Apple hasn't been shy about dropping support for older hardware and software in recent years, and it looks like the iPhone and iPod touch are no exception: according to a short note on the iPhone developer site encouraging devs to get ready for
iOS 4, the App Store will no longer affect apps that target iOS 2. That doesn't really mean much right now -- apart from a few iPod touch owners who didn't pay the
$10 iOS 3 upgrade fee, we doubt there are many people out there still running iOS 2 -- but we can see Apple dropping support for iOS 3 apps next year when iOS 5 and a new iPhone are announced, and that'll effectively be the end of the original iPhone and touch, which can't be upgraded to iOS 4. That's a four-year shelf life, which isn't too bad considering the insane pace of mobile development, but we can still shed a tear -- especially since
we paid $599 for the damn thing
on contract way back when.
posted June 30th 2010 12:33PM
@furmandude2059
i'm still on 2 with my original touch.
oddly though, i only play music on it so i feel unaffected.
4 years is a long time...My 4 yr old desktop computer is feeling very old. In mobile years that's like 2 lifetimes.
Why is it that Jack seems to be the only person here who can comprehend what is going on? Good grief. This is not a big deal for anyone (and only a minor deal for some developers).
I'm so thankful for all the jailbreaking hackers who've given the iPhone extended functionality, as even the 1st gen is capable of much.
If tech-sellers had their way, everyone would just have to keep trashing their perfectly functional devices, further polluting the Earth.
I sincerely want an Earth-wide EMP to wake us all the fuck up, so we stop being so wasteful. I can single handedly produce a feature length film with a camcoder, Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects, midi keyboard and Logic Pro, on the most consumer level of Apple computers.
...Like most people need any of that computational power! The greed for excessive performance in the most simplistic of tasks, will eventually make this planet a massive pile of outdated tech shit. Developing countries only have so much land to hide our garbage.
@peepeeland
You're an idiot. This has nothing to do with people running iOS 2 on their phones or iPods, nor will it affect their ability to do so.
LEARN TO READ.
@Jack I wrote nothing about running iOS 2 on any device-- I wrote of planned/forced obsolescence and the long term ramifications of such practices.
But that doesn't mean I'm not an idiot; just not in this case.
@peepeeland
"If tech-sellers had their way, everyone would just have to keep trashing their perfectly functional devices, further polluting the Earth."
That sure looks to me like you're talking about people running iOS 2 having to trash their perfectly functional devices. The problem is you misunderstood what this article is about. Apple is not preventing anybody from running iOS 2, nor are they preventing apps from running in iOS 2. Hence the "learn to read" comment.
@Jack There's nothing in my original post that implies that I misunderstood the article; rather, you're assuming that I wrote of devices not being able to run iOS 2, which I did not. Had I wanted to rant on such a specific topic, I'm more than capable of being clear in my writing, as well as conveying intention of meaning.
My rant on planned/forced obsolescence is related to the article in this sense: While Apple is not limiting the running of iOS 2, by disallowing iOS 2 apps to their marketplace, they are artificially limiting the possibilty for extended functionality of the old OS, when there is no technical reason for such a limit, besides simply wanting people to upgrade. And of course every tech-company doesn't want to support old tech, but that was exactly my point: "old tech" is still very capable, and while forcing upgrades pushes tech forward, it also forces old tech into the trash.
That is why I'm thankful for jailbreaking hackers, as well as the whole "Linux mindset/community". Without such communities, we'd all be forced to accept the artificial limiting of hardware performance, with intentionally crippled/non-upgradeable software, made by companies which are primarily interested in selling something new.
While there are probably only a handful of people running iOS 2- as the article alludes- it's just part of an ideology which will eventually cutout iOS 3 native apps, and by that point, all the extended functionality provided by current iOS 3 apps will be lost, unless apps are pirated or phone is jailbroken.
@Jack ...and about backwards compatibility of iOS 4 SDK and whatnot-- remember the move from iOS 2 to 3? Tons of developers immediately updated their apps, which "forced" people to upgrade to 3.
Yes- no one is forcing anything on anybody, but the limiting is artificial, nonetheless. Everyone just goes with the flow, and some landfill has to deal with it.
And I am thinking this way, because I am a tech junkie, who just doesn't want to be wasteful anymore.
@peepeeland
"by disallowing iOS 2 apps to their marketplace, they are artificially limiting the possibilty for extended functionality of the old OS"
They're NOT DOING THAT. This is why I keep telling you to READ THE ARTICLE. I'll explain it AGAIN. Apple is not accepting apps that are specifically targeted at iOS 2. Now pay attention:
That does NOT mean they are disallowing apps that RUN on iOS 2.
Apple is asking developers to update their apps with the iOS 4 SDK, which - and here's the important part - is FULLY BACKWARDS COMPATIBLE WITH iOS 2.
Your rants, all of them, in their entirety, are based on a fundamental misunderstanding of what Apple is asking for. All a developer needs to do is update his app and it will CONTINUE to run in iOS 2. The difference is that it will ALSO be compatible with iOS 4.
Are we all clear on that now?
@Jack You write "they are not disallowing iOS 2 apps!", then soon after you write that they aren't accepting iOS 2 targeted apps. Same shit. DUDE- what do you think the point of Apple requesting this is? Why the hell is it required to update a perfectly good iOS 2 app?
Answer:
FORCED UPGRADING. They don't want developers using old SDK, nor do they want users to be running old OS.
What is the technical advantage to upgrading code, if an app already works perfectly on iOS 2~4??? There is NONE. Any advantages in performance provided by new SDK frameworks will not be backwards compatible, so there is no point in updading code, except to subtly force everyone to upgrade hardware/software.
Seriously think about it. Everything is not just superficial actions with no intention