[Merged] iOS 5 and iPhone 3GS

[heimbachae]

Even though I lost some stuff on my phone (some pics/vids, contacts, texts and some other stuff), it runs very well so far.

only thing i lost is the photos i had synced to it from my computer. all the rest of my music and pictures taken on the phone are back on right where i left them. update is running quite smoothly for me.... there's a security update that's only 198MB and it's taking over an hour to download!!!! geeze

 

[Soulstorm]

iOS 5 Performance on iPhone 3Gs impressions

This is my first article about impressions on a product in 8 years of forum activity.

But I had to say it. I was really amazed when I installed iOS 5 on my 3Gs. It is actually faster than the previous one!

I din't want to move on the the next iPhone because as a developer, it really helps having the low-end machine of the supported ones to do some testing on limited memory conditions. Therefore, I would keep it even if performance was slower than iOS 4.

The performance of iOS 5 caught me by surprise. Animations are smoother, faster, and the OS just "feels" faster and more reliable.

Kudos. I would love to hear about other performance experiences on iPhone 4 and 3Gs

 

[YaBoiD]

thats good to hear. I have been contemplating updating my 3rd Gen iPod Touch to iOS5 but from what your saying I just might update later. Thanks!

 

[tlstafford]

Siri - Not Impressed

Yeah, but so far, Siri on my 3GS has not understood one single thing I've said. I asked about the weather, since I figure Apple tested the hell out of that for the product release demo day. But instead, the phone started dialing a number. Asked Siri to remind me of something to test the integration with Reminders, and it started playing a song from iTunes. Seriously? Not one single command is recognized? Seriously?

 

[rowanmwilliams]

Yeah, but so far, Siri on my 3GS has not understood one single thing I've said. I asked about the weather, since I figure Apple tested the hell out of that for the product release demo day. But instead, the phone started dialing a number. Asked Siri to remind me of something to test the integration with Reminders, and it started playing a song from iTunes. Seriously? Not one single command is recognized? Seriously?

Haha this is one of the funniest things i have heard all day, even more so if you think voice control is Siri.

 

[Eager Beaver]

Yeah, but so far, Siri on my 3GS has not understood one single thing I've said. I asked about the weather, since I figure Apple tested the hell out of that for the product release demo day. But instead, the phone started dialing a number. Asked Siri to remind me of something to test the integration with Reminders, and it started playing a song from iTunes. Seriously? Not one single command is recognized? Seriously?

This might have something to do with Apple saying that Siri won't run on anything but the new 4s

 

[karlth]

Yeah, but so far, Siri on my 3GS has not understood one single thing I've said. I asked about the weather, since I figure Apple tested the hell out of that for the product release demo day. But instead, the phone started dialing a number. Asked Siri to remind me of something to test the integration with Reminders, and it started playing a song from iTunes. Seriously? Not one single command is recognized? Seriously?

lol

 

[Richardgm]

Yeah, but so far, Siri on my 3GS has not understood one single thing I've said. I asked about the weather, since I figure Apple tested the hell out of that for the product release demo day. But instead, the phone started dialing a number. Asked Siri to remind me of something to test the integration with Reminders, and it started playing a song from iTunes. Seriously? Not one single command is recognized? Seriously?

I would love to know where you read/heard that Siri will be coming to the iPhone 3Gs.

 

[Gatteau]

My brother just installed iOS 5 on his 3GS, and it's working like never before.

 

[youknome]

Another 3GS user here, iOS 5 is a MASSIVE improvement from iOS 4. Definitely feels snappier, I like it a lot.

 

[KentuckyHouse]

I left my laptop running overnight and finally had iOS5 downloaded this morning for my 3GS. I'll be updating when I get home from work, so it's good to hear all these positive stories about how it runs on a 3GS. Thanks!

And tlstafford...really? I don't usually use Twitter hashtags on forums, but this calls for a #smh. I sincerely hope you were just trolling.

 

[pk7]

iOS 5 seems to be really hit or miss on my iPhone 3GS.

Let me start out by saying that it's MUCH smoother than iOS 4. There's no more stuttering in animations such as folder opening/closing, opening/closing the multitasking tray, and launching/closing an app.

That being said, I have noticed a definite slowdown in terms of actual app start-up time. Most of my apps take a second or two longer to load than they would on iOS 4. Apps seem to have more of a delay when resuming from multitasking. However, Messages and Safari seem to have gotten faster, but that's about it for me.

My battery life is worrying me a little too. After only a little more than an hour of usage, I'm at 84% battery life whereas on iOS 4, I'd be at about 91-92% still. Maybe it's because I've been iMessaging all morning?

The upgrade method I used was: Back up iPhone on iOS 4.3.5, restore to iOS 5, restore from iOS 4.3.5 backup.

I'll give it a few more days, because I've heard that the phone has to "adapt" to the software, almost like a car's "break-in" period.

 

[paul4339]

Yeah, but so far, Siri on my 3GS has not understood one single thing I've said. I asked about the weather, since I figure Apple tested the hell out of that for the product release demo day. But instead, the phone started dialing a number. Asked Siri to remind me of something to test the integration with Reminders, and it started playing a song from iTunes. Seriously? Not one single command is recognized? Seriously?

haha,,, Siri says:

"I found this for you:" <brings up the Apple.com iPhone 4S pre-order page>

.

