iPhone 4S to be only new iPhone next month?

[Ben]

We expect the focus of the new iPhone will be iOS 5, a speedier A5 processor and a higher resolution 8 MP camera with a small possibility of a larger 4 inch screen,” Blair wrote. “We believe the casing will be largely similar to the iPhone with some particular modifications to the antennae [sic]. We don’t expect a second, dramatically different iPhone to accompany this as we don’t think Apple needs to have 3 models in the market to address the high end, mid-tier and low end since the iPhone 4 (with memory lowered to 8 GB) will drop to $99 and effectively attack those markets.

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/21/iphone-4s-to-debut-as-only-new-iphone-next-month/

An iPhone 4S alongside a cheaper iPhone 4 does seem the most likely outcome. Speculation had been that a redesigned iPhone 5 would be launched with a cheaper iPhone 4S, but that certainly wouldn't follow Apple's past activities with the iPhone line. That would put the delay in launching a new model squarely at the feet of iOS 5 and iCloud development constraints, which I know many will be currently questioning as worthy delays of new hardware.

I'll be disappointed not to have a more iPad/iPod Touch-like iPhone 5 in my hands this year. But the promise of iOS 5 and iCloud is substantial, and if Apple are putting all their eggs in this basket, as they appear to be, then it certainly fills me with confidence that what we're about to receive will have been worth the wait.

[Craig]

My Iphone 4 is begging for an upgrade :p

I know it is all rumours but I still believe we will see an Iphone 4S and Iphone 5 being unvailed on October 4th :D

Edit: To be honest I dont care what they call it. As long as it has the 8mp camera, A5 processor and larger screen I will be happy. A redesign would be nice

[Ben]

I'm coming around to your way of thinking, Craig... I've got someone who wants my iPhone 4, so that'll make it a lot easier for me to justify a new iPhone at launch even if it's just an iPhone 4S.

Perhaps with all the new bells and whistles in iOS 5 I really will need the extra grunt. We'll see! Better battery life would be nice :(

[Craig]

I still hope so. I assume you have seen that apple have sent out their invitations for October 4th :)

I agree a better battery would also be nice.

My other thought is this will be the first product launch without Steve, So if Apple want to show that they are still as good a company without him they need something pretty special. I also know that we have only known that Steve was leaving as of last month but I think it has probably been talked about for a good while within the company so they would have had time to produce an amazing phone :D

I hope this is not all wishful thinking

Still I have my pictures taken and description ready to put my good old Iphone 4 on ebay as soon as I have my pre-order confirmed for this one :D

Edit For those who have not seen the invitation:

http://modmyi.com/images/phillip/oct4.jpg

[Ben]

Looks like this new voice tech is going to feature big, given that invitation!

Excitement can finally begin. Woohoo!

[gorilla]

I can confidently say that the voice thing will be a gimmick. I don't care how good it is, I will rarely use it. Here's why.
Voice commands work on my Android, but why (when I hate to make a voice call) would I dictate a text or google search?
Is its primary function even a "phone" these days or a data connection, games centre etc?
Maybe I've missed the concept entirely.

I'm looking forward to iOS5 and the improvements it will bring (particularly iMessage).

[DaveC]

Looks like a few day away in the peace and quite of the country are in order for next week :rolleyes:

[DBMandrake]

I can confidently say that the voice thing will be a gimmick. I don't care how good it is, I will rarely use it. Here's why.
Voice commands work on my Android, but why (when I hate to make a voice call) would I dictate a text or google search?
Is its primary function even a "phone" these days or a data connection, games centre etc?
Maybe I've missed the concept entirely.


I too think the voice commands (if they exist) will be a gimmick that's of little practical use. Here's why:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FFRoYhTJQQ

:D

I don't fare much better with my New Zealand accent either, with all the voice recognition or dictation systems I've tried. If I try to put on an American accent sometimes it will work better, usually not, and I sound like a complete twat for trying :D

Lets not forget that simple voice dialling and ipod playback commands were introduced way back in 2009 in the 3GS, but it worked so poorly that I never tried it more than a dozen times. In fact until this recent announcement I'd completely forgotten my 3GS had voice dialling, and I haven't once used it in the last year.

Unless this new voice recognition is an order of magnitude better than the system in the 3GS it won't be worth using.

Even if you do have one of the few accents that are recognised well (eg Mid Western American) and the recognition system is much better than the current one, the main place where you would ever use it - driving - is one of the most challenging places for voice recognition to work due to the high level of background noise.

Voice dialling is meant to stop you from being distracted from the road while driving, but if you get into a long conversation or argument with your "voice assistant" just to dial a number it could be more dangerous than actually navigating the touch screen to dial! :D

[Ben]

I think Apple are going for the full on PA approach; just being able to tell the phone what appointments and things are coming up... but I too have absolutely no anticipation of using such functionality.

But you know how Apple have a canny knack for 'reinventing' things. I've already FaceTime'd much more than I ever, ever 3G-video-called.

[DaveC]

I think Apple are going for the full on PA approach; just being able to tell the phone what appointments and things are coming up... but I too have absolutely no anticipation of using such functionality.

I had that function on my first Windows phone over 4 years ago.

Could be useful on an iPhone where you have to delve through the OS to get at your diary, but not so much for Android where you can see your appointments etc on a home screen widget.

[Ben]

iOS 5 puts appointments and other bits into the notifications drop-down, does it not?

Really excited about iOS 5.

iPhone 5 appears to still have no evidence to support its actual existence. However! AT&T stores have actually taken delivery of iPhone 5 cases, showing the new tapered design, which surely suggests a degree of confidence that such a handset will actually be unveiled on Tuesday. That's one hell of a pointless gamble for AT&T if they're not sure.

[DBMandrake]

To be honest I'm not too bothered about what the iPhone 5 looks like, or even whether there is one instead of an iPhone 4S.

I'm just patiently waiting for the iOS 5 GM to come out to install on my 3GS ;) I was expecting it to come out before next weeks announcement but I guess we'll now see GM release on announcement day with final public version release a week or so later...

I'll be installing it on day one to finally rid myself of the awful modal popup dialogue boxes that drive me crazy, I don't even care if some of my apps won't quite be iOS 5 ready when I first install it :p

[Craig]

AT&T stores have actually taken delivery of iPhone 5 cases, showing the new tapered design, which surely suggests a degree of confidence that such a handset will actually be unveiled on Tuesday. That's one hell of a pointless gamble for AT&T if they're not sure.

Any news links to this?

Thanks

Edit: just found it along with the leaked mf labels, looks pretty convincing. Looking good for a 4S and 5 announcement this Tuesday :D

I just hope it wont have a huge price hike :/ the iPhone 4 cost £500 factory unlocked from the apple store here in the UK on payg

[Ben]

Indeed, I think my current white iPhone 4 was over £600.

Hopefully we'll get a nice, competitively priced iPhone 4 with a plastic back, some souped-up iPhone 4S models in various capacities, and a brand new top-end iPhone 5.

Oh if only wishing made it so :p

[Craig]

If only we could know price etc

I'm very tempted to put my IPhone 4 on eBay right now but because I don't know how much it's going to cost / if I will be able to get once on launch I don't think i can sell my current one right now... :/

[miffed]

When you hear about leaked new features (i.e. this Voice stuff) I think we instinctively think about how such things have worked on other platforms / implementations - Human nature I suppose ! I remember my old WM5-6 devices were able to read out my appointments via etc using "Voice command" - but history has taught us that when Apple implement a feature , they do it with style , and in a way that is 100x more usable than anyone elses previous attempts

Its a "wait and see" thing I suppose , but I am guessing it will be impressive !

[DBMandrake]

More rumours:

http://www.tuaw.com/2011/10/01/iphone-5-appears-temporarily-on-cincinnati-bell-website/

So perhaps an iPhone 4S is the entry model (basically an updated iPhone 4 with faster CPU, rather than keeping the previous years model exactly the same like they did with the entry level 3GS) while an iPhone 5 has a 4" screen, 8MP camera, and 4G ?

