4 ms·

I believe the only reason 3GS owners got iOS 5 was because of iCloud. Normally, Apple is quite happy to leave the oldest hardware editions in the dust with nary

by yardie 15y ago

I believe the only reason 3GS owners got iOS 5 was because of iCloud. Normally, Apple is quite happy to leave the oldest hardware editions in the dust with nary a care. So they issue iOS 5 to every supported device and, lo and behold, iCloud has 80 million users overnight. It doesn't matter that most people think iCloud is useless, what matters is they frictionlessly transitioned 80 million people onto their servers. Now that they have those users they can figure what to do with it. I don't believe Apple is doing this out of altruism for users or developers. I think they are honestly going after Google, Microsoft, Dropbox, et al. at the same time. And the most effective way to do that is to have...80 million users on day one.

bunderbunder 15y ago
Well, that and the 3GS is still being sold. Previously, Apple would retire the phone that came out 2 years previously when they brought out the new model.
ceejayoz 15y ago
> I believe the only reason 3GS owners got iOS 5 was because of iCloud. I think it's more because they're still actively selling the 3GS, as their $0 entry-level iPhone.
projct 15y ago
It's important to note that unlike older phones and Macs, Apple is still currently selling the 3GS. The original iphone and the iphone 3G stopped receiving updates 3 years after release[1]. It's important to note, though, that in both cases the update cycle continued for a significant amount of time after the devices were no longer available in stores. The original iPhone received its last update 1 year and 6 months after the device was discontinued: iOS 3.1.3 was released February 2, 2010 while the original iPhone was discontinued July 11, 2008.[2][3] The iPhone 3G received its last update 5 months and 18 days after being discontinued. In this case, given that it had the same specs as the original iPhone except for the 3G modem, I think that iOS was rapidly becoming too resource intensive to continue updating for this device, considering that by 2010 the majority of the hardware was already 3 years old. That said, iOS 4.2.1 was released November 22, 2010, and the 3G was discontinued as of June 4, 2010.[2][3] Contrast this to Android where some flagship phones don't even receive security updates after even a year (the chart in my references only includes notable Android devices, and ignores cheaper ones that go after the free w/ contract market etc.) Paying for updates is not the solution. Unfortunately, unless Google or consumers grab the vendors by the balls, the only thing that I honestly think will do anything at all about this situation is a rather nasty worm that manages to do some serious damage to devices that haven't gotten timely updates. I don't want to see that happen, it would really hurt Android's reputation in the eyes of those who won't understand that the HW vendor is to blame for the problem, not Android the OS. [1] Chart of device updates published some time ago: http://theunderstatement.com/post/11982112928/android-orphans-visualizing-a-sad-history-of-support http://theunderstatement.com/post/11982112928/android-orphan... [2] iPhone discontinuation dates and final iOS version: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_iOS_devices#iPhone http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_iOS_devices#iPhone [3] Release dates of iOS versions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_version_history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_version_history
falling 15y ago
> I don't believe Apple is doing this out of altruism for users or developers. I think they are honestly going after Google, Microsoft, Dropbox, et al. at the same time. And the most effective way to do that is to have...80 million users on day one. Isn’t it beautiful when a company’s self-interests are aligned with their customer’s? They get users and money, I get an updated OS and new features on my old phone. Everybody wins! (iCloud useless? you might think that documents on iCloud is useless, but iCloud is also the brand name for email service, contacts, calendar, photos sync and automated daily backups. seems hardly useless to me.)

by yardie 15y ago

bunderbunder 15y ago

Well, that and the 3GS is still being sold. Previously, Apple would retire the phone that came out 2 years previously when they brought out the new model.

ceejayoz 15y ago

> I believe the only reason 3GS owners got iOS 5 was because of iCloud. I think it's more because they're still actively selling the 3GS, as their $0 entry-level iPhone.

projct 15y ago

It's important to note that unlike older phones and Macs, Apple is still currently selling the 3GS. The original iphone and the iphone 3G stopped receiving updates 3 years after release[1]. It's important to note, though, that in both cases the update cycle continued for a significant amount of time after the devices were no longer available in stores. The original iPhone received its last update 1 year and 6 months after the device was discontinued: iOS 3.1.3 was released February 2, 2010 while the original iPhone was discontinued July 11, 2008.[2][3] The iPhone 3G received its last update 5 months and 18 days after being discontinued. In this case, given that it had the same specs as the original iPhone except for the 3G modem, I think that iOS was rapidly becoming too resource intensive to continue updating for this device, considering that by 2010 the majority of the hardware was already 3 years old. That said, iOS 4.2.1 was released November 22, 2010, and the 3G was discontinued as of June 4, 2010.[2][3] Contrast this to Android where some flagship phones don't even receive security updates after even a year (the chart in my references only includes notable Android devices, and ignores cheaper ones that go after the free w/ contract market etc.) Paying for updates is not the solution. Unfortunately, unless Google or consumers grab the vendors by the balls, the only thing that I honestly think will do anything at all about this situation is a rather nasty worm that manages to do some serious damage to devices that haven't gotten timely updates. I don't want to see that happen, it would really hurt Android's reputation in the eyes of those who won't understand that the HW vendor is to blame for the problem, not Android the OS. [1] Chart of device updates published some time ago: http://theunderstatement.com/post/11982112928/android-orphans-visualizing-a-sad-history-of-support http://theunderstatement.com/post/11982112928/android-orphan... [2] iPhone discontinuation dates and final iOS version: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_iOS_devices#iPhone http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_iOS_devices#iPhone [3] Release dates of iOS versions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_version_history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_version_history

falling 15y ago

> I don't believe Apple is doing this out of altruism for users or developers. I think they are honestly going after Google, Microsoft, Dropbox, et al. at the same time. And the most effective way to do that is to have...80 million users on day one. Isn’t it beautiful when a company’s self-interests are aligned with their customer’s? They get users and money, I get an updated OS and new features on my old phone. Everybody wins! (iCloud useless? you might think that documents on iCloud is useless, but iCloud is also the brand name for email service, contacts, calendar, photos sync and automated daily backups. seems hardly useless to me.)