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iOS 4.1 on iPhone 3G - better than 4.0 (but not as good as 3)

By | September 8, 2010, 1:00am PDT

Summary: iOS 4.0 proved to be so disappointing on the iPhone 3G that many users downgraded to version 3. Lifehacker compared 4.1GM to 4.0 on the two-generation old iPhone.

iOS 4.0 proved to be so disappointing, performance wise, on the iPhone 3G that many users downgraded to version 3. But at last week’s iPod event Steve Jobs gave iPhone 3G users hope, promising that iOS 4.1 (due this week) would address performance issues on the two-generation old iPhone.

Lifehacker informally compared iOS 4.0 to the golden master version of iOS 4.1 on an iPhone 3G, here’s the video:

The (admittedly unscientific) video demonstrates the results:

  • Messages: iOS 4.1 Wins (By a Little)
  • Maps: iOS 4.1 Wins (By a Lot)
  • Photos: iOS 4.1 Wins (Just Barely)
  • Safari: iOS 4.1 Wins (Just Barely)

While iOS 4.1 marks a definite improvement over iOS 4.0 on the iPhone 3G, Lifehacker concluded that “we’re still not sure it’s a big enough improvement that 3G owners will want to ditch iOS 3.” It appears that iOS 4 was tailor made for the iPhone 4, and without much consideration for older handsets.

iPhone 3x users are faced with a big decision: are the new features enough to justify slower performance?

iPhone 3G owners: will you upgrade to 4.1?

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Topics

Apple iPhone, Apple iPhone 3G, 3G, Smart Phones, Cellular Phones, Wireless And Mobility, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Jason D. O'Grady

Jason O'Grady is a journalist and author specializing in mobile technology. He has published six books on Apple and mobile gadgets and his PowerPage blog has been publishing for over 15 years.

Disclosure

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady is the creator and editor of O'Grady's PowerPage, which has been publishing mobile technology news since 1995. He maintains an advertising relationship with the following legacy advertisers on the PowerPage:

  • Amazon Associates
  • Google Adsense
  • Tekserve

    • Advertising on the PowerPage is brokered by a third-party agency (BackBeat Media) and he recuses himself from these negotiations.

Biography

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady developed an affinity for Apple computers after using the original Lisa, and this affinity turned into a bona-fide obsession when he got the original 128 KB Macintosh in 1984.

He started writing one of the first Web sites about Apple (O'Grady's PowerPage) in 1995 and is considered to be one of the fathers of blogging. He has been a frequent speaker at the Macworld Expo conference and a member of the conference faculty. He also co-founded the first dedicated PowerBook User Group (PPUG) in the United States.

After winning a major legal battle with Apple in 2006, he set the precedent that independent journalists are entitled to the same protections under the First Amendment as members of the mainstream media.

O'Grady is the author of The Nexus One Pocket Guide, The Droid Pocket Guide, The Google Phone Pocket Guide, and The Garmin nuvi Pocket Guide (Peachpit Press), the author of Corporations That Changed the World: Apple Inc. (Greenwood Press), and a contributor to The Mac Bible (Peachpit Press). In addition, he has contributed to numerous Mac publications over the years, including MacWEEK, Macworld, and MacPower (Japan).

When he's not writing about Apple for ZDNet at The Apple Core, he enjoys spending time with his family in New Jersey.

Talkback Most Recent of 42 Talkback(s)

  • Multiples Exchange accounts
    That's the only reason I'm upgrading. Since upgrading to 4.0, the performance has been awful. Let's see how it goes with 4.1...
    ZDNet Gravatar
    dvm
    8th Sep 2010
  • RE: iOS 4.1 on iPhone 3G - better than 4.0 (but not as good as 3)
    I now have an iPhone 4, but 4.0 was as responsive as 3.0 on my older 3GS.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    atari_z
    8th Sep 2010
  • No plans to upgrade.
    Version 3 does everything I need.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    ye
    8th Sep 2010
  • Hopefully this will help
    I gave my 3G to my Wife when I got the iPhone 4 and when I first experienced the slowness I tried a hard reset and when that barely helped I stopped at the Apple store since I was in the Mall already to see if they had any reported issues and the response I got from the Apple Genius was "Nothing can be done, you should upgrade" So you are right, very little consideration for people with older versions of Apple products was given.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    bobiroc
    8th Sep 2010
  • This is not unique to the iPhone.
    @bobiroc: So you are right, very little consideration for people with older versions of Apple products was given.

    It applies to pretty much everything Apple sells. I wonder if this attitude of theirs will eventually impact people's willingness to buy their products (outside of the Apple faithful).
    ZDNet Gravatar
    ye
    8th Sep 2010
  • So not true.
    @ye "It applies to pretty much everything Apple sells. is certainly not true with regards to OS X which frequently run faster on older hardware than previous versions, in those cases where older hardware was supported. Granted, older hardware is regularly "thrown over the side" when it comes to support of current versions, but some consumers see that as a benefit rather than a drawback.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    matthew_maurice
    9th Sep 2010
  • RE: iOS 4.1 on iPhone 3G - better than 4.0 (but not as good as 3)
    @bobiroc Dumbest post EVER. So should Microsoft start handing out more memory and faster CPUs when they have a new OS?
    ZDNet Gravatar
    cyberslammer
    8th Sep 2010
  • RE: iOS 4.1 on iPhone 3G - better than 4.0 (but not as good as 3)
    @cyberslammer

    "Dumbest post EVER. So should Microsoft start handing out more memory and faster CPUs when they have a new OS?"

    There are two problems with your insult and reply.