My question is, do we really want a 4" screen ?

[Hands0n]

My question is, do we really want a 4" screen ?

If you have to ask, then probably no. :) But there are a lot of people now using their smartphones more for data than voice/text. I am one of those, and opinion among a lot of my associates and friends is that is the way they're moving also. Especially those who opt for plans that encourage the use of mobile data.

That said. I actually had no trouble with the 5" Dell Streak when I used it for all of its intended purposes.

[Craig]

I for one welcome a larger screen. Last I heard it was coming in at 4.3"

Also if it is true that it will support HSPA+ then I shall be moving from O2 to 3 :)

Tuesday can't come soon enough IMO :D

Remember it will be 6PM in the UK when it starts

[miffed]

This is where a nice medium needs to be found IMO , Personally I am all for 5"iPhone - The more screen on a device I can fit into my pocket the better - and the bigger the device , the more space for battery (which it will arguably need , for that bigger screen , LOL ) .
But I have heard a few commentators on t'nternet say that they wouldn't want a bigger screen , and need their phone to be smaller , so it remains a "phone" - I don't really stand under this concept , I think phones only got "small" because manufacturers saw making them small as a wee-ing contest , I only have small hands myself , but I still feel uncomfortable "grasping" a device of narrower proportions than the IP4 , and (in terms of size) I like way the SGS2 sits flatter in my hand , feels far more suited.

So I actually prefer a bigger device , and to an extent think that a lot of other would too if they gave it a go. Bigger in the hand , but small enough for the pocket - (this is where the Slim factor kicks in , I had no problem putting the Dell streak in any pocket )

And then , the screen should take up as much of that area as possible ! My guess is that Apple will do something amazing , and the iPhone will have a screen of bigger dimension than the device itself , TARDIS technology or something ? :D - No , seriously , you KNOW if Apple give you a 4" or 4.3" screen , they'll manage to present it in a way that makes the whole device feel "not much bigger" - That is the sort of thing that makes them Apple !

[Ben]

Rumours continue to point to an 8GB iPhone 4, and a supercharged iPhone 4S, with no sign of the iPhone 5. :-/ I've got everything crossed!

A slightly bigger screen would be nice but I'm not in the miffed 5" camp :p

[miffed]

No , I don't think many would be ! I reckon 4" will be the sweet spot , and Apple will do so in a way that makes it feel no bigger in the hand than the previous generations of iPhone !

[Craig]

There actually has been a few leaks regarding the iPhone 5 itself.

The latest leak being the sku label:

http://modmyi.com/images/akshay/iPhone5_64GB_label_leak.jpg

[Hands0n]

When is all this happening? I feel like climbing under a rock and staying there until its all over :)

[Craig]

Everthing will be revealed on Tuesday ;)

[Craig]

I bought a Iphone 5 silicone case from China for £0.99 and it has just arrived :)

I thought it was worth the risk because it was cheap and there is never any good cases available at launch imo. So even if there is no redesign i have not wasted a lot of money.

I must say if the Iphone 5 is going to be like this then its going to be amazing, When i am holding the case it does not feel to big in my hand. Also it is super thin!!!

[Ben]

No way?! Haha, that's brilliant! Why didn't I think of that? :p

[Craig]

:)

There is a guy on eBay that's in the UK that has them for something like £1.25

If you bought it from him today you should still have it in time for launch ;)

[Ben]

Could Apple really come to market with an iPhone 4S in the face of the Samsung Galaxy S2 which is already out and by all accounts selling well?

There's something niggling at me that does say iPhone 4 8GB, iPhone 4S 16/32/64GB, AND iPhone 5 in a new form-factor, of which the primary feature would be a larger display.

But there's something about the lineup that just feels a little un-Apple. To actually have a range of products in the phone space... that'd be quite a leap!

I just can't see them not capitalising on the massive success of iPhone 4 with a quick follow-up. They do need something to give them an edge.

With so little evidence of the physical existence of an actual iPhone 5, i.e. no leaked parts it would seem, or full blurry spy shots, could it be that Tim Cook will pull a 'One more thing' out of the bag and announce an iPhone 5 to ship in November?

[DaveC]

Another rumour but does lead one to suspect that there will be a 4S

http://www.t3.com/news/apple-iphone-4s-spotted-in-itunes-beta

[Ben]

Yes, pretty convinced there'll be a 4S.

I think it makes sense, the iPhone 4 is a great format and despite the design's detractors it has been hugely, hugely successful! Keeping it going for another year with updated internals seems to make a lot of sense.

[Craig]

Yep, Imo this is what is going to happen based on all the rumours i have heard (and there is a lot)

Apple will announce:

Iphone 4S - Same design as the current Iphone but with the better camera and A5 processor
Iphone 5 - New design (tear drop etc), 4" screen, better camera and A5 processor, HSPA+ etc (+ various other things we dont know of)

Either way we will know for sure tomorrow. Im still sticking with a 4S and 5. As i said previously if Apple wants to continue in this market and be sucessful they need something fresh ie the Iphone 5 :)

[DaveC]

Yep, Apple will have to keep moving with a whole bunch of 1.5GHz dual core devices soon to be released, plus Ice Cream Sandwich Android.

[Craig]

I agree with most of the rumors, There is pretty much no evidence of an Iphone 5. However that does not mean that it does not exist. They don't want a repeat of all of the leaks which happened with the 4.

Maybe im thinking with my heart and not my head here but its just going to seem like a huge let down if there is only a 4S :(

[Ben]

I was sort-of prepared for just an iPhone 4S. Hell, 6 months ago I would have said it was inevitable. But it never came, and announcing just an iPhone 4S now seems... late in the day.

I want that bigger screen. I want that tapered design that I'm not going to keep dropping (hello iPhone 4 no. 3... :S). No new design until 2012 will indeed be a let down :(

[Craig]

It will indeed be a let down if that is the case.

On another note Apple have put their banner up now:

http://9to5mac.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/9to5macletstalk.jpg

[Craig]

New thought :D

Has anybody considered that perhaps the 4S is the 5? Ie it will have all the supposed iPhone 5 features but is simply being called the 4S?

Then along side it would be the budget iPhone 4 we have been hearing about.

That would tie in with the "1 missed call" thing on the invitations.

Craig

[Ben]

How do you figure that it would tie in with the missed call badge?

I can't imagine Apple releasing a fundamentally different case design and calling it the iPhone 4S. In my mind, the iPhone 4S can only be an updated iPhone 4, as 3GS was to 3G.

[Craig]

I figure it ties in because it is "1" new phone being announced Ie 4S

I dont think they would consider an identical budget line iPhone 4 an announcement more of a secondary note.

At te same time I agree it would be odd for them to call it a 4S if it is a total overhaul.

[Ben]

So it looks pretty certain we're getting an iPhone 4S.

I'm sure the bump in features will be great, and make iOS 5 fly, but I really, really want a new form factor? Like, I wish I could buy a Samsung Galaxy S2 in white and put iOS 5 on it? :p

The iPhone 4 is so beautiful, but does it really have another year in it as the world's flagship smartphone when the competition is so fierce?

[DBMandrake]

C'mon Ben, the announcement is less than 2 hours away. Time to stop reading and believing rumours. Lets just wait and see what happens ;)

[Craig]

Yep the conference will be starting in 50mins

We will know for sure very soon :D

Keep your fingers crossed guys

[Craig]

Wow that sucks, 4S only :(

It certainly is an inpressive phone but I really wanted a redesign etc

Ohh what to do now :(

[gorilla]

So, what do you think? I have absolutely no use for Siri, but the rest seems reasonable. OK, it's not the 5, but how much hardware do we need? The speed improvements and the beefed up camera will more than satisfy most people. Now we just have to wait on the UK pricing.

