Apple dropping support for iPhone 2G
Summary: Apple is dropping support for the original iPhone in OS 4.0.
When a customer emailed Steve Jobs asking if Apple would support/update the iPhone 2G in the future, Jobs replied:
Sorry, no.
The move shouldn't come as a surprise considering that the original iPhone came out in 2007 and the launch of a new iPhone handset this summer will make the original a full three generations old. It takes development resources to build and test software to support older hardware and Apple would be better served putting those resources into advancing the platform -- rather than keep old and dying hardware afloat.
But make no mistake about it, Apple also wants to sell you a new iPhone every year or two.
Steve's one line missives have been quite frank and straightforward and the mail headers indicate that the email is from The Steve's personal iPhone. So there you have it folks, if you're still rocking a silverback iPhone this may be the summer to upgrade.
Tip: MacStories.net, Image: EveryiPod.com
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Talkback
Older devices get partial support
"some" of the new features in 4.0, but that the older hardware cannot
handle all of the new features. While Apple would love to sell you a new
iPhone (or touch or iPad) I'm not surprised that the OS has gone past
the capacity of the older hardware.
So far
Can't support 4.0 probably
Just watch they will do something like this with the iPad too. They shut out Power PC users to Snow Leopard too. This is what Apple does.
Yeah. How horrible for Apple to create software
you to buy the new hardware. And to make sure you do, they have a
black helicopter with an operative hovering over every iPhone 2G in the
world that will throw a kill switch the day iPhone OS 4 is released.
Sheesh.
Memory is a big thing...
lacking) but ROM.
I also remember reading the iPhone 3G/3Gs had 2X the
capacity of Flash for the OS (not part of the memory for
Apps, music, video). In short, it had more room for
growth. Don't know if that is true but it would not surprise
me.
Likewise, it could have something to do with the different
Graphics chips though I do not see that being the case
since this does not seem to be a graphics intensive update.
It's not the memory that leaves out the 2G
The 2G has the same RAM and CPU as the 3G.
There's no technical reason why the 2G couldn't have folders, combined inboxes, and almost everything else that the 3G is getting.
It's a business decision, that's all.
The big question is, will the iPad suffer the same fate. That's what columnists should be asking.
Coming up on the 4th generation
My laptop is half way through it's fourth year,
and I am starting to look around and shopping
for a replacement.
It is still as fast as the day I bought it, and
it will likely run for another 2+ years just
fine, but like with most things technological,
you start pushing that fourth year, and well
the likelihood that something is just
eventually going to give out is increasing.
I still get about 2 hours of battery life out
of each of my two batteries, but I can tell
that they are starting to weaken a little.
Monitor isn't as bright as it used to be, but
overall that Dell Inspiron e1505 was an
excellent machine.
My iPod touch will be entering it's third year
in August, and I am looking forward to
upgrading that to the 4th Generation of iPod
Touch. I am that my 2nd Gen iPod touch has
another couple of years of life in it, but that
too is showing that it is starting to age.
Like with any technology there are those who
will always feel the need to buy the latest and
greatest, but me, I just follow replacement
cycles. So this Fall I will replace my iPod
touch, and then early next year I will replace
my laptop. And my desktop machine sometime this
summer. I keep my older stuff around to use as
burn boxes, boxes that I can do stuff on, and
not worry about corrupting data I want, as for
the iPod Touch, I will hand that down to my 10
year old. If he were to drop it or loose it, it
wouldn't be the end of the world.
RE: Apple dropping support for iPhone 2G
whole field of electronics, since the advent of personal
computers, has been one of consumerism rather than
capital investment. In capital investment, the category that
PCs occupied initially at least in the eyes of the IRS, one
would amortize a device out five years. Even the slow
moving and witted IRS quickly realized that, in spite of
paying $5 to $6 thousand dollars for a desktop PC (circa
1983- 95) it would be eclipsed by a newer, faster, more
productive machine in eighteen months or so (Moore's Law).
Greedy buggers
On the other hand they figured anyone with a 2G iPhone barely has much battery life anyways. Batteries in iPhones can't be replaced [or at least by the typical user] and unless you are buying some cheap knockoff battery from China, it ain't worth replacing [once again *forced" by Apple].
Apple is basically following the open source type support - let them fork over for a new iPhone every couple of years. How many open source OSs are supported longer than 2 years? 3 years?
And how many other smartphones
NONE
Other phones get updates, just don't need them as much
The fact is, other phones didn't need all the updates that the iPhone did. They came with folders, video recording, MMS, multitasking and a bunch of other functionality that took years to add to the iPhone.
RE: Apple dropping support for iPhone 2G
I was never able to legally update my old WM device from WM 5 and my Blackberry curve I was only able to upgrade to OS once and it was an incremental upgrade/ update not a full blown version change (i.e. from 2x to 3x). Sure I was able to bake a rom for my old WM device to have it run WM 6.1 and i was able to create a hybrid OS for my curve so it's running BB OS 5.0 but none of that was strictly legal... or at least not at all supported by the hardware manufacturers. So what is the difference here?
So why all the hate for Apple for not supporting a device that made it through the original 1x OS to the latest 3x OS? They've already done more major upgrades for the OS for that device than any other mobile OS software company has... and yet Apple is the bad guy for not supporting the original iPhone...
RE: Apple dropping support for iPhone 2G
RE: Apple dropping support for iPhone 2G
having lived with a spiderweb cracked screen for
over a year which didn't hurt the functionality
but I couldn't justify a $200 screen replacement
charge. I continue to use the old phone to play
games and as an mp3 player. I hope the next
software upgrade doesn't "brick" the old one.
I was laid off in December and can't afford #299
bricks, tyvm.
RE: Apple dropping support for iPhone 2G
There most be millions of people that still use a iphone 2G
There must be millions of people that still use a iphone 2G