iPhone 4 misses out key iOS 6 features: 3G Facetime, navigation and Flyover

Rambo

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/iphone-4-misses-out-key-ios-6-features-3g-facetime-navigation-and-flyover-1084879


looks like iphone 4 users will have to upgrade to get new features

Mellor

As expected really, the hardware won't be able to handle some the new features.
When the 4S came out the more powerful hardware with respect to upgrades was mentored and a lot of people talked it down saying "it isn't any faster that the 4".

Dades

By the time iOS 6 comes out it'll be high time for new hardware anyway.

Mellor

I'd imagien the iphone 5 will have new hardware, and it ill probably handle the following upgrade ok, but the 4S might not, and so on

equivariant

Mellor wrote: »

As expected really, the hardware won't be able to handle some the new features.
When the 4S came out the more powerful hardware with respect to upgrades was mentored and a lot of people talked it down saying "it isn't any faster that the 4".

This doesn't make sense? Why should an iphone 4 be capable of facetime over wifi but not over 3G whereas a 4S can do both?

_Whimsical_

equivariant wrote: »

This doesn't make sense? Why should an iphone 4 be capable of facetime over wifi but not over 3G whereas a 4S can do both?

iPhone 4 and lower are capable of this for ages using jailbreak apps such as 3G unrestrictor.Again this is not ALL development outpacing technology its also Apple's gear up to make us buy iPhone 5 and to reduce resale value of their present phone. Given that these phones are now more expensive than a personal computer I think we shoud be able to expect greater commitment to maintaining full user experience for more than a year or so.If the jailbreak community can fill these gaps for us Apple can too,it just doesn't suit their bottom line because the customer base don't demand it.

I'm disappointed and I don't even have an iPhone...:o

equivariant

Same goes for turn by turn nav - it makes no sense to say that that is a hardware issue - its a corporate gouging issue more like.

Still, its no surprise - I remember (some years ago) going into an O2 shop to buy a simple usb connector for one of my old nokia phones. They were asking for 40 quid for a cheap crappy 6in USB cable - I nearly choked! When I challenged the shop assistant he actually had the nerve to say "well you probably got the phone for nothing on a contract, so you can't complain" - plus ca change.....

Sad Professor

equivariant wrote: »

This doesn't make sense? Why should an iphone 4 be capable of facetime over wifi but not over 3G whereas a 4S can do both?

The 4S is capable of faster 3G speeds which may be part of the justification. But the best explanation I've heard is that networks want the traffic limited, which I assume is the reason why FaceTime didn't work over 3G to begin with.

At one point some of Apple's international sites said the iPhone 4 was supported, so its possible this was a late change to appease the US carriers.

Fingleberries

If you think it's bad the amount of things that the iPhone 4 is not getting, the list for the 'still supported' 3Gs is even shorter - even though it will be getting iOS 6 also.

In addition to all the iPhone 4 misses out on, it will not get:

• VIP lists for e-mail
• Offline Reading List
• Shared Photo Streams

I understand the business reason for these phones (3Gs and 4) missing out on features, create a demand for the newest model. Even though there shouldn't be a technical reason for it, which makes it a little hard to take.

Although, by Apple Standards, I should be grateful that my 3Gs is going to get the update at all. That sain, it could end up being like what happened to iPhone 3G when iOS4 came out - lag central. Hopefully not, though.

Red Alert

Sad Professor wrote: »

The 4S is capable of faster 3G speeds which may be part of the justification. But the best explanation I've heard is that networks want the traffic limited, which I assume is the reason why FaceTime didn't work over 3G to begin with.

I would say that's the networks problem, especially in cases like mine where I bought the phone outright from Apple. I would be quite happy with reduced video quality to have this feature work.

mafc

When should the update come up on my iphone 4? only have it 3 weeks and its updated to 5.1.1 !

Sad Professor

mafc wrote: »

When should the update come up on my iphone 4? only have it 3 weeks and its updated to 5.1.1 !

iOS 6 isn't out yet. It will be released for everyone in late September/early October alongside the new iPhone.

mafc

cheers man thanks very much was thinking that alright !

mad muffin

I don't understand why you guys are complaining.

Has your 3GS or 4 suddenly lost features? No, since their release they have gained more feature.

I doubt any other piece of technology you have bought in the same time has gained anymore than what came out of the box.

Stainless_Steel

mad muffin wrote: »

I don't understand why you guys are complaining.

Has your 3GS or 4 suddenly lost features? No, since their release they have gained more feature.

I doubt any other piece of technology you have bought in the same time has gained anymore than what came out of the box.

+ 1

If you're not happy then buy an android...I hear old models get the latest features straight away :-P

Kenno90

Stainless_Steel wrote: »

+ 1

If you're not happy then buy an android...I hear old models get the latest features straight away :-P

Sure last years flagship android phone is crap now



Send from my Galaxy Nexus

equivariant

mad muffin wrote: »

I doubt any other piece of technology you have bought in the same time has gained anymore than what came out of the box.

Of course they have. When I upgrade the operating system on my PC, I get all the new features of the OS.