I wont be buying one (not being negative, it's just not that compelling to me).

[Craig]

Still not sure. I just wish they would confirm UK pricing at thesame time instead of waiting until the day of pre-orders :/

[Ben]

Well, basically we've got all the hardware we possibly could have in the next generation iPhone, but it's a 4S, not the redesigned iPhone 5 it seems the entire world was hoping for.

There's a lot of anti-Apple sentiment floating around - my Twitter is practically a hate rally. Quite funny really, people calling it iPhone 4.1... but all they didn't get a shiny new shell, what were they expecting? Fusion power?

At the moment I'm in two minds as to whether it's for me or not. I want the better camera (iPhone 4 is my camera, and this new one sounds really really good), and the speed is going to be nice for iOS 5. I think the answer is probably yes, I'll upgrade, but I'll have to look very seriously at case options as the bumper has marked the metal surround of my iPhone 4 and I'm not doing that again :( But I hate cases! Argh.

So Apple stuck to their guns, to their formula. Mistake? We'll see.

[Craig]

This is how we need to look at it.

All the info from before today were just rumours. It is a great phone but for me the question is is there enough to make me upgrade my current 4

I guess price will also dictate that

[Craig]

Looking at the apple website I see it states prices start from £499

So the 16GB will be £499 I guess.

I think I'm sold :)

[Hands0n]

I have yet to read the full spec of the 4S and decided not to get caught up in the furore this evening - mostly because Twitter was, frankly, useless. Instead of just watching the Twitter channels everyone wanted to have their say and, for example @MacrumorsLive was just utter chaos. I could not weed out the information from the Keynote from that of the people who just had to RT everything in sight! So I gave up and went to visit some very non-computer, non-tech, friends.

From what I've read so far, and that is not very much at all to be honest, I can't see the driver to buy-up to the iPhone 4S from the iPhone 4 that I already have. Unless iOS 5 completely screws this device up I cannot see too much point in making such a massive spend when it will probably be as well to hold off until the iPhone 5 arrives in 2012/13.



... I'll have to look very seriously at case options as the bumper has marked the metal surround of my iPhone 4 and I'm not doing that again

I was shocked and astonished to find exactly the same thing had happened with my, otherwise pristine, iPhone. It is completely ruined from being mint by essentially pocket lint getting in the bumper and abrading the metal surround.

I have now opted for a Griffin case that bulks the handset up a bit but provides much more overall protection. I've also, for the first time ever, fitted a screen protector to an iPhone because the 4's glass is much easier to mark than its predecessors!

So now I am waiting to see what the Google Nexus Prime is all about and will take a decision on which handset to buy in 2011.

[Ben]

I'm... I'm going to pre-order the iPhone 4S on Friday.

[Hands0n]

I've just watched Apple's website video on the iPhone 4S, it is interesting. Now going to flick through the keynote!

[Craig]

I hope my 3 e586 provides a good enough speed / reliable enough connection on friday to enable me to pre-order this :/

[gorilla]

When I think about it, I wouldn't want the iPhone 4S because of the screen size. I think everyone expected a bigger screen, not massive just bigger!

So now that iPhone 4S has been announced what can we expect in the iPhone 5 and when will it be launched? :)
I'm betting that 5 will be launched in June 2012, bringing the release cycle back to normal.

I'm just going to add that the £499 price tag is pretty fair and competitive for a sim free (high end) smartphone. It compares nicely to the SG2, HTC etc

[hecatae]

has anyone got a 3gs still and does the ios5 gold master ruin it?

[Craig]

So now that iPhone 4S has been announced what can we expect in the iPhone 5 and when will it be launched? :)
I'm betting that 5 will be launched in June 2012, bringing the release cycle back to normal.

This is exactly what I think :)

Will still probably get a 4S for until then because im a PAYG customer

[Ben]

@gorilla - Indeed, it's all about iPhone 5 now! My guess is that it'll come with a point-release of iOS 5 as development ambitions are scaled back a little after iOS 5/iCloud clearly pushing Apple to the limit. We'll get our redesign and, I think, our bigger screen too, but the pressure really will be on Apple by that point to leapfrog the competition when it comes to form-factor. Yet in many respects the iPhone 4 design is still unparalleled; glass, steel, glass and steel, solid, luxurious, quite unlike anything else on the market.

@hecatae - ack, yes I do have a 3GS but someone else is using it and I can't iOS 5 it right now. My guess is that iOS 5 will have a performance cost on the 3GS, and quite possibly a battery life cost too, but that Apple are still selling the 3GS gives hope that they've kept the handset entirely usable. I think it'll be ok.

[DBMandrake]

has anyone got a 3gs still and does the ios5 gold master ruin it?
Yes, I installed the Gold Master on my 3GS last night, so I've had a few hours to use it. I was going to write a little first impressions mini review of iOS 5 so I might as well put it here :)

As always seems to be the case for me with a Gold Master release, an upgrade install doesn't work, it just comes up with an error message right at the beginning.

So I did "Restore" install, after first letting the phone do a full backup to iTunes. To install the Gold Master you need iTunes 10.5 beta 7 or later, I used beta 9 successfully. The current public release of iTunes won't work.

So the procedure is, sync/backup your phone first, install the iTunes beta, then perform a custom firmware restore (option/alt while clicking restore) and browse to your downloaded firmware image. From this point on everything should be the same as a normal installation.

For me the initial firmware upgrade process took about 20-30 minutes, after which I was greeted with the new activation/setup screens which allow you to set up the device without the aid of any computer. I went through these and then chose the option to "Restore from an iTunes backup" rather than configure from fresh.

Another 10 minutes or so restoring from my backup and rebooting and I was at the home screen, at which point one of the first major improvements of iOS 5 is evident - syncing without locking the phone on a sync in progress screen!

Itunes continued to do its thing restoring my phone while I was able to use the phone. After a couple of minutes all my missing apps popped up on the home screen, all with progress bars and I was actually able to watch the apps downloading from the PC and installing as it happened (several installing in parallel at any given time) whilst the phone was still perfectly usable and responsive.

After all my apps had been transferred across and installed it then started syncing my music and media files automatically, once again I was fully able to use the phone, the only give-away was the little spinning sync icon in the top task bar.

Furthermore, even though it was syncing music I was able to go into the iPod app (now named Music, more on that in a moment) and browse through my song listings - all songs in my iTunes library were listed, however those which had not yet been transferred across were greyed out. Those which had already been transferred were able to be played, and as songs synced over they went from grey and inaccessible to black and playable without even exiting the app.

This is a HUGE improvement on the "lock everything" mentality of iOS 4 and earlier. It's clear that very granular locking has been implemented, which allows songs to be added to the internal database even while other songs are already playing. Obviously this was done to support automated background syncing over Wifi, but the fact that it also works when connected via a USB cable is great.

It also appears that "hot unplug" is now possible while syncing, even over USB. If I pulled the USB cable out during syncing music, instead of the previous dire warnings of not doing this and the prospect of a corrupted sync or starting over, it just gracefully stopped without any warnings, with all songs except the one currently in flight intact on the device. When I plugged the cable back in (iTunes still open) it automatically picked up where it left off without any prompting and proceeded to finish the job with no complaints or problems.

Massive improvement in syncing behaviour. No longer am I afraid to abort a sync if I need to grab my phone to go out, I can just interrupt it and let it finish later.

Syncing over Wifi I have not tested yet as on a Mac it requires 10.6.8, and my *ahem* Hackintosh is still running 10.6.7. :o When I figure out how to update that I will be testing Wifi sync.

So how is it in general ?

