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As the article says, it's all about model differentiation. The 4S is a fine upgrade, but it would be far less interesting to current iPhone 4 owners if Siri was

As the article says, it's all about model differentiation. The 4S is a fine upgrade, but it would be far less interesting to current iPhone 4 owners if Siri wasn't a 4S exclusive. Apple can plaster a lot of environment-blah blah on their website, but they (but also most Android vendors) are the anti-thesis of sustainability. Encouraging people to upgrade frequently, and quickly deprecating old models. E.g. my girlfriend's 3G is in a fine state hardware-wise, will probably function well for a few more years, but there are no more security updates. (A mostly happy iPhone 4 user.)

spicyj 15y ago
Note that the 3G is almost 3.5 years old now and few people still use it.
- RainFlutter 15y ago
  But this is exactly his point. Only in mobile devices is 3 years considered old to the point of irrelevance, and Android is far worse, closer to 3 months. It can be justified on technological or economic grounds, but either way, environmental sustainability considerations clearly don't enter into the equation.
  - juliano_q 15y ago
    3 months for an Android phone be irrelevant is absolutely not true. My girlfriend has a Galaxy S (released June 2010) that runs every single game in the Android Market perfectly and was updated to Gingerbread (and maybe will be updated to ICS). It is not the best device out there but is still very relevant and she doesn't see a single reason to buy a new device.
- checker 15y ago
  My 4 was stolen and I got a used 3G off eBay for $100. Reasonable price, but it is frustratingly slow with iOS 4.2.1. The Facebook app is unusable. The 3G is definitely obsolete by now.
  - derefr 15y ago
    Downgrade it to 3.1.3. My 3G feels as snappy as when I first got it. (Though, of course, you can't run some apps that require iOS4, e.g. Twitter.)
    - Splines 15y ago
      Definitely do this, unless you have an extremely critical must-have application that requires iOS 4. The perf "gains" from going back to 3.1.3 make the phone non-irritating again.
    - JimDabell 15y ago
      I don't believe you can downgrade to 3.1.3 any more. When you restore an OS image, iTunes checks whether it is a valid image with Apple's servers. After a major version has been out for a while, Apple stop approving installs of older versions.
      - checker 15y ago
        I might go the jailbreak route if it enables me to do that.
    - checker 15y ago
      Wow, thank you for the suggestion! I'll definitely be trying it. I can survive with webapp Twitter until my next upgrade (or even next year for the new iPhone if it's bearable enough).
- sjs 15y ago
  Here in Canada where the oligopoly of telcos locks you into 3 year contracts many people in my family still use their 3GS. In fact everyone in my immediate family with an iPhone has the 3GS (as did I until May when mine broke). Also worth noting that the 3GS has been sold up until this very day. Some Canadians have been upgrading from the iPhone 3G this fall as well, which was sold up until summer 2010. My coworker just got a 4S and gave his 3G to his mom who now loves it. I have no idea what it's like in SF and other similar places but there's a big world outside of California.
  - chollida1 15y ago
    > Here in Canada where the oligopoly of telcos locks you into 3 year contracts many people in my family still use their 3GS. Yep, can't stress this point enough and I don't know if its specific to Canada or not. I just got off my contract with a 3G iPhone in September of this year. That phone was really starting to show it's age.
- recoiledsnake 15y ago
  You're looking at only the launch date, whereas there are still people who are locked into carrier contracts after having bought it. AT&T stopped selling it only in June 2010 which is not even a year and half back. http://www.bgr.com/2010/06/04/att-officially-stops-selling-iphone-3g/ http://www.bgr.com/2010/06/04/att-officially-stops-selling-i...
- mrtron 15y ago
  My wife still uses the original iphone. Still works great, but can no longer be upgraded.
nodata 15y ago
Yes, that's why I wrote that "There's no technical limitation here"...
- meric 15y ago
  He didn't sound like he disagree. His comment sounded more like a second paragraph you didn't write.
maigret 15y ago
Very good comment. Why then doesn't Apple make Siri an expensive app to compensate? My iPhone4 batteries will be dead in one year anyway, so I'll have to get a new one. In the meantime, I'd like to get Siri for even 50$ or more. And on my iPad 2 also. Apple needs to be more sustainable. That may mean increase their prices, fine, but that would be better for the environment.
xenophanes 15y ago
So when iPhone 5 comes out, and it has its own new features to sell itself, do you think they'll enable siri on everything they can?
- Tyrannosaurs 15y ago
  No. The differentiation is between the various models available (3GS, 4 and 4S, all on sale), not the latest one and everything else. If they stick with the current pattern the line up when the 5 launches will likely be 4, 4S and 5. Apple will want clear reasons why you'd choose each one over the model below it. Putting Siri on everything would undermine that - you still want a reason for people to spend a little more on the 4S rather than settling for the 4.
- glhaynes 15y ago
  Siri as an exclusive for 4S and 5 owners will still incentivize users of previous models to upgrade.
oleganza 15y ago
Apple customers are responsible for environment at least as much as Apple or more. If you don't like how Apple treats environment, you don't buy their products. If you think it's not good for environment to upgrade every year or two, don't buy new phone. Apple's care of environment does not matter if you decide to buy another device. They can only minimize the damage customers will cause.
- gsivil 15y ago
  Humans tend to have opinions even for things that they do not buy. And their opinions can be of more interest/use when they have to do with massively popular products.

spicyj 15y ago

Note that the 3G is almost 3.5 years old now and few people still use it.