 

[Si1en7]

After having close to 24 hours to get settled in with iOS 5, I have to say....the battery is getting owned. I'm talking light to moderate use that used to get me through the day and a trip to the gym won't carry me 6 hours.

Glad I don't have to worry about this much longer. My 4S is due tomorrow.

 

[CMillar]

After having close to 24 hours to get settled in with iOS 5, I have to say....the battery is getting owned. I'm talking light to moderate use that used to get me through the day and a trip to the gym won't carry me 6 hours.

Glad I don't have to worry about this much longer. My 4S is due tomorrow.

Same here - my battery life is seriously sucking.

I expect there will be some settings that can be tweaked to smooth this out. I seem to recall something similar with one of the iOS 4 updates.

 

[heimbachae]

Same here - my battery life is seriously sucking.

I expect there will be some settings that can be tweaked to smooth this out. I seem to recall something similar with one of the iOS 4 updates.

I'm doing fine with battery. you guys are playing with your phones, THAT is what's killing it. push notifications too!

 

[mrboult]

Wow. My 3GS is MUCH faster and smoother than before. Feels like a new phone.

I was really thinking about getting a new phone as the slowdown of iOS 4 was starting to wear on me. But with the performance boost of iOS 5 I will probably keep it another year.

Nice One Apple.

 

[blinkin182]

Very happy to read this.
Will be upgrading later this evening.

Is iMessage available for 3GS? And what about the Photo editing thing?

yes and yes

I upgraded yesterday and although it took a very long time and I've had some strange things pop-up with the MobileMe to iCloud migration, everything seems to be working fine. Overall speed is good, sometimes typing seems faster as there is little lag.

I'm surprised about the photo editing! I was about to say "no, there isn't" but i've discovered it at last! nice surprise! However, I tried applying auto-enhance and then saving and the photos app crashed a couple of times.. Anyone else experience this?

My favorite feature so far: notification center for sure! however, I don't have the reflex of swiping down from menu bar quite yet! Or when unlocking, my finger goes towards "slide to unlock" instead of selecting the app notification icon. With time habits will change!

Reminders is elegant but disappointing. I know that the 3GS does not get the geolocation reminder features, but it is disappointing all the same. It feels much less as a "must have" and other reminder apps out there have similar features. It doesn't change to landscape view, strangely...

Other notable improvements:

Safari does seem faster, and the reader function is nice.
Calendar week view when turning into landscape view is a nice touch.

I hope to find a few more surprises soon, but overall a good update, giving me new pleasure in using my "old" 3GS

 

[mkrishnan]

I'm surprised about the photo editing! I was about to say "no, there isn't" but i've discovered it at last! nice surprise! However, I tried applying auto-enhance and then saving and the photos app crashed a couple of times.. Anyone else experience this?

I almost missed it too! I tried enhancing a couple of photos and saving them, and FWIW no crashes or issues. It could possibly be related to low memory (e.g. if you haven't rebooted recently or double tapped the home button and closed down apps in memory).

 

[S.B.G]

Updated my 3GS yesterday and it runs nice and smooth. The only issue I have seen is the battery life has taken a big hit. I just wonder if it has anything to do with the notification center & stocks constantly updating and/or location services.

It doesn't matter much, my 4S will arrive today anyway and I can watch the battery usage on that.

 

[BH151]

Updated my 3GS yesterday and it runs nice and smooth. The only issue I have seen is the battery life has taken a big hit. I just wonder if it has anything to do with the notification center & stocks constantly updating and/or location services.

It doesn't matter much, my 4S will arrive today anyway and I can watch the battery usage on that.

I turned off the Time Zone thing in Location Services as it was trying to use the GPS continuoulsy and I was worried it would kill the battery. Having read up on what it does, I don't think I need it anyway. Battery life on my 3GS is fine.

Ben

 

[jips123]

My 3gs is now having problems with bluetooth: I can't pair it with my Ipad2 any longer (using personal hotspot). Any tips?

 

[heimbachae]

My 3gs is now having problems with bluetooth: I can't pair it with my Ipad2 any longer (using personal hotspot). Any tips?

only thing id say to try is reset each device and hit renew network settings. if that doesn't work call AT&T.

 

[^^DrAKe^^]

So far the battery life is the same as iOS4 for me. Today its actually doing a bit better than 4. I'm really picky about how my phone runs, so I was pleasently surprised at how well iOS5 runs. Just be sure to close down apps once in awhile due to memory constraints of the 3GS.

what exactly do you mean by memory constraints??

 

[mkrishnan]

what exactly do you mean by memory constraints??

The 3GS has 256MB of memory vs. the 512 in the 4/4S. iOS doesn't seem to be perfectly efficient at clearing up availability of memory after programs have been run, particularly for programs that have background functionality. A lot of people find the 3GS slows down after some use, and programs start to crash / become more unstable, and double tapping the home button and then manually closing programs that are running (or using an app that frees memory) typically resolves all this.