First the new notifications system - in a word, wonderful. Yes I know it's just catching up to Android in this area. (maybe surpassing it, I'm not sure)

I love the new slide down notification panel. Surprisingly when there is no touch sensor above the screen, you can just swipe down from the black area near the ear piece onto the screen and it will detect this flawlessly every time, unlike the similar gesture shown on Windows 8 which failed to work half the time for the demonstrators... ;)

In a landscape app you have to swipe from the side of the screen, which is a bit more difficult if you have a case like mine which comes around the front fairly close to the edge of the screen, but not impossible.

Within the notification pane are also a few widgets such as weather report, stocks, calendar appointments and so on, which can (thankfully in the case of stocks) all be turned off if you wish.

There is a lot more customizability of notifications than I expected. In the notifications section, for each different app you can configure several things, including whether it's notifications are saved in notification centre or not, how many items from that app to show, alert style (off, old popup style and new banner style) as well as whether this apps alerts will appear in the lock screen, and in the case of in built apps like mail and sms, whether a message preview is shown.

Still having access to old modal popups is a good thing - for example I've chosen to set both calendar reminders and the new reminders app to use modal popups so that when I'm alerted to these they stay on screen until dismissed. The problem with the banner notifications at the top is they go away after a few seconds, which means if you walk out of the room while they arrive you could miss them.

The small banner notification at the top is ideal for most types of notifications. I used to get so sick of SMS or Skype messages interrupting the flow of I what I was doing - one scenario for me was watching a podcast while an SMS comes in - a big ugly modal popup would appear on the screen, which in the case of Instacast would cause it to drop the volume low and blank the picture but (bizarrely) keep playing until I would dismiss the dialogue.

Now an unobtrusive message appears at the top then "folds out" a few seconds later without interrupting what's happening. My only real complaint is that they're actually a bit too small if anything. If the phone is on the desk at more than arms length from me I can't at a glance read the notification like I could with the old popup dialogues, but its a small price to pay.

The lock screen is also suitably impressive now. Incoming alerts are displayed much like before, but as they build up they build a nice little list complete with time stamp that you can scroll through. Swiping to the right on any item takes you straight to it - in the case of a missed call it will immediately dial them back with one swipe.

This swiping of individual items is arguably "un-discoverable " if you don't know its there, but is a nifty feature for power users.

While we're speaking of alerts, one which has been long overdue is alerts from incoming email. Previously the only alert you could ever receive for new email was a hard to hear "bong" sound, and the number badge on the app - if you happened to be looking at it. When locked there was no alert apart from the sound, and the screen wouldn't even wake.

Email is now an equal partner to missed calls and sms in the notification system. If you enable email alerts they will generate the same banner notification at the top of the screen as any other alert, optionally with a 2 line preview of the message. At a glance you can see whether the email sound which is interrupting your game is something important or not.

This also works on the lock screen - if so configured an incoming email will actually wake the screen, display the message alert and optional 2 line preview of the email right on the lock screen, and it will remain in the list of items if a list builds up. Brilliant! I can see this being really appreciated by all those who use an iPhone at work with their work email, its a big improvement over a hard to hear "bong" and no visible indication on the lock screen.

The only niggles I've been able to find with the notification centre so far is that I have once had the weather widget display a "no weather report" error message instead of the weather, and if you have multiple calendars set up there appears to be no way to specify which of your calendars to show upcoming events from - even if you deselect some calendars in the calendar app the events from unselected calendars still show up in the notification screen widget :(

Stability wise I haven't had any problems with iOS 5 yet, with all my apps working flawlessly, and overall things seem a bit snappier.

Other good features - traffic density reports on Google maps, although I'm not sure what the source of data is. Searching a route now gives you 3 or more options.

Settings->General->Usage now provides a complete breakdown of the amount of storage space used by each installed app, ranked from largest to smallest. Excellent!

Built in Software update for PC free updating. Nuff said. (Although it doesn't seem to be functional yet - it says it can't contact the server)

Finally sounds for text alert, new email and so on can be customized beyond the limited set available before, particularly welcome in the case of the impossible to hear "bong" sound for new email, which can now be anything you like.

[DBMandrake]

Now for the niggles.

The send button in the SMS app is now olive green :p I think it reverts to its usual blue colour if the contact has iMessage support, but for those contacts who don't, its green. ick.

Also in the SMS app is the ability to slide the keyboard down to read messages full screen - something I was looking forward to, but the way they've implemented it doesn't work well IMO. Previously if you scrolled the message view you could move your finger all the way down to the bottom of the screen and keep scrolling - right past the keyboard area.

Now as soon as you reach the text entry window it starts to push the keyboard down. This means scrolling a long way back is very cumbersome, as you have to keep flicking entirely within the message bubble part of the screen, otherwise allow the keyboard to drop then bring it back up again.

No camera button on the lock screen for the 3GS. This really annoys me. I've been waiting like everyone else for the camera button next to the lock screen slider which will take you directly to the camera ready to take a shot without unlocking, but its not there on the 3GS. Why ? I can see no reason why this would be an iPhone 4 or later feature...

The iPod app has now been split into a separate Music and Video app, like the iPod Touch. Why ? Now I have an extra icon to clutter up my screens. Because I don't use Video much I've put it in a folder, but it still irks me.

No location based reminders for the 3GS - as far as I can see, none of the fancy location based reminder features (like reminding you when you're at the shops to buy milk etc) is functional on the 3GS. The only thing you can do for a reminder is set a date and time to be reminded. Disappointing, as that again was a feature I was looking forward to, and there are 3rd party apps that can do it on the 3GS.

Newsstand - Ok so I don't want to use this at the moment, can I get rid of yet another new icon ? No! Ok then, so I'll drag it into my "Apple stuff" folder where I put all the built in Apple apps that I don't use. What ? I can't drag newsstand into a folder ? Fail.

Despite my rants over minor details I think it's a worthwhile upgrade for the 3GS, the notification system alone makes it worthwhile, let alone wifi syncing and cord free firmware updates. It's a little disappointing that so much was left out for the 3GS though, in particular the fast camera access.

Will we see an iOS 6 for the 3GS ? Until yesterday I would have said definitely not, but the fact that they're now still selling the 3GS as an entry level phone alongside the iPhone 4 and 4S, makes me wonder whether it will in fact see an iOS 6 update. It gives me a little bit of reassurance of the longevity of the 3GS, even if some features have been left out. It certainly doesn't run any slower than iOS 4.

Overall, a big thumbs up. :)

(Edit: well that "quick" review came in so long I was forced to split it into two posts :p )

[DBMandrake]

I'm betting that 5 will be launched in June 2012, bringing the release cycle back to normal.

I wouldn't count on that.

September/October makes a lot more sense from a sales perspective, as it fits in well with the holiday buying season, and it's the same time of year that iPod's have always been released. It never made much sense to me to have an iPhone release in June and an iPod Touch release in September.

I think the only reason the iPhone schedule was previously June/July is because that's when the first iPhone was ready, and they've stuck to a yearly cycle. Now that they've gone out of their way to deflect that schedule to September/October, whether due to iOS 5 delays or something else, I think we might see it staying there with a unified iPhone / iPod Touch release from now on.

[miffed]

I'm considering upgrading , but not for any "S" reasons - Quite simply because I want a white iPhone , so it makes sense to grab the 4S in White.

I was a bit disappointed yesterday , but having slept on it , I think I have learned an important lesson about believing hype !

I also recall being equally as disappointed by the 3GS announcement , but I don't think anyone would argue that the 3GS upgrade was not a worthwhile one ?
So yeah , I think I'll take one !

[Ben]

Excellent posts DBMandrake! I'm glad iOS 5 is so viable on the 3GS, great news for a lot of people and great news for buyers of the 3GS at its new price point. I can't see it getting iOS 6 myself (I think the next iOS release will be a point one, and that that'll probably be the last for the 3GS), but you never know.

miffed - Funny isn't it, how hype has gripped beyond any reason this time around. Perhaps because of the iPad effect, and possibly because of the Jobs departure, too. But you're entirely right, I was so disappointed with the 3GS that I decided not to buy one. That lasted for at least a couple of days; after which I was in the O2 shop buying it on PAYG to upgrade myself! It turned out to be a massive improvement, and I hope that the iPhone 4S will feel similarly 'better' than the 4.

