.icecoldapps.serversultimate&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.icecoldapp...

Yizahi 9y ago

I was using 4S with 6.x until a year ago too.

lokelow 9y ago

I have an up to date 4s, but that means iOS 9.3.5. It works great, only problem is web browsing. Most sites load too much junk and can crash the phone. Brave is the only browser I can use, and it works pretty good for most sites.

nmstoker 9y ago
On another practical point: isn't your battery completely shot by now? I've never seen a phone where it isn't obviously somewhat impaired after 2 years, so what is it like on something that's 3 to 6 years old? Or do you get it replaced often?
- majewsky 9y ago
  I had a Nexus 4 from 2013-2016 (so three years) and now have a OnePlus One (for 1.5 years now), and I didn't observe any loss of battery capacity on either.
- brookside 9y ago
  I would assume replaced often. But replacing, not getting it replaced. At least on my 5 it is a few screws worth of work to swap.
- peterburkimsher 9y ago
  I tried to buy a replacement battery, but that expanded dangerously until I noticed marks coming from behind the screen, so I popped open the case to have a look and promptly removed it. I use a Third Rail case, so I can recharge easily. I don't use 3G, and all my apps work offline. https://www.amazon.com/Third-Rail-Protective-Compatible-Rechargeable/dp/B0050SHBOU https://www.amazon.com/Third-Rail-Protective-Compatible-Rech... One of the reasons I still like my phone is because of that case. I wish there was something similar for another phone. The external batteries also have microUSB in and out, so I can charge friends' phones too.

ungzd 9y ago

> If Android had USB sync It has, but last time I tried it (on Galaxy Nexus with Android 4.x), it was completely unusable. Transfers freezed and crashed all the time. I was unable to upload a single music album even after few tries.

elsurudo 9y ago

I use a 4S with 7, but decided not to upgrade further. There was a performance decrease from 6 to 7, but it's still very usable.