iOS: Annually slowing down our devices

[viperGTS]

Please don't. That's like, the best version of iOS for that iPhone.

Besides, you have a 5s right? Just treasure your 4s with iOS 6. Those are rare to find. And use your 5s for general use.

Treasure it forever, man. It's what I'd do.

I do, but it's currently dead due to a broken charging port. I plan on fixing it, but overall it's in worse condition than my 4s. Keeping this thing on iOS 6 is much easier said than done.

I downgraded my 4s to iOS 6 and honestly preferred it on 8. Using it I missed control center and all of the apps that were incompatible. I'm sure it was good in it's time but you miss out on so much by running it. I upgraded back in the end.

Since you technically could downgrade I see no reason not to update if you really want to at some point.

Glad you understand! I miss iOS 8 and the compatible apps when I used it on my 5s...

How would I be able to downgrade my 4s?

 

[newellj]

The point of this thread is to provide evidence, which most threads/comments do not. As forum members we're constantly going back and forth. I wanted to provide a new angle on this by allowing people to provide evidence, rather than opinion.

I challenge someone from the other end of the spectrum to validate their claims that iOS 9 or any other iOS iteration hasn't slowed down their device with video evidence. Just because someone doesn't notice/care about a slight slowdown, doesn't mean it isn't there. I'm not saying you have to care about your device slowing down...some users don't care about speed and that's fine. I'm challenging the notion that people say their device is running faster than it did before, and if so, prove it. This extends to any iPhone / iOS combination.

I fail to see that there's any point to be made here at all. If you like how it performs, don't upgrade the OS. If you want new features, upgrade the OS with the understanding that there will be problems that the beta testing did not iron out and that performance will ultimately slow down over time. If you think that features can be added endlessly without any impact on the performance of hardware, you should not be buying anything more complicated than a screwdriver.

 

[Shirtin]

I fail to see that there's any point to be made here at all. If you like how it performs, don't upgrade the OS. If you want new features, upgrade the OS with the understanding that there will be problems that the beta testing did not iron out and that performance will ultimately slow down over time. If you think that features can be added endlessly without any impact on the performance of hardware, you should not be buying anything more complicated than a screwdriver.

Software is different in that it can be optimized for performance, stabiltity, and adding more features. Apple can make all the current and new devices last very long. It is very dissapointing that there are even reports that the iPhone 6 is slowing down. I also heard that the new iPad Mini 4 is not buttery smooth . Apple really can make iOS much more efficient and stable but they choose not to.

 

[I7guy]

Software is different in that it can be optimized for performance, stabiltity, and adding more features. Apple can make all the current and new devices last very long. It is very dissapointing that there are even reports that the iPhone 6 is slowing down. I also heard that the new iPad Mini 4 is not buttery smooth . Apple really can make iOS much more efficient and stable but they choose not to.

The conspiracy theorists is that they choose not to. The rational view is they are working toward that.

 

[Shirtin]

The conspiracy theorists is that they choose not to. The rational view is they are working toward that.

No the conspiracy theorists are saying they are deliberately making it slower. I'm saying they are writing inefficient code, patching up software, and quickly adding sloppy features. Instead they can have two seperate teams: one for continuing this path and another team working on a new engine/code. A new engine/code team would be an expense which I would be happy to pay Apple $9.99.

 

[Act3]

Software is different in that it can be optimized for performance, stabiltity, and adding more features. Apple can make all the current and new devices last very long. It is very dissapointing that there are even reports that the iPhone 6 is slowing down. I also heard that the new iPad Mini 4 is not buttery smooth . Apple really can make iOS much more efficient and stable but they choose not to.

They do optimize it, only problem is once they optimize it they abandon it. 8.4.1 came out middle of August, a month later iOS 9 arrives.

 

[iTom17]

Software is different in that it can be optimized for performance, stabiltity, and adding more features. Apple can make all the current and new devices last very long. It is very dissapointing that there are even reports that the iPhone 6 is slowing down. I also heard that the new iPad Mini 4 is not buttery smooth . Apple really can make iOS much more efficient and stable but they choose not to.

This isn't really true, although the appswitcher does lag all the times I open an app from it or when I just close it.