[Hands0n]

Seconded, very nice write ups DBMandrake. It made excellent reading and encouraging even more so to update to iOS 5 when the time comes, next week.

One thing is for absolute certain, iOS 5 is not the emperors new clothes :) How exciting.

[gorilla]

I'm considering upgrading , but not for any "S" reasons - Quite simply because I want a white iPhone , so it makes sense to grab the 4S in White

So, "not a slave to spec" Miffed, but maybe a slave to colour? ;):D

[Ben]

So, "not a slave to spec" Miffed, but maybe a slave to colour? ;):D
I like to think of him as a 'slave to style'. In the 'Carrie Bradshaw' way. :D

[Craig]

RIP Steve Jobs, the company will not be the same without you :(

[DBMandrake]

Now for the niggles.

[...]

No camera button on the lock screen for the 3GS. This really annoys me. I've been waiting like everyone else for the camera button next to the lock screen slider which will take you directly to the camera ready to take a shot without unlocking, but its not there on the 3GS. Why ? I can see no reason why this would be an iPhone 4 or later feature...


Looks like I have some humble pie to eat! :o

I've just watched some of the Apple event and as they were talking about the new features in iOS 5 I, apparently for the first time, found out that you have to double click the home button in order to bring up the quick camera button. :cool:

So sure enough, it works on the 3GS. From a locked phone double click the home button, tap the camera icon at the bottom right and you're into the camera and ready to take a picture in under 2 seconds even on the 3GS.

In this mode you don't have access to any of your previous photo library - even if the phone wasn't pass-code locked. You can only access and review and/or delete the photos you just took since entering the camera app. To access the rest of your photos you need to exit the camera app and (after unlocking the phone, if locked) enter it normally.

This is a great compromise as it allows you to take a photo without messing around unlocking the phone, but preserve the privacy of your existing photos.

It does mean your friends can punk you by taking pictures of *ahem* weird stuff without unlocking your phone though, so I can see that gag going around for a while :p

Ironically, it's now faster to access the camera via this method even if the phone is already unlocked and at the home screen - the app launch time is much faster than normal due to it not loading the photo library, so rather than swiping to get to the camera app and waiting for it to slowly load, press the top lock button immediately followed by a double click of the home button and a tap of the camera icon - faster than trying to back your way out of a running app and find the right home screen.

What would have been nice is a "quick camera" widget within the notification centre - swipe down from the top whilst any app is running and press one button to launch the camera in quick launch mode. Perhaps it will get added at some point in the future.

The next problem will be unlearning 3 years of operational habit of unlocking and manually finding the camera when something spontaneous happens, and actually remembering to double click and use the quick launch! :D

[DBMandrake]

Syncing over Wifi I have not tested yet as on a Mac it requires 10.6.8, and my *ahem* Hackintosh is still running 10.6.7. :o When I figure out how to update that I will be testing Wifi sync.

I've now had time to test syncing over Wifi, so here is a run-down on how this works in practice.

Firstly you need to enable it first on iTunes. To do this you connect the phone via USB cable and in the summary tab there is an option "Sync with this iPhone over Wifi" which must be ticked. Once this is done you no longer need a cable.

From now on, any time Wifi is turned on on the phone, its in range of your wifi network, and iTunes is launched and running on your PC/Mac the iPhone will automatically appear in the sidebar of itunes, as if it were connected via USB.

You can do anything from iTunes which you could if it was connected via cable except for initiating a firmware upgrade or restore, which does still require a cable. (Or do it directly on the device, in the case of an upgrade)

If the phone has been recently awake or communicating with iTunes it seems to hold a connection open to iTunes for at least several minutes, so during this time you can initiate a sync without waking the phone, however after being idle long enough it eventually drops the connection and you must wake the phone before it will show up in iTunes.

It's now possible to initiate or cancel a sync either from the computer or the iPhone. To do so from the phone you go to Settings->General->iTunes Wi-Fi Sync where there is a Sync now button and also a basic sync progress screen. If iTunes is running on your computer on the network you can just go here to initiate a sync.

Apparently if you connect the phone to a charger and it hasn't synced recently it will automatically initiate a background sync, but only if iTunes is running on your computer.

As syncing now no longer locks the phone a wireless sync is actually pretty convenient - you could be talking on the phone or texting and hit sync on your laptop with no cable and it will cheerfully sync in the background as you continue to use the phone.

I had actually given up regularly syncing my phone because of the hassle of finding the cable, connecting it, being unable to respond to calls or messages while it was syncing etc, so I can see myself syncing regularly now.

So what are the downsides ?

For one, it's quite a bit slower. I haven't timed it, and I don't have a very fast or reliable wireless network, but I would say its between 1/4 and 1/2 as fast as using the USB cable. Not really a big deal though since it doesn't lock the phone while syncing now, and you're free to walk about the house using it whilst it syncs.

It does use a significant amount of battery if you are doing a really long sync like an initial sync. For an initial restore sync I would still use a cable both for speed and battery drain reasons, but it is more than adequate for the daily/weekly catch-up sync.

The automatic sync when connecting to a charger is a nice idea, but there doesn't seem to be a way to turn it off from the phone, and its not as useful as it might be, because not only must your computer be on, it must have iTunes up and running.

The idea is obviously that when you plug your phone into your bedside charger at night for it to automatically sync, but who leaves iTunes running on their computer overnight ? It might make more sense with iCloud backups, where the backup will be going to Apple's servers instead.

Finally, I have experienced a couple of bugs with it. It seems that cancelling a sync is not as robust as it should be, yet. Although syncing worked perfectly if I always let it finish, within the first 5 minutes of testing it I managed to get it into a state where iTunes would no longer detect the phone over Wifi, and the only recourse was to reboot the phone. I managed this twice in a row by simply attempting to cancel a sync from the phone end. A bug or two that needs squashing in 5.0.1 perhaps.

All in all a useful feature whose time has come, hopefully not at the expense of battery drain in keeping a communications link open with iTunes.

[miffed]

Who leaves iTunes running ? ..... I do !

(Its an Apple TV Thing !)

[miffed]

Oh , and on the keynote thing .....

Never really paid much attention to the latest nano , but I thought the "watch" thing was really cool !

Definately going to get one for the gym now !

[Ben]

I also leave my iTunes running 24x7... who doesn't? :p

(I'm also an Apple TV user, mind you!)

Will be very cool to have my iPhone sync and back up when I plug it in to the charger next to my bed at night. I approve!

[Hands0n]

I have iTunes running 24x7x365 on my Mac Mini, why not? It is also used to Sync, Backup and Charge my iPhone every single night, a strict regime of plugging it in when I go to bed.

[DBMandrake]

Interesting little snippet captured from the system log (via iPhone configuration utility) when deliberately setting the time wrong a couple of minutes then enabling automatic date and time configuration:

Oct 12 22:40:15 unknown timed[673] : (Note ) CoreTime: Want active time in 39.95hrs. Need active time in 123.29hrs.
Oct 12 22:40:22 unknown timed[673] : (Note ) CoreTime: Received automatic time enabled
Oct 12 22:40:22 unknown timed[673] : (Note ) CoreTime: Setting system time to 10/12/2011 21:44:27 from GPS

It looks like iOS may finally make use of the ultra accurate GPS time data to keep its clock synchronised as of iOS 5 :) (I don't remember seeing this before 5.0)

Some of you may not remember but up until 3.1.3 (I think) iOS would synchronise the time of the iPhone from the host computer when syncing with iTunes, so as long as your OS on your host computer was kept in time from a time server, and you synced with iTunes now and then the iPhone would keep good time.