The point is that iOS6 is a software update. There is no reason why the iphone 4 can't support most of the new features that are blocked.
In fact, I am sure that apple have to specifically configure the code to ensure that they don't. They do that to make the hardware appear obsolete sooner that it actually is.

As for the whole Android thing - why bring that up? I never mentioned switching to Android. I am sure that Google are just as bad as Apple in this regard, but so what? That doesn't mean that Apple are right.

(PS Since you mention it, I may well switch to android with my next phone, but that is not just to do with this issue, its also down to the fact that at the moment, android phones are just much better hardware than iphones, although apple might catch up a bit with iphone 5, we'll see)

mad muffin

I doubt that pc upgrade came free.

Stainless_Steel

equivariant wrote: »

Of course they have. When I upgrade the operating system on my PC, I get all the new features of the OS.

The point is that iOS6 is a software update. There is no reason why the iphone 4 can't support most of the new features that are blocked.
In fact, I am sure that apple have to specifically configure the code to ensure that they don't. They do that to make the hardware appear obsolete sooner that it actually is.

As for the whole Android thing - why bring that up? I never mentioned switching to Android. I am sure that Google are just as bad as Apple in this regard, but so what? That doesn't mean that Apple are right.

(PS Since you mention it, I may well switch to android with my next phone, but that is not just to do with this issue, its also down to the fact that at the moment, android phones are just much better hardware than iphones, although apple might catch up a bit with iphone 5, we'll see)

As the man who brought android into this topic I would like to mention that it was only a joke and you are dead right in saying it doesn't make Apple right.

Sad Professor

3G Facetime might pop up in a later update if it pleases the US mobile operators. I don't think the absence of it on the iPhone 4 has anything to do with forced obsolescence. Apple is still selling the iPhone 4 and will likely continue to do so, and it's really not in their interest to artificially limit certain devices where Facetime is concerned.

Holding back Siri from the iPhone 4, yes, that's example of Apple trying to push you to buy one of their new devices. Not bothering their hole to update their Mac graphics drivers after 3 or 4 years so it can run the latest OS is another. But I don't know why people act surprised by this. Apple is a hardware company. They make practically all their money from hardware sales. And compared to other hardware manufactures, their legacy support is excellent. The problem with Android updates isn't Google, who, like Microsoft, would love you to be running the latest version of their OS, it's the handset makers, most of whom don't give a sh*t once they have your money.

equivariant

mad muffin wrote: »

I doubt that pc upgrade came free.

Welcome to the wonderful world of linux

equivariant

Sad Professor wrote: »

3G Facetime might pop up in a later update if it pleases the US mobile operators. I don't think the absence of it on the iPhone 4 has anything to do with forced obsolescence. Apple is still selling the iPhone 4 and will likely continue to do so, and it's really not in their interest to artificially limit certain devices where Facetime is concerned.

You raise an interesting point about what is in their interest. A few years ago, Apple could follow such policies (artificially restricting upgrades) with impunity, but I wonder if that is still in their interests. Back then, there were no serious competitors to the iphone, so users might grumble but when they did go for a new phone, they would probably stay with apple. Now however, it seems like a risky policy to piss people off when Samsung and/or HTC are offering serious competition on the hardware front. Not saying that they are necessarily better overall, but only the most deluded apple fanboy would deny that they are stiff competition.

Holding back Siri from the iPhone 4, yes, that's example of Apple trying to push you to buy one of their new devices. Not bothering their hole to update their Mac graphics drivers after 3 or 4 years so it can run the latest OS is another. But I don't know why people act surprised by this. Apple is a hardware company. They make practically all their money from hardware sales. And compared to other hardware manufactures, their legacy support is excellent. The problem with Android updates isn't Google, who, like Microsoft, would love you to be running the latest version of their OS, it's the handset makers, most of whom don't give a sh*t once they have your money.

Its hardly accurate to say that Apple is a hardware company. Surely their whole philosophy is built around integrating the hardware and software as much as possible - when you buy a mac, you are buying both the hardware and the software, so I don't think that we just just chalk that up as a hardware sale. If they were just a hardware company, they would just produce the hardware and let others produce the OS, which is obviously not the case.

Anyway, as I said earlier, it's not surprising that Apple (or indeed anyone else) does this kind of thing. Still doesn't mean that we should just shrug the shoulders and say 'oh well' and run out to buy an iphone 5. If they start to lose customers because people object to it then maybe they might not do it in future.

Sad Professor

I was talking about how they make money. Apple is a hardware company in the sense that their profits are derived primarily from the sale of hardware. It's an important thing to keep in mind when comparing Apple to Google and Microsoft, who both make profits in very different ways (advertising and software respectively). But yes, in terms of philosophy, Apple is all about the combined experience of hardware and software.

And re artificially restricting software updates, it seems to me that iOS 6 is the first time they have really held back major features of a new OS for non-technical reasons (Siri doesn't really count as it was always sold as being a 4S feature). And even then, there are still technical justifications for many of them. The iPad 1 not having enough RAM, etc.