Overall, iOS 9 runs perfectly fine on that iPad. Do have to say that it's kind of ridiculous that even in iOS 9.1 beta 4, the lag in the appswitcher still occurs. On the iPhone 6, it's buttery smooth (I'm not making things up here, it's just my experience).

 

[I7guy]

No the conspiracy theorists are saying they are deliberately making it slower. I'm saying they are writing inefficient code, patching up software, and quickly adding sloppy features. Instead they can have two seperate teams: one for continuing this path and another team working on a new engine/code. A new engine/code team would be an expense which I would be happy to pay Apple $9.99.

Since I don't see sloppiness, inefficient coding or have any real knowledge of how Apple organizes its engineering teams all I can do is disagree as my devices work fine.

 

[George Waseem]

Each year a new iPhone is released. Each year a new version of iOS is released.

If you're an experienced forum member on MacRumors, you know that you'll see the same threads every year: My device is laggy after updating to "iOS "X.x". You'll see members in this forum claiming that they're older devices are running "better than the previous OS" or "just as smoothly". Is this really true? Are people's devices running as smoothly as before, or are people "glowing" because they're on a new iOS version that they've been clamoring over. Let's put this to the test.

Recently I've been watching iApplebytes on YouTube (I have nothing to do with iApplebytes). Their videos prove that the yearly slowdown I experience on my devices isn't a mirage. On all of the the videos I've watched, a new OS slows down a year or more old iPhone.

Let's use an iPhone 4S as our example device since it has a history of iOS releases and has been through the two different UI's (iOS 6 vs 7)

For giggles, let's take an iPhone 5s on iOS 8.4.1 vs iOS 9 GM

In each instance, the iPhone slows down. What once started as a smooth 4s on iOS 5, becomes a lagfest. While I know some will say that Apple needs to continue moving forward with new features and its natural for devices to slowdown with new software, this doesn't have to be true. Windows has shown us in recent years that you can add new software to older devices without sacrificing speed. Windows 7 > 8 > 10 all build off one another. Its clear Apple will continue slowdown older devices, as its in their best business to do so. I'm not saying that Apple needs to change their practices, it's obviously working for them.

The fact of the matter is, it really doesn't matter what hardware Apple puts in their devices, as they will slow them down in a year's time. Your fancy new 6S with "desktop class" hardware will slow down on iOS 10, because Apple chooses to do so...not because the hardware is incapable of running smoothly.

This leaves users with two options:
#1 - Stay on the OS designed for your phone until you upgrade to a new device. This ensures speed and stability.
#2 - Upgrade your software each year to gain new features, while seeing slight reductions in speed with each OS update.

I would also love to see someone on the other end of the spectrum prove that their device has "not" slowed down or is actually running faster than it did before updating OS versions.

I finally find someone who agrees with me, I am really annoyed of how apple does with the devices. iOS 9 is fixes horrible iOS 8 mistakes on some devices but it's still not complete, I have an iPhone 5S since 5 months and I love it, it's fast fluid and its graphics are awesome, I got it with iOS 8.3 and then I upgraded to iOS 9 Public Beta 1, It was definitely horrible, I travelled on a vacation so I couldn't even downgrade to iOS 8, as soon as I came back from my vacation I upgraded to 9.1 which was supposed to be better but it was the same just adding a little bit more fluidity to the system, but it was still horrible, I finally took a decision that I would downgrade to iOS 8.4.1 just 2 days before apple stops signing it. When I got back to iOS 8, i felt how lucky I am to live with a fluid and fast system, my iPad 4 is also 1 big example of apple slowing devices, I got my iPad 4 back in 2012, it ran iOS 6 which was so nice, iOS 7 was bad in the beginning but was good after 7.1. iOS 8 was a sudden change, it was basically garbage, iPad 4 was the last 32 bit apple device released, so basically to make people upgrade to 64 bit (Air or Air 2), they just slowed it down, iPad 4 is just a 2 year old device, I've wrote a lot about how apple slows a device here on the forum but all answers u get are that technology is a fast moving process and no one was getting my point, the iPad 4 is capable of running iOS perfectly (example : iOS 8 was bad, iOS 9 is ok that's how it works, if my device was bad as it couldn't run iOS 8 like it should, how can it run iOS 9 in a more acceptable way, iOS 8 was horrible on most devices (except for some iPhones). So finally, i totally agree with what u say and I hope people would understand that it's apple not the device, Android updates don't slow their devices down and apple updates shouldn't too.