At some point, I believe in iOS 4 but I could be wrong iOS no longer synced time from the host computer, and ever since then my iPhone has drifted out of time and required manual correcting every few weeks by which time it was a minute or two different from the Host PC which was time syncing from the internet.

From the above log it looks like the system will now check the system clock against GPS time every 48 hours or so. Excellent :)

Also to Nicky on the rapid battery drain issue, it will be interesting to see whether we still get this problem, as I have a hunch it may be related to the software update feature.

Before today's public release I always got an error when going to Settings->General->Software Update, and from checking logs I suspect that the phone was frequently attempting to check for new software updates in the background and retrying when it couldn't get through, which could be the reason for extra battery drain.

I assumed it was something not quite working in the Gold Master, but after doing a full restore to the public release tonight I was still getting the same error message for a few hours, and as far as I can see the public release is identical to the Gold master this time. A few hours later the Software update tab is working properly so it must have been a configuration error on Apple's servers, and hopefully if my hunch is right the increased battery drain will be gone.

If anyone notices heavy battery drain after updating to iOS 5, especially when the phone is idle, please post a comment... :)

[Ben]

That's awesome! You clearly like your time very accurate :D

Gosh last night was a bit of a battle.

Being on craptastic satellite, and iTunes being as it is, I have to download the various files using a download manager and do the process the old-fashioned way. I also brought home Lion via sneakernet as I knew I'd want to hop straight onto iCloud, although that does mean I now need to update my iMac at work when I get in this morning!

As it turns out that was the easy part. The iOS downloads only took 20 minutes each, pulling a respectable 500KB. It got tricky trying to get the actual update process past Apple's servers, which were clearly overwhelmed. It was gone midnight before I finally got through.

As for the end result, initially I was a bit shocked that everything still looked exactly the same. Then I slowly noticed various new bits and pieces, including iMessage (and how amazing that is), got my first few notifications etc... the result? Amazing. I can see a lot of iOS 5 talk on the horizon!

[DBMandrake]

Hi All,

Rather than tacking on findings for iOS 5 here I've created a new thread for people to talk about what they discover, like/dislike etc about iOS 5:

https://talk3g.co.uk/showthread.php?9082-The-iOS-5-%28and-iPhone-4S%29-thread

[DBMandrake]

Interesting speculation on why we got an iPhone 4S instead of an iPhone 5 this year, and why iOS 5 and the new iPhone were both delayed so much:

http://9to5mac.com/2011/10/17/the-inside-scoop-what-happened-to-the-iphone-5/

[DaveC]

If there is an iPhone5 coming next summer then there are going to be a lot of disgruntled 4s buyers only 9 months or so into a contract.
No doubt that won't deter them from wanting their carriers to release them from their contract early.

I wish I did no the date as I could book a holiday in the Amazon for the weeks surrounding the launch. :D

[Ben]

9 months'll be a good 3 more than the time that has passed since I got the white iPhone 4 :D I'm not sure we'll see an iPhone 5 before next autumn, but I do believe that the device is largely finished and will be able to be rolled out in response to the market situation as necessary.

Was the late Steve Jobs involved with the iPhone 5? I'd like to think so. I think we all would. It's where Apple goes from there that'll be interesting, but it would seem that he tried very hard to instil his methods into his colleagues so there's a good chance that, particularly for the existing product lines, there are many excellent generations to come.

Just putting iOS 5 on the rather battered 3GS to have as a backup since my lovely white 4 is now in use by a friend. Oh well, these things are designed to be used, right?

[miffed]

People love to hate everything Apple does , and it amuses me watching them sometimes ! , I found the exact same people that were whinging about Apple launching a new phone every year , were the ones complaining that this upgrade was to minor after waiting "so long !" - Damned if they do , damned if they don't ! :D , anyway , when was that last time you saw Nokia , HTC or anyone else for that matter turning out devices a convenient timetable so you can own them all on the same contract ?

As for the "Steve Jobs swan song" thing. I was very sceptical when they announced VERY shortly after SJ's death that he had "5 years of products designed" , Hmm , how convenient for your shareholders , I thought !
But having read the link a few posts above , that does make some sense , and also I think it is realistic assume that Apple developing a couple of models ahead of any current device - So yes , I suspect the iPhone 5 may well be a Jobs device , or it is certainly likely to be the last he had a major impact on - I think the very suggestion will make it a "memorial" device , and rightly or wrongly it will break all sales records on this basis !

[DBMandrake]

If there is an iPhone5 coming next summer then there are going to be a lot of disgruntled 4s buyers only 9 months or so into a contract.
No doubt that won't deter them from wanting their carriers to release them from their contract early.

The thing is though, nobody needs to upgrade their phone every year, and most contracts are 2 years anyway.

Apple has so far regularly released a new model every year (although a bit late this year) however every second model is more of a "speed/feature bump" release rather than an all new model.

Those who have an iPhone 4 will have no overwhelming "must have" feature to tempt them to upgrade early, unless they're the sort of gadget nerd that will always want the latest model of anything. Those on a 3GS whose 2 year contract will be up have a very nice upgrade from 3GS -> iPhone 4S, just like those on the 3G would have had from 3G to iPhone 4.

If we're to criticize Apple for releasing a new model every year, then what about Android ? No matter what Android phone you buy, no matter the time of the year, you can be assured that within just a few months something better will be out, such are the number of different Android vendors and handset models. Buyers remorse should be that much higher with Android because incremental handset improvements are happening constantly throughout the year at unpredictable times.

At least with the iPhone you more or less know that Apple aren't going to spring a new model on you 3-6 months after the one you just bought, as long as you don't buy near the end of the yearly cycle. You also know that you can count on at least 2 years worth of major OS updates, so that even if you're running last years model until your 2 year contract is up, you'll be getting 80% of the new software based features of the next model through a free software update.

Where is the 2 years of continuous software updates keeping you right up to date on most Android phones ? Many get left behind on the version they shipped with and at most get 1 or 2 small updates "eventually", unless you're willing to root the device and hack it yourself, but then you're in the same territory as jailbreaking an iPhone.

I'm still happily on my 3GS, purchased in July 2009, now running iOS 5 and enjoying many of the new features such as notification centre - I didn't have the money to get an iPhone 4 at the time, and even if I had the whole Antenna issue put me off so I decided I wouldn't get one even if the money did come along.

Now that the 4S is out and appears to have solved the Antenna problems I'm ready to upgrade and feel like I've got a good 2+ years solid use out of my 3GS. I still don't have the money to upgrade though, so I'll have to stick with the 3GS a bit longer - but I know that in all likelihood the 3GS will still be supported by software updates until just before iOS 6 mid next year, by which time I will have had 3 years use out of it.

I think that's a pretty good useful lifetime for a smartphone, so even if you do happen to buy a model near the end of its yearly cycle you're hardly getting ripped off. If an iPhone 5 does come out in 9 months, so what ? The 4S will still be well supported for years to come, just as my 3GS has been. Only those who must have the absolute latest and greatest model will be upset.

[gorilla]

Where is the 2 years of continuous software updates keeping you right up to date on most Android phones ? Many get left behind on the version they shipped with and at most get 1 or 2 small updates "eventually", unless you're willing to root the device and hack it yourself, but then you're in the same territory as jailbreaking an iPhone.

Most (http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-versions.html) Androids are running 2.2. and 2.3 these days.
But yes you are right in saying that Apple customers are better served by software updates. I don't think the networks have really ever released free major software updates though, Apple really did shake up the industry with their release cycle.

This is a perfect example of why you should root your Android. CyanogenMod 7.1 is running 2.3.7 and I would put my house on that being a tiny % of overall Android users. Most custom ROMS always use the latest .release of Android. I don't need to preach this here, but running the latest software is important for security and bug fixes.

