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bigmac58

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 4, 2011
57
1
Good evening. I'm one of the holdouts every time Apple releases a new iOS. Currently my iPhone 6 is running 8.4.1 and I'm considering updating to 9.3.2. I've browsed the forums reading some good and bad opinions of installing the latest iOS onto this model. So, I thought I'd put this out there for other iPhone 6 users who are on iOS 9.x.x; would you do it again after using it for a while or would you go back to 8.4.1 if you could? Thanks for your input!
 

snow755

macrumors 68000
Sep 12, 2012
1,884
844
you cant go back too IOS 8.4.1 so if you upgrade too IOS 9.3.2 your stuck on that IOS update
 

GCHASE1995

macrumors 6502
Jul 4, 2015
430
338
I never got to use iOS 8.4.1 on my 6 ( i just got it) but it seems to run smoothly
 

danbcooper

macrumors member
Dec 7, 2015
84
28
DON'T! I was on iOS 8.3 on my iphone 6 and it was great.. Then, after reading many good reviews of iOS 9.3 I decided to update. Since that day, my iphone stutters, freezes and has many nasty bugs.
 
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C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
Your experience will be yours and no way to really know which of the different experiences that different people have will match it, if any at all will even match in some way.
 
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bbrks

macrumors 65816
Dec 17, 2013
1,496
912
Yeah and here is another one....iPhone 6 on 9.3.2 works perfectly....I am very satisfied :)
 

ashindnile

macrumors 6502
Jul 16, 2015
385
156
Your experience will be yours and no way to really know which of the different experiences that different people have will match it, if any at all will even match in some way.
A general consensus, or opinion on fundamental usability is usually objective enough. Comments such as yours, however, aren't helpful or informative.

@OP
There's definitely a hiccup or two more in iOS 9 than in iOS 8.4
Is that a show stopper? No, because it doesn't extend beyond SpringBoard. If I had the choice to go back to 8, I would for the appswitcher.
But iOS 9 has some useful features that I use everyday like QuickReply to WhatsApp, attachments in mail, and of course- app support!
What will slow down:
Spotlight Search
Folders Opening
Slight delay when an app launches on tap
Appswitcher
 

Gunplay

macrumors member
Sep 19, 2015
62
65
9.3.2 is buttery smooth on my iPhone 6 but iOS 10 might turn it into a potato because of only having 1gb of RAM....I would update to 9 while you can.
 
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SuperKerem

macrumors 6502a
Oct 29, 2012
863
260
If you don't update to iOS 9 now, you won't be able to once iOS 10 comes out.
 

imagineadam

macrumors 68000
Jan 19, 2011
1,704
876
Overall I don't have a clear answer for you! It really is 50/50 depending on what you value in your iOS experience.

For me personally I really like night shift and the over all stability improvements. Less app crashing and better safari experience.

But, the overall system performance has taken a slight hit and the first time you feel the input blocking during animations in and out of apps on the springboard it will probably make you feel sick to your stomach! I kept holding on to hope that they would fix this but I think this is just the way it's going to be because of the force touch on the 6S.

The thing is is that you can't go back. I'd reccomend finding someone with iOS 9 on a 6 and using it for a day and then deciding. I miss the feel of iOS pre iOS 9. The way it was fluid and bouncy is missed. iOS 9 feels robotic and choppy compared to it if you are trying to speed in and out of apps on the springboard. It takes multiple taps to open things because it doesn't allow user input during the fade/spring animations anymore. It has to be 100% over and it leads to a robotic choppy frustrating experience. But some of the new features (low power mode, night shift) are attractive and eventually I got used to waiting for my animations to finish before I could tap apps to open. As you can see I'm still quite peeved they changed this one simple thing and it irritates me badly to this day!

If you want the fastest iPhone 6 then stay where you are! If you want night shift and a little better stability upgrade. That's really what it comes down to.

Somedays I wish I could go back and get the speed but I don't think I could live without night shift! Also to note my battery life has been the same for all iOS versions I've had on my 6. In winter I could eek 7-7:30 hours of usage and now in the summer months I'm back down to 6-6:30 usage. My two cents. Good luck!
 
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C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
A general consensus, or opinion on fundamental usability is usually objective enough. Comments such as yours, however, aren't helpful or informative.

@OP
There's definitely a hiccup or two more in iOS 9 than in iOS 8.4
Is that a show stopper? No, because it doesn't extend beyond SpringBoard. If I had the choice to go back to 8, I would for the appswitcher.
But iOS 9 has some useful features that I use everyday like QuickReply to WhatsApp, attachments in mail, and of course- app support!
What will slow down:
Spotlight Search
Folders Opening
Slight delay when an app launches on tap
Appswitcher
So realistic comments aren't helpful? I guess it's certainly nicer to pretend there's an answer to everything that someone can share, even when there really isn't.
 

bigmac58

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 4, 2011
57
1
Overall I don't have a clear answer for you! It really is 50/50 depending on what you value in your iOS experience.

For me personally I really like night shift and the over all stability improvements. Less app crashing and better safari experience.

But, the overall system performance has taken a slight hit and the first time you feel the input blocking during animations in and out of apps on the springboard it will probably make you feel sick to your stomach! I kept holding on to hope that they would fix this but I think this is just the way it's going to be because of the force touch on the 6S.