 

[nerdriot]

Oh god, it's this again.

Didn't read all the comments. I'm sure there was a nice, constructive dialogue about this, but I'm adding in my opinion just because.

Apple's job is not to ensure that an iPhone 4, for instance, will be able to still maintain and keep up with the latest devices. The tech industry moves at a ridiculous rate. When Apple runs beta tests for new versions of iOS or releases new GM versions to the public, they specifically tell you which phones they work for.

In order to utilize some new features, certain hardware is required. That's just life. I don't expect my mid-2010 MacBook Pro to run the newest games because my MacBook is older and has older hardware.

Does that mean the gaming industry is conspiring to make my MacBook obsolete, forcing me to buy a new system? No.

TL;DR - nope.gif

 

[JT2002TJ]

It is simple... If they can't reach the optimization of versions x.4.x (using 8 as an example), then they can not sustain their annual updates. Eventually the ratio of old vs new devices will cause the masses to change things. For now, they sell enough new devices where it isn't a major issue, but some day that will come.

 

[JT2002TJ]

Oh god, it's this again.

Didn't read all the comments. I'm sure there was a nice, constructive dialogue about this, but I'm adding in my opinion just because.

Apple's job is not to ensure that an iPhone 4, for instance, will be able to still maintain and keep up with the latest devices. The tech industry moves at a ridiculous rate. When Apple runs beta tests for new versions of iOS or releases new GM versions to the public, they specifically tell you which phones they work for.

In order to utilize some new features, certain hardware is required. That's just life. I don't expect my mid-2010 MacBook Pro to run the newest games because my MacBook is older and has older hardware.

Does that mean the gaming industry is conspiring to make my MacBook obsolete, forcing me to buy a new system? No.

TL;DR - nope.gif

This is a great point if it didn't include devices that are one year old... iOS 9 is even buggy on iPad Air 2's for many.

 

[natureguy]

Oh god, it's this again.

Didn't read all the comments. I'm sure there was a nice, constructive dialogue about this, but I'm adding in my opinion just because.

Apple's job is not to ensure that an iPhone 4, for instance, will be able to still maintain and keep up with the latest devices. The tech industry moves at a ridiculous rate. When Apple runs beta tests for new versions of iOS or releases new GM versions to the public, they specifically tell you which phones they work for.

In order to utilize some new features, certain hardware is required. That's just life. I don't expect my mid-2010 MacBook Pro to run the newest games because my MacBook is older and has older hardware.

Does that mean the gaming industry is conspiring to make my MacBook obsolete, forcing me to buy a new system? No.

TL;DR - nope.gif

ok, if apple treated macbooks the way they treated iphones where you can't go back to the original os on the system you might have a different view on this. bottom line, there is no reason why apple can't keep signing older ios versions. i have proof in the fact that they keep signing the last version for a week or 2 after the new release, than they "turn it off" wft.. why do they stop signing it?... here lies the conspiracy..

 

[I7guy]

ok, if apple treated macbooks the way they treated iphones where you can't go back to the original os on the system you might have a different view on this. bottom line, there is no reason why apple can't keep signing older ios versions. i have proof in the fact that they keep signing the last version for a week or 2 after the new release, than they "turn it off" wft.. why do they stop signing it?... here lies the conspiracy..

Since they haven't changed their policy in a while you have the option to decide if you like the way they do business. There is no conspiracy only a cutover point after which you can't go back.

 

[Act3]

What is the purpose of this "cutover" point?

 

[JT2002TJ]

What is the purpose of this "cutover" point?

x2... if anything, the cutover point should be different based on the device. Why should the iphone 4s have the same cutover point as the iPad Air 1?

User should be able to go back to the latest version of each X OS, and older devices should be able to go back to older (latest version) OS'.

 

[Shirtin]

They do optimize it, only problem is once they optimize it they abandon it. 8.4.1 came out middle of August, a month later iOS 9 arrives.

Right but even iOS 8.4.1 is not bug (iPad rotation) free even though it is somewhat optimized. Still there should be no excuse why they couldn't optimize iOS 9 out the gate unless they are doing patchwork.

