Why You Probably Shouldn’t Download the iOS 8 Update on Your Old iPhone
Why You Probably Shouldn’t Download the iOS 8 Update on Your Old iPhone
2 minute read
The components of a smartphone sold as an Apple Inc. iPhone 4S are arranged around the company's logo for a photograph in Hong Kong, China, on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014.Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images
On paper, Apple’s new iOS 8 upgrade works with iPhones as old as the iPhone 4S. In real life… not so much.
The iPhone 4S is an older phone, released way back in late 2011. Still, lots of wireless carriers are giving them to customers as a free option when signing up for a two-year contract, so they remain a popular model. And while the iOS 8 upgrade will install just fine on an iPhone 4S, the newer software is designed for the top-of-the-line iPhone 6 and its blazing-fast processor.
Sadly for iPhone 4S owners, it seems the old phone just can’t keep up with the upgrade:
If you have a 4s, don't get iOS 8. It'll lag your phone amongst other problems. (spread to help out)
On top of performance problems, though, Ars Technica points out other issues: Apps in iOS 8 are optimized for the newer iPhones’ bigger screens, meaning apps will look pretty funky on the iPhone 4S’s comparatively paltry 3.5-inch display. The iPhone 4S is also missing out on hardware that’s key to some features in iOS 8, so iPhone 4S owners can never truly get the most out of the upgrade anyway.
Your best bet, iPhone 4S owners? Keep enjoying the OS you’ve got and don’t worry about the upgrade. If you really insist on having iOS 8’s new features, you should upgrade to the new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus—or at least one of the iPhone 5 models, which run iOS 8 swimmingly.
PHOTOS: The Rise of Mobile Phones from 1916 to Today
1916 A German field telephone station in the Aisne department of northern France during World War I.Paul Thompson—FPG/Getty Images1970
French singer and actor Johnny Hallyday in a scene from the film 'Point de Chute' (aka 'Falling Point').Keystone/Holton/Getty Images1980
An early mobile phone during the Iranian Embassy siege at Princes Gate in South Kensington, London.Kypros/Getty Images1983
Bob Maxwell, general manager of Englewood-based Mobile Telephone of Colorado, places a call on an FCC-approved radio frequency while driving to work.Lyn Alweis—Denver Post/Getty Images1986
THE A-TEAM "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair" Episode 5. (l-r) Eddie Velez as Frankie Santana, Robert Vaughn as General Hunt Stockwell, George Peppard as John 'Hannibal' Smith.Bill Dow—NBC/Getty Images1992
Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton talks on a cell phone while meeting with Boston Mayor Ray Flynn in a New York hotel on Sept. 25.Mark Lennihan—AP1993
Whoopi Goldberg during ShoWest in Las Vegas.Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images1997
A farmer with his family sitting on a Bullock Cart and talking on a mobile Phone, in Delhi.India Today Group/Getty Images2001
A woman watches smoke pour out of the World Trade Center Towers in New York on September 11.Nicholas Goldberg—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images2011
A rebel militiaman speaks on his mobile phone after capturing territory from government troops on March 25 in Ben Jawat, Libya. John Moore—Getty Images2011
A youth films the aftermath of tear gas police fired at protestors in Muhammed Mahmoud Street near Tahrir Square on November 23 in Cairo.Peter Macdiarmid—Getty Images2012
Audience members take pictures of President Barack Obama at Florida Atlantic University on April 10 in Boca Raton, Florida. Marc Serota—Getty Images2014
A teenager takes a selfie in front of Queen Elizabeth II during a walk around St. Georges Market in Belfast. The Queen has apparently voiced her dismay that when she carries out engagements she is greeted by a sea of mobile phones.Peter Macdiarmid—PA Wire/Press Association Images/AP
