It makes me really unhappy with Apple that the 1st generation iPhones and iPods, although having the same processor and memory as the 2nd generation ones, were made incompatible with this release.
It's not nice when a hardware maker dictates I should buy a new gizmo to enjoy the features practically identical gizmos have access to.
> This is not true. The original iPhone and iPhone 3g only had 128mb of ram. The 3gs has 256mb.
You're misinterpreting his statement. The original iPhone
model had 128MB. The iPhone 3G has 128MB. The original model is not supported under 4.0 but the 3G is.
He said 1st vs 2nd gen, not 3rd. The iPhone 3G gets this updates, and it has the same amount of ram as the first generation iPhone / iPod touch. Same CPU too.
There may be a technical reason, but that isn't it.
Maybe the lack of a GPS? Also, the 1st Gen iPhone has the lowest-rated battery life. Maybe those two factors led Apple to drop it. Maybe iOS 4.0 consumes more power, because of CPU utilization and the experience was unfavorable.
Then again, I bought my 3G a month before the 3GS came out. Verizon screwed up their deployment of towers in my area, at a time when I was job hunting and needed to make/take cell phone calls. So I had to switch (before the 3GS was release). But again, I've had my phone for less than a year, and it would suck to have it be obsoleted/EOL'd by Apple.
They probably don't WANT to keep it around, but for customers like me, who want their device supported for more than 13 months, they kept it.
It's not nice when "customers" that haven't bought hardware in two years decide they deserve new software that costs money to develop and test for legacy hardware either. They're a business, not a phone firmware charity.
Why the scare quotes around "customers"? You're not a customer unless you buy a new phone at least once a year? (Not that I agree with the parent, I just think you seem awfully eager to put him in a bad light)
That would be true if they weren't PAYING for the phone over the span of $199 upfront and a high-priced data plan for the next two years. The actually cost of the phone would be $599 or $699 -- and for that amount of money, I would want AT LEAST two years of support, or a discount when I decide to upgrade models.
Are you a customer if you've consumed in the past? The iPhone 2G and 3G still have all the functionality they were sold and advertised to have. Any future OS updates are above and beyond that. Before the iPhone was released in 2007 I don't remember any significant OS updates being common on SmartPhones sold in the US. Usually you had to resort to hacked ROMs lifted from newer devices.
What makes me unhappy, it now becomes clear that 3rd generation 8gb iPods were just re-branded 2nd generation ones. Unlike the 16gb and 32gb model the 8gb didn't receive an hardware upgrade (more ram and 3GS CPU), so it doesn't support multi-tasking now.
Welcome to the club. With OS 3, Apple broke the cable I used to watch podcasts on a TV (at the time, I spent a lot of time in hotels and the cabe was very handy). Now, with iOS4, Apple broke the whole iPod. With iTunes 9.2, BTW, they also broke the iMac I used to sync my iPod (a beautiful bondi-blue one), kindly informing me it wouldn't run after installing it, making me have to chase down a copy of iTunes 9.1.
No. I won't buy a new computer just because Steve thinks I should.
Original iPhone owners have now had 2 full subsidized upgrade cycles. If they didn't want to spend $99 (or less) for a 3G to gain GPS and 3G and also decided to skip the 3GS (also $99 now) for 3G, GPS, video recording, a better camera, more RAM, faster processor, etc then Apple really has no expectation these customers care about having any of the features of iOS 4 either. I'm much more sympathetic to the 2nd generation iPod Touch owners
It's not like the first-gen devices have killswitches.
Killswitches are iOS 4-only apps, which (based on experience with iPod touch) will show up in AppStore, but you will not able to install them. Also, you cannot get previous versions (3.x-compatible) of applications from AppStore.
That actually can make the experience worse. For example, if you decide to use the iPhone with a different AppStore account. There's no way to get back the versions of apps that work with the old version of OS.
The memory difference is a pretty good reason. I was still using a 2G when 3.0 came out and it was never nearly as snappy again throughout all the 3.x releases I had on it. The 3G, with double the RAM, is a bit slow with iOS4 in spots. My understanding is the way memory management is designed in iOS Apple can't risk significantly decreasing the amount of memory available to third party apps without causing some big issues. I would imagine iOS4 apps will also have a bigger memory footprint than 2.x and 3.x apps as well. I'm sure someone will hack it onto the 2G so we can see for ourselves within a few weeks. I'm betting lots of sluggish operation and low memory warnings.