Windows when through the same patchwork that we are going though right now with iOS 7-9. Windows 95 comes to mind as it was buggy but still usable. Windows 98 was a huge mess and they did tons of work to make Windows 98 second edition way better. Then windows ME (2000) was like the black plague. Windows Xp (2001) broke this tradition as it was based of an entirely different engine (Windows NT). Windows XP took substantial resources, but it was rock solid with features to boot. After the failed Vista which required super hardware to run Microsoft has decided to make the operating system effiecient and have more features.

Now is the time to revamp iOS and start from scratch to make it stable, fast, and mostly bug free. If Apple has to charge for this privilege then I would be happy to spend $9.99 to do so.

 

[Fzang]

Does that mean the gaming industry is conspiring to make my MacBook obsolete, forcing me to buy a new system? No.

TL;DR - nope.gif

You're using a bad example.

Imagine you run a game at 60 fps. All is well. Then after a year a patch comes out. It has a few new levels and some much promised bug fixes. After this patch your game runs at 30 fps, and even dips below now and then. Oh, and since this game is online you can't not install the patch.

Obviously you get angry and frustrated, because now your hardware has been made obsolete in a sense. Your friend's PC running it at 300 fps uncapped now runs it at 250 fps uncapped, but he doesn't care because it's "invisible" to him, and he tells you to stop being stingy and go upgrade your computer.

See where I'm going?

 

[Radon87000]

The conspiracy theorists is that they choose not to. The rational view is they are working toward that.

Really?How is my Air 2 with a damn A8X Lagging?That thing runs pretty much everything I throw at it and still hungers for more and yet iOS is making it lag.All games are running at 60 fps.Its as if Apple intentionally wants to slow it down to make Air 2 users upgrade to the iPad Pro because if the Air 2 is solidly supported people wont upgrade for at least 2 more years which leads to declining sales

 

[JT2002TJ]

Really?How is my Air 2 with a damn A8X Lagging?That thing runs pretty much everything I throw at it and still hungers for more and yet iOS is making it lag.All games are running at 60 fps.Its as if Apple intentionally wants to slow it down to make Air 2 users upgrade to the iPad Pro because if the Air 2 is solidly supported people wont upgrade for at least 2 more years which leads to declining sales

You will get nowhere with him on this topic. He swears that his iOS 9 is running faster that iOS 8.4.1.

 

[I7guy]

Really?How is my Air 2 with a damn A8X Lagging?That thing runs pretty much everything I throw at it and still hungers for more and yet iOS is making it lag.All games are running at 60 fps.Its as if Apple intentionally wants to slow it down to make Air 2 users upgrade to the iPad Pro because if the Air 2 is solidly supported people wont upgrade for at least 2 more years which leads to declining sales

i can't answer that, in the same way I can't answer why my iPad 2 feels like a new tablet in the face of all of the "evidence" posted here.

 

[I7guy]

You will get nowhere with him on this topic. He swears that his iOS 9 is running faster that iOS 8.4.1.

It's true that some of us feel iOS 9 is better than iOS 8 on our own devices.

 

[natureguy]

It's true that some of us feel iOS 9 is better than iOS 8 on our own devices.

all we want is for apple to keep signing older ios versions, thats it. everyone still has the option to upgrade, but at least they have a way to go back if they want to..why prevent that? give me a reason besides its harder for developers of apps bs as many people never update their phones...

 

[I7guy]

all we want is for apple to keep signing older ios versions, thats it. everyone still has the option to upgrade, but at least they have a way to go back if they want to..why prevent that? give me a reason besides its harder for developers of apps bs as many people never update their phones...

Don't know apples rational for this policy. Seems to be restrictive.

 

[newellj]

Software is different in that it can be optimized for performance, stabiltity, and adding more features. Apple can make all the current and new devices last very long. It is very dissapointing that there are even reports that the iPhone 6 is slowing down. I also heard that the new iPad Mini 4 is not buttery smooth . Apple really can make iOS much more efficient and stable but they choose not to.

"Choose not to" is difficult. I very strongly doubt they're making a conscious decision to do that. The issue may be, as someone posted a little bit further up, that in the push to add new features so they can sell new hardware the basics get sacrificed. Obviously that's not an ideal situation, but it isn't really surprising, either. Ultimately our only real remedy is to vote with our feet (or more appropriately, our wallets).