Footnote:
How many iOS devices are running v5? About 10% according to recent news articles, but I don't want to get into a debate about Android fragmentation because it is well known. My point is that not everyone upgrades their iOS device.

[Ben]

How many iOS devices are running v5? About 10% according to recent news articles, but I don't want to get into a debate about Android fragmentation because it is well known. My point is that not everyone upgrades their iOS device.
What's that, though, 10% in a week? When you consider that a) most people connect up to iTunes infrequently and b) even when they do, iTunes only checks for updates every now and then, not continuously, over 20m downloads in such a short period of time is pretty amazing.

Now OTA is present, users of iOS 5 should have their software kept current with minimum hassle. This should result in only a tiny number running outdated software.

I thought OTA updates in Android were an amazing element of the OS when it first arrived. In reality, the manufacturers have all but killed its usefulness.

[DBMandrake]

Most (http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-versions.html) Androids are running 2.2. and 2.3 these days.
But yes you are right in saying that Apple customers are better served by software updates. I don't think the networks have really ever released free major software updates though, Apple really did shake up the industry with their release cycle.

They didn't shake up the industry - they brought things back to where they should be. Why on earth should individual carriers get to block and control updates of the OS on your phone ? Who do they think they are ?

That's as if Dell, HP, Compaq and so on needed to individually OK windows updates released by Microsoft, before owners of their particular hardware could install them. Makes no sense.

If Google releases an update of Android and your handset manufacturer creates a build of it for your device, you should be able to install that as soon as its available without your carrier being able to veto or delay it.


This is a perfect example of why you should root your Android. CyanogenMod 7.1 is running 2.3.7 and I would put my house on that being a tiny % of overall Android users. Most custom ROMS always use the latest .release of Android. I don't need to preach this here, but running the latest software is important for security and bug fixes.

One of my problems with Android - you have the extra layer of indirection that even if Google does release a fix for something like a security bug, its up to your handset vendor to get around to taking that updated code and creating a build for your handset. (Unless you want to go down the whole rooting path...) And then you have to hope that your carrier doesn't block it.

Apple are sometimes a bit slow getting security updates out but when they do they're instantly available to all iOS devices that are capable of running the current major release version. No waiting for 3rd party handset vendors, no waiting for individual carriers to get around to allowing their users to have the update.

I suspect one reason Apple have traditionally dragged their heels with some security updates is the lack of a delta update mechanism and over the air updates - even just revoking the Diginotar certificates recently would have required a full 600MB+ firmware download and side-load installation via iTunes on a PC/Mac.

Because of this they delayed it a week or two and rolled it into iOS 5. I think now that we have the ability for small delta updates and on-device over the air updating we'll see security patches coming a lot quicker via small delta patches.



Footnote:
How many iOS devices are running v5? About 10% according to recent news articles, but I don't want to get into a debate about Android fragmentation because it is well known. My point is that not everyone upgrades their iOS device.
Are you saying that with a straight face ? You're complaining that only 10% of users have updated to a new release that only came out less than a week ago ? ;)

Whilst gadget geeks like us know about new updates, the first time most iOS users would know of an update is when they next plug their phone into iTunes - which by default only checks automatically for updates once a week. So even those syncing with iTunes regularly would only now start getting alerted that an update is available.

Also, a large percentage of iPhone users only very rarely sync to iTunes, and a significant percentage never sync to iTunes on a regular basis. Unless they hear it through the news that a flash new update is out they won't even be aware of it.

Despite this in January this year 90% of all iOS devices were running some version of 4.x, a few months after 4.0 was released. Has there ever been a recent time when 90% of all Android devices were on the same major release version ?

The main problem with iOS updates is just people not being aware of an update being available, and/or not wanting to go through the hassle of downloading a full size update via a tethered connection to a PC, whereas the main reason with Android is fragmentation of what versions are available for different handsets.

This is why the new over the air delta updates are such a sea change for iOS. Once a large percentage of iOS devices are on 5.0 or later they will all be kept up to date far more quickly and consistently than now. I assume the OS will check at least once a week for new versions and alert the user directly on the phone with a pop-up - if its a small download that only requires a press of one button to download and install, I suspect most people when presented with it will just do it, especially if it had a once a day nag.

Potentially Apple could also push out alerts directly to the device for any critical security fix related point release to encourage people to install it quickly. It will be quite interesting to see how over the air updates will be handled in terms of prompting the user, as well as whether they accelerate their release of minor bug/security fix only releases.

[Ben]

Just got this in my daily email update from the GSMA:

Analytics firm Localytics said yesterday that one-in-three eligible Apple devices have already been upgraded to iOS5. The firm said that iPad 2 and iPhone 4 device users were the most enthusiastic with 36 percent and 35 percent of users, respectively, having made the upgrade already.
That figure excludes iPhone 4S, as they all already have iOS 5.

BT claims that iOS 5 pushed UK net usage to its highest peak ever: http://www.reghardware.com/2011/10/18/bt_says_apple_ios_5_downloads_set_record_uk_net_tr affic/

[DBMandrake]

BT claims that iOS 5 pushed UK net usage to its highest peak ever: http://www.reghardware.com/2011/10/18/bt_says_apple_ios_5_downloads_set_record_uk_net_tr affic/
I saw that too, but I wonder how much of that traffic was iTunes 10.5 (required before iOS 5 could be installed) and the OS X 10.7.2 update required for iCloud support ?

Still remarkable though. I certainly struggled to download iOS 5 - I started downloading it within minutes of its release at a healthy speed but it very quickly dropped through the floor such that it took over an hour and a half, when an iOS download usually takes me around 10 minutes.

[DBMandrake]

Most (http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-versions.html) Androids are running 2.2. and 2.3 these days.

I was a little bit sceptical of this claim at the time, but didn't have any figures to dispute it, but I recently came across the following article, which lists all Android devices sold in the US, how long they were on the market as new, how long they received minor and major software updates after sale, and how many major versions they were behind at launch and later on, and the situation for Android is even worse that I expected:

http://theunderstatement.com/post/11982112928/android-orphans-visualizing-a-sad-history-of-support

So what do we see with iOS vs Android ?

So far all iPhone models have arrived with the current major release of iOS, (obviously) have been able to run the latest major OS version for at least 3 years, and have had minor version updates for at least 2.5 years. (3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S we still don't know, since they are all still fully supported)

Yes its true not all iOS users will be fully up to date, but at least they have the opportunity to do so. As soon as Apple releases a minor or major version release it is available to all iPhone models that are still receiving updates. (Currently all but original iPhone and 3G)

On the Android side we have many phones which were released with an OS that was at least one major version behind the current Android release at time of release.

In fact out of 18 phones, only 8 shipped with the current latest release, 4 shipped with the previous major release, and a staggering 6 devices shipped two major release versions behind. This is pretty poor IMO.

Of the devices which shipped at least one major version behind, 7 devices were never updated to the latest version, with some like the Samsung Behold II, Motorola Devour, Motorola Backflip, and Motorola Clicq XT never receiving a major version update in their lifetime, despite starting off one or more major versions behind.

Of all Android devices (in the US market) only the HTC G1, HTC Nexus One, and Motorola Droid shipped with the current release, and received updates to keep it current for at least one year.

Average time for continued minor updates from initial release was between 6 months and 18 months.

Looking at this table the conclusion is inescapable - Apple consistently ships devices with the latest software version, and continues to support devices with both minor and major os updates for far longer than any Android device on the market, even Googles own like the Nexus One.

On the other hand the majority of the Android devices do not ship with the current release, are usually very slow to be updated to the current release - if ever, with some starting off far behind and never catching up, and some never receiving any major version updates at all. Disgraceful.

Why does this happen ? I think the reason is pretty obvious - although Google releases Android codebase updates, its up to each individual handset vendor to take that updated codebase, apply their own customizations, test with their handsets, and push the update to customers.

What is the handset makers motivation to keep updating the software on old devices when they want to sell you new handsets ? None really...