    1. Apple makes both the hardware and the iOS and they decided to support it and it is quite apparent that the software is the most likely cause. Microsoft does not make computers so it not even a close comparison

    2. The 3G model is only about 2 years older than the iPhone 4 so if Apple cannot support a device with updates for more than 2 years then there is a problem as it makes people feel they need to upgrade and in this case replace the device when they shouldn't have to. When Microsoft releases a new OS in the vast majority of cases it will work fine on computers that are 4 - 6 years old unless they were low end when they were first purchased. That being said you can almost always spend quite little to upgrade a PC for Memory to add a bit of performance. The fact that Windows 7 works very well on machines 5 - 6 years old with modest memory of 1 - 3GB and a modest video card shows that.

    So before you call my post the dumbest ever stop to think how idiotic yours is.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    bobiroc
    8th Sep 2010
  • I have to agree with cyberslammer for once
    The fact is that Apple upgrades their iPhones at a really quick pace (every year). The 3G is 2 models behind the current one.

    It's the Apple Model. You bought an iPhone, you bought into that model.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Michael Alan Goff
    8th Sep 2010
  • RE: iOS 4.1 on iPhone 3G - better than 4.0 (but not as good as 3)
    @goff256

    "The fact is that Apple upgrades their iPhones at a really quick pace (every year). The 3G is 2 models behind the current one.

    It's the Apple Model. You bought an iPhone, you bought into that model. "

    So answer me this. Why is that Apple gets defended on this but it is OK for people to complain and say Microsoft doesn't think of the consumer when their latest OS doesn't support their low end computer or hardware that Microsoft didn't make they bought a few years ago. Many have slammed Microsoft for lack of hardware support when drivers are not available or they experience low performance because they went with or in most cases under the minimum specifications to run the software. It is a huge double standard and it is ridiculous. Since Apple made both the hardware and the software then they should have just come out and said that iOS 4 will not work with the 3G and left it at that. After all it is that whole concept that Apple makes or assembles the hardware and makes the software that people claim gives Apple the edge on making their products work so well. The only problem is when they don't work Apple still gets defended.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    bobiroc
    8th Sep 2010
  • You obviously don't know me too well
    @bobiroc

    I think those people, the ones who complain about MS products all the time, need to get with the program too. If you want the latest and greatest, sometimes your older model won't run it. It's a fact of life. Technology evolves and we need to change with it.

    Windows, iOS, OSX, whatever you use. You will not be able to continually use the latest and greatest with the same machine.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Michael Alan Goff
    8th Sep 2010
  • RE: You obviously don't know me too well
    @goff256

    I am not trying to pass judgment, I am just trying to find out why there is such a huge double standard. When Vista was released in 2007 the uproar about performance was out of control and patches and service packs released later solved the majority of those issues leaving only those with extremely low end computers at fault and Microsoft does not make that hardware. I guess what I am asking is why can't the same people that slam Microsoft just admit that Apple messed up and if this update helps performance even a little admit that it was a software issue. I mean after all Apple makes and brands both the hardware and the software so the have less of an excuse when they have issues right? That is all I am saying and it seems fairly logical to me.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    bobiroc
    8th Sep 2010
  • RE: iOS 4.1 on iPhone 3G - better than 4.0 (but not as good as 3)
    @bobiroc

    It's because Microsoft can do no right, and Apple cam do no wrong.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Michael Alan Goff
    8th Sep 2010
  • RE: iOS 4.1 on iPhone 3G - better than 4.0 (but not as good as 3)
    @goff256

    "It's because Microsoft can do no right, and Apple cam do no wrong."

    Well I am just the type of person to call a spade a spade and Microsoft or any other company is not perfect. If Microsoft truly screws up I will call them on that. I own apple products including two iPhones and a Macbook. I think they make decent products but I know they are just like any other tech company and their products have their faults. The same goes for Microsoft.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    bobiroc
    8th Sep 2010
  • RE: iOS 4.1 on iPhone 3G - better than 4.0 (but not as good as 3)
    @bobiroc While I agree that cyberslammer was harsh there is an issue I have with your reply:

    The 3G model is only about 2 years older than the iPhone 4 so if Apple cannot support a device with updates for more than 2 years then there is a problem as it makes people feel they need to upgrade and in this case replace the device when they shouldn't have to. When Microsoft releases a new OS in the vast majority of cases it will work fine on computers that are 4 - 6 years old unless they were low end when they were first purchased. That being said you can almost always spend quite little to upgrade a PC for Memory to add a bit of performance. The fact that Windows 7 works very well on machines 5 - 6 years old with modest memory of 1 - 3GB and a modest video card shows that.

    Here you are comparing the Apple iOS backwards compatibility with older hardware that cannot be upgraded to Windows 7 backwards compatibility with older PC which have hardware that can indeed be upgraded and done so rather easily. The trick would be to show any mobile smartphone product who's recent OS is backwards compatible and available for the older model smartphones - especially devices that are over two years old. Sure one can run WM 6.1 on some of the older WM devices but not much else and that being via cooking up ROMs for them - I doubt one can get WM 6.1 or 6.5 or whichever version from Microsoft legally... but in that I could be wrong. Blackberry one cannot put an OS that is much newer on any of the older devices unless it is carrier approved or hacked to hell. Seriously there are NO other smartphone manufacturers that have done what Apple has and supported the older hardware for this long.

    It sounds to me like your issue was with some ******** so-called genius at the Apple Store... one who did not want to be bothered to do his or her job. JMHO of course.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Pete "athynz" Athens
    8th Sep 2010
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