RainFlutter 15y ago
But this is exactly his point. Only in mobile devices is 3 years considered old to the point of irrelevance, and Android is far worse, closer to 3 months. It can be justified on technological or economic grounds, but either way, environmental sustainability considerations clearly don't enter into the equation.
- juliano_q 15y ago
  3 months for an Android phone be irrelevant is absolutely not true. My girlfriend has a Galaxy S (released June 2010) that runs every single game in the Android Market perfectly and was updated to Gingerbread (and maybe will be updated to ICS). It is not the best device out there but is still very relevant and she doesn't see a single reason to buy a new device.
checker 15y ago
My 4 was stolen and I got a used 3G off eBay for $100. Reasonable price, but it is frustratingly slow with iOS 4.2.1. The Facebook app is unusable. The 3G is definitely obsolete by now.
- derefr 15y ago
  Downgrade it to 3.1.3. My 3G feels as snappy as when I first got it. (Though, of course, you can't run some apps that require iOS4, e.g. Twitter.)
  - Splines 15y ago
    Definitely do this, unless you have an extremely critical must-have application that requires iOS 4. The perf "gains" from going back to 3.1.3 make the phone non-irritating again.
  - JimDabell 15y ago
    I don't believe you can downgrade to 3.1.3 any more. When you restore an OS image, iTunes checks whether it is a valid image with Apple's servers. After a major version has been out for a while, Apple stop approving installs of older versions.
    - checker 15y ago
      I might go the jailbreak route if it enables me to do that.
  - checker 15y ago
    Wow, thank you for the suggestion! I'll definitely be trying it. I can survive with webapp Twitter until my next upgrade (or even next year for the new iPhone if it's bearable enough).
sjs 15y ago
Here in Canada where the oligopoly of telcos locks you into 3 year contracts many people in my family still use their 3GS. In fact everyone in my immediate family with an iPhone has the 3GS (as did I until May when mine broke). Also worth noting that the 3GS has been sold up until this very day. Some Canadians have been upgrading from the iPhone 3G this fall as well, which was sold up until summer 2010. My coworker just got a 4S and gave his 3G to his mom who now loves it. I have no idea what it's like in SF and other similar places but there's a big world outside of California.
- chollida1 15y ago
  > Here in Canada where the oligopoly of telcos locks you into 3 year contracts many people in my family still use their 3GS. Yep, can't stress this point enough and I don't know if its specific to Canada or not. I just got off my contract with a 3G iPhone in September of this year. That phone was really starting to show it's age.
recoiledsnake 15y ago
You're looking at only the launch date, whereas there are still people who are locked into carrier contracts after having bought it. AT&T stopped selling it only in June 2010 which is not even a year and half back. http://www.bgr.com/2010/06/04/att-officially-stops-selling-iphone-3g/ http://www.bgr.com/2010/06/04/att-officially-stops-selling-i...
mrtron 15y ago
My wife still uses the original iphone. Still works great, but can no longer be upgraded.

nodata 15y ago

Yes, that's why I wrote that "There's no technical limitation here"...

meric 15y ago
He didn't sound like he disagree. His comment sounded more like a second paragraph you didn't write.

maigret 15y ago

Very good comment. Why then doesn't Apple make Siri an expensive app to compensate? My iPhone4 batteries will be dead in one year anyway, so I'll have to get a new one. In the meantime, I'd like to get Siri for even 50$ or more. And on my iPad 2 also. Apple needs to be more sustainable. That may mean increase their prices, fine, but that would be better for the environment.

xenophanes 15y ago

So when iPhone 5 comes out, and it has its own new features to sell itself, do you think they'll enable siri on everything they can?

Tyrannosaurs 15y ago
No. The differentiation is between the various models available (3GS, 4 and 4S, all on sale), not the latest one and everything else. If they stick with the current pattern the line up when the 5 launches will likely be 4, 4S and 5. Apple will want clear reasons why you'd choose each one over the model below it. Putting Siri on everything would undermine that - you still want a reason for people to spend a little more on the 4S rather than settling for the 4.
glhaynes 15y ago
Siri as an exclusive for 4S and 5 owners will still incentivize users of previous models to upgrade.

oleganza 15y ago

Apple customers are responsible for environment at least as much as Apple or more. If you don't like how Apple treats environment, you don't buy their products. If you think it's not good for environment to upgrade every year or two, don't buy new phone. Apple's care of environment does not matter if you decide to buy another device. They can only minimize the damage customers will cause.

gsivil 15y ago
Humans tend to have opinions even for things that they do not buy. And their opinions can be of more interest/use when they have to do with massively popular products.