And, being the firmware source closed, you trust, without any means to verify it, when someone with an interest in this matter tells you, that, despite the nearly identical specs (same amount of memory, same processor), revision 1 can't run the software that revision 1a can. The only difference between a rev1 iPhone and a 3G iPhone is the cell radio. The application processor is exactly the same.
If you really believe there is a solid technical reason for it, I have a nice bridge to sell you.
And, being the firmware source closed, you trust, without any means to verify it, when someone with an interest in this matter tells you, that, despite the nearly identical specs (same amount of memory, same processor), revision 1 can't run the software that revision 1a can.
Given no evidence to support the contrary position, yes I find that plausible.
The only difference between a rev1 iPhone and a 3G iPhone is the cell radio.
And the GPS. And the compass. And the looks. And the standby battery life. And the requirement for a newer version of iTunes.[1] And the iPhone 2G came in a 4Gb version.
1) Just because the CPU is the same, doesn't mean the internals are the same through and through.
2) Just because the hardware appears identical at a component level does not mean there are no technical limitations. There could be arbitrary design limits in what they can upgrade (e.g. baseband firmware) or what they can reliably upgrade remotely.
"The appearance of the iPhone 3G is almost identical to that of the 2G model. However, its inside, including the parts layout, is totally different. We could see that assembly workability was improved and some measures were taken to reduce the mounting area as well as parts costs."
- http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20090114/164030...
What's that? In the two years between the iPhone and the iPhone 3G they redesigned the insides? But but but if I believe the pictures I'm just buying into Apple's lies. This must be a fake!
Some of the components are different part numbers or made by different companies entirely?
OK OK so they may have spent a year or so redesigning, made changes, layout changes, component changes, but they DIDN'T CHANGE THE CPU so IT MUST BE IDENTICAL because if it wasn't they wouldn't be able to run iOS 4 on it and they ... erm ... can because I say so.
They are different phones with different features designed at different times with different internal layouts and different components. We have the fact that they didn't release iOS 4 for it, and we have the official company words that they aren't supporting all features on iPhone 3G because the hardware isn't up to providing the multitasking experience they want to give, and that they aren't supporting iPod touch 1G because the hardware just isn't up to it.
If you want to claim the 2G is up to it, then the burden of proof is on you to offer some more compelling evidence than shrill cries of 'pure greed', assertions that the hardware is identical when it isn't, and personal insults calling people gullible.
Myself, I've worked with computers and software long enough to know that an arbitrary reason stopping me from doing something which seems possible at a glance is very common.
Since my first iphone I updated my iPhone yearly without spending a dime, because I was always able to sell my old iPhone for more than what the new one subsidized cost.
You have paid for each upgrade. Do you really think telcos subsidize phones because they want to be nice to their users? Where do you think the money used to subsidize them comes from? Unicorns?
I'm not aware of any reason why Froyo won't run perfectly well on that G1 in time - Eclair builds are fairly snappy on it. If JIT is do-able on G1, Froyo may well get more mileage out of this hardware.
Mobile providers won't waste the time to OTA it, of course, and root+image isn't for many people (though things like ROM Manager are making these paths accessible to an awful lot more people than we tend to assume). But I'm not sure how it's 'not true at all'.
Though I'm reluctant to play the Zune card, I've been impressed at the support Microsoft has continued to give even the first generation devices released in 2006. That my wife's Zune will continue to get software updates wile my original iPhone is now frozen in time is a little sad - as is the fact that her Zune does wifi sync and FM radio.
OSX Snow Leopard only supports Intel processors (2006), Leopard only supports G4s @ > 867mhz (unless you hack around). I've installed Win7 on computers from 2001 with no hassle, and with improved performance over Windows XP (let alone Vista)
I really do like my iPhone, but it definitely feels like the software shortcomings have been forced by Apple - sort of like how my phone's hardware is perfectly capable of MMS, but official software won't allow it. My phone records video quite nicely with Cycorder, but I'd have to purchase a third party app that functions at a fraction of Cycorder's quality if I stuck with official updates. And now I don't even get to try the new OS unless I upgrade.
It's still a very capable device though, and I'm more than capable of deciding not to upgrade my phone hardware until my current phone hardware ceases to function as designed.
It's not nice when a hardware maker dictates I should buy a new gizmo to enjoy the features practically identical gizmos have access to.