Google would like people running the latest version so they can build a better platform to compete with Apple, but they can't force the handset manufacturers to apply updates to old handsets. (They probably don't have the necessary carrots and sticks in their contracts...)

So what is Apple's motivation to push out free updates to such old handsets like the 3GS ? After all they're a hardware manufacturer just like the Android handset makers, who also want to sell new phones...

The difference I think is that Apple sees iOS itself as a platform, and one of their company crown jewels, so they want to do everything they can to grow that platform as a whole, and pushing out free updates to as old a model as is reasonably possible is in their best interests to grow the iOS platform and make it more appealing to developers, as well as minimizing fragmentation.

They can still hold back certain new features from older devices, such as Siri - which has just been shown to work on a jailbroken iPhone 4, as well as new models having improved hardware features like better cameras etc, so there is still incentive for people to upgrade.

Android handset makers don't have any real incentive to help build Android as a platform - its not something they own and control, and none of them are particularly loyal to it IMO, by also hedging their bets with Windows phone 7, (HTC especially) so while Android succeeding in the short term helps them sell handsets, they have no long term interest in the well being of the Android platform - it suits their needs right now, but they would drop it like a hot potato if it went out of favour, and switch to something else.

Apple are the only company whose profits come primarily from handset sales, but who also own and control the destiny of the software platform running on those handsets, and that strongly motivates them to build a good long term platform...

[Wilt]

Why have they not continued to update that graphic to phones released beyond 2010? They're still updating whether the phones are being updated. There is some bogus reason at the bottom about wanting 15 months of history, but I think that it's just a sneaky way of making the situation seem worse - the OEMs have picked up their game in terms of release versions of Android and update promises, it seems they were caught a bit flat-footed with their early releases in this respect. From what I have seen, things are much better now and will be going forward...

And why is the original iPhone being listed as on the current major release? Innocent mistake? Probably not...

I would probably trust a pie chart which is derived from raw data about what phones are accessing the market than an incredibly biased blog. Yes there are Android phones that aren't being updated and are being released with old versions etc. and that is unacceptable but the problem isn't nearly as bad as has been made out.

[DBMandrake]

Why have they not continued to update that graphic to phones released beyond 2010? They're still updating whether the phones are being updated. There is some bogus reason at the bottom about wanting 15 months of history, but I think that it's just a sneaky way of making the situation seem worse - the OEMs have picked up their game in terms of release versions of Android and update promises, it seems they were caught a bit flat-footed with their early releases in this respect. From what I have seen, things are much better now and will be going forward...

What value would it serve to list the update history of a device that's only been on the market for a few months ? The whole point of the article is to see what the long term support is in terms of minor and major updates, so until a device has been out for about a year that question can't be answered. I would have picked 12 months rather than 15 that the author did, but that's quibbling.

If handset makers were caught flat footed early on that's their problem - if they're better now about bringing out updates then it will take time for that to be "proven" and trust to be gained. Will these new models still see significant updates 2 years from now ? Who knows, until they are 2 years old...(my bet is no)



And why is the original iPhone being listed as on the current major release? Innocent mistake? Probably not...

Where does it say the original iPhone is still on the current release ?

You're not reading the table correctly. It's clearly labelled "1st year after release", "2nd year after release" etc. The original iPhone came out in June 2007, so the end of the 3rd year bar would be June 2010, just before iOS 4 was released. The original iPhone got exactly a full 3 years of being at the latest major release version.


I would probably trust a pie chart which is derived from raw data about what phones are accessing the market than an incredibly biased blog.

The problem with using data from Android market place access is that not everyone who owns an Android device will be using Google's market place. Some devices are preconfigured to use other app marketplaces and some people just won't install any custom apps at all. (There are even a significant number of iPhone users who just use the built in apps and never install any 3rd party apps, hard as it is for us to believe)

Using such aggregate numbers also skews the results based on which Android devices sold in large numbers - if the few Android devices which did receive decent updates are also the best selling models, then the marketplace figures will reflect this. A large percentage of android phones may be current, even though a large percentage of android models are not.

Also I'm curious to know the basis of your claim of that blog being "incredibly biased" ? Are you saying the data is factually incorrect ? The chart was constructed from publicly available release dates and software update dates, there is nothing stopping you looking up specific models to see if there are any errors. Whether the guy has an anti-Android bias or not isn't relevant unless he's actually fabricated the data the table is based on, and that doesn't seem likely.



Yes there are Android phones that aren't being updated and are being released with old versions etc. and that is unacceptable but the problem isn't nearly as bad as has been made out.
Unfortunately I think it is as bad as it appears. While a few flagship models that "those in the know" buy may have good support (still well short of Apple's 3 years of updates though) I think a lot of the cheaper / lesser known models that joe public buy when they walk into their nearest phone store simply aren't that well supported, and the data is there to prove it.

If manufacturers have suddenly changed their tune with updates recently, we'll find out in a year or two when they've had a chance to prove continued support for current models...

[Wilt]

What value would it serve to list the update history of a device that's only been on the market for a few months ? The whole point of the article is to see what the long term support is in terms of minor and major updates, so until a device has been out for about a year that question can't be answered. I would have picked 12 months rather than 15 that the author did, but that's quibbling.
A large part of the graph is devoted to demonstrating that the phones didn't ship with the current version of the OS. Putting in newer models would paint a different picture for recent releases.



Where does it say the original iPhone is still on the current release ?

You're not reading the table correctly. It's clearly labelled "1st year after release", "2nd year after release" etc. The original iPhone came out in June 2007, so the end of the 3rd year bar would be June 2010, just before iOS 4 was released. The original iPhone got exactly a full 3 years of being at the latest major release version.
Ah yes, you're correct. Interesting way of presenting the data.


The problem with using data from Android market place access is that not everyone who owns an Android device will be using Google's market place. Some devices are preconfigured to use other app marketplaces and some people just won't install any custom apps at all. (There are even a significant number of iPhone users who just use the built in apps and never install any 3rd party apps, hard as it is for us to believe)
The ones preconfigured to use a different market are not very common. If a user isn't accessing the market how likely are they to install an update? If they're not installing apps, how much does it matter what OS version is being used?


Using such aggregate numbers also skews the results based on which Android devices sold in large numbers - if the few Android devices which did receive decent updates are also the best selling models, then the marketplace figures will reflect this. A large percentage of android phones may be current, even though a large percentage of android models are not.I don't understand what the problem with this is. Because the original iPhone and iPhone 3G no longer receives updates should we say that 2-in-5 iPhones are no longer able to get the latest version?


Also I'm curious to know the basis of your claim of that blog being "incredibly biased" ? Are you saying the data is factually incorrect ? The chart was constructed from publicly available release dates and software update dates, there is nothing stopping you looking up specific models to see if there are any errors. Whether the guy has an anti-Android bias or not isn't relevant unless he's actually fabricated the data the table is based on, and that doesn't seem likely.
I read his other posts, he loves Apple. That's fine, but it means anything he says will have a pro-apple spin so his data shouldn't be used as a basis for your argument. Data doesn't have to be fabricated in order to be misleading.



Unfortunately I think it is as bad as it appears. While a few flagship models that "those in the know" buy may have good support (still well short of Apple's 3 years of updates though) I think a lot of the cheaper / lesser known models that joe public buy when they walk into their nearest phone store simply aren't that well supported, and the data is there to prove it.
Lets ignore the prices on his table for a second as those are for the incredibly-broken US carrier pricing system. So you're saying that a HTC Wildfire S which can be had for free on a £20/mo plan should be supported the same as an iPhone which is only free on a £43/mo plan (current Three prices)? An iPhone 3GS on the equivalent plan as the Wildfire is £25/mo, but that probably wont be getting updates for three years.

I'd like to see how well Apple would keep their phones updated if they had multiple models with different form factors, specs, etc.