The thing is is that you can't go back. I'd reccomend finding someone with iOS 9 on a 6 and using it for a day and then deciding. I miss the feel of iOS pre iOS 9. The way it was fluid and bouncy is missed. iOS 9 feels robotic and choppy compared to it if you are trying to speed in and out of apps on the springboard. It takes multiple taps to open things because it doesn't allow user input during the fade/spring animations anymore. It has to be 100% over and it leads to a robotic choppy frustrating experience. But some of the new features (low power mode, night shift) are attractive and eventually I got used to waiting for my animations to finish before I could tap apps to open. As you can see I'm still quite peeved they changed this one simple thing and it irritates me badly to this day!

If you want the fastest iPhone 6 then stay where you are! If you want night shift and a little better stability upgrade. That's really what it comes down to.

Somedays I wish I could go back and get the speed but I don't think I could live without night shift! Also to note my battery life has been the same for all iOS versions I've had on my 6. In winter I could eek 7-7:30 hours of usage and now in the summer months I'm back down to 6-6:30 usage. My two cents. Good luck!

Thank you! Exactly what I was looking for. Several comments here have helped me with this. I'm due to upgrade this fall so I may just leave this one where it is for now.
 

Ulenspiegel

macrumors 68040
Nov 8, 2014
3,212
2,491
Land of Flanders and Elsewhere
I don't think there is a perfect answer to your question. I faced the same dilemma. I decided to update as in my case 8.4 was not so smooth and sometimes I had problems answering a call. Since the update the problem is gone, and as I see it 9.3.2 is not worth in any way than 8.4.
 
Last edited:
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Andres Cantu

macrumors 68040
May 31, 2015
3,327
8,002
Texas
It's so ironic considering iOS 9 was supposed to be the Snow Leopard of iOS releases.

So far, Apple has yet to give us an iOS version that runs better than its predecessor in the prior year's iPhone (such as iOS 9 on the iPhone 6).
 
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iOSUser7

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2014
662
616
It's so ironic considering iOS 9 was supposed to be the Snow Leopard of iOS releases.

So far, Apple has yet to give us an iOS version that runs better than its predecessor in the prior year's iPhone (such as iOS 9 on the iPhone 6).
I believe it was the case for iOS 5 on the iPhone 4 and iOS 6 for the iPhone 4s but that's it.

I don't think we will ever see this level of smoothness in iOS, quality control is getting worse and worse since iOS 7.
 
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Andres Cantu

macrumors 68040
May 31, 2015
3,327
8,002
Texas
I believe it was the case for iOS 5 on the iPhone 4 and iOS 6 for the iPhone 4s but that's it.

I don't think we will ever see this level of smoothness in iOS, quality control is getting worse and worse since iOS 7.
I'm not sure if their performance was much better, but at least it wasn't worse. But yes, quality control in software has gone way down since iOS 7.
 

iOSUser7

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2014
662
616
I'm not sure if their performance was much better, but at least it wasn't worse. But yes, quality control in software has gone way down since iOS 7.
I'm not either for the iPhone 4, in fact I only heard some users feedback but I am pretty sure for the iPhone 4s on iOS 6. Check EverythingApplePro's video where he compare the iPhone 4s with every iOS versions supported. The iOS 6 device is usually a tad bit faster than iOS 5.
 

Andres Cantu

macrumors 68040
May 31, 2015
3,327
8,002
Texas
I'm not either for the iPhone 4, in fact I only heard some users feedback but I am pretty sure for the iPhone 4s on iOS 6. Check EverythingApplePro's video where he compare the iPhone 4s with every iOS versions supported. The iOS 6 device is usually a tad bit faster than iOS 5.
That's almost unheard of in these times!

If iOS 10 won't bring performance improvements, I hope they make that a true priority for iOS 11.
 
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MattMJB0188

macrumors 68020
Dec 28, 2009
2,032
583
As someone else said, stay on iOS 8 if you care about smoothness. iOS 8 was bad; however, it ran smoother than any version of 9 has yet to run. The same thing applied for iOS 7.1.2. Like on the iPhone 5S, it ran great, and then iOS 8 completely altered that.
 
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Jayson A

macrumors 68030
Sep 16, 2014
2,671
1,935
Upgrading from iOS 8 to any version of 9 will be a big dip in performance, however, iOS 9 has been getting better with each release. After you get used to how crappy iOS 9 is, you don't notice as much.

It's like getting into cold water... At first it seems really cold but after you get used to it, it's not so bad, but the water is still just as cold as before. You just forget how you felt when you first got in.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
Upgrading from iOS 8 to any version of 9 will be a big dip in performance, however, iOS 9 has been getting better with each release. After you get used to how crappy iOS 9 is, you don't notice as much.

It's like getting into cold water... At first it seems really cold but after you get used to it, it's not so bad, but the water is still just as cold as before. You just forget how you felt when you first got in.
It's seemingly like that for some, it's not like that at all or at least for the most part for many others.
 

iOSUser7

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2014
662
616
Upgrading from iOS 8 to any version of 9 will be a big dip in performance, however, iOS 9 has been getting better with each release. After you get used to how crappy iOS 9 is, you don't notice as much.

It's like getting into cold water... At first it seems really cold but after you get used to it, it's not so bad, but the water is still just as cold as before. You just forget how you felt when you first got in.
This pretty much summarize what happen when you update any iOS device beyond the version it shipped with lol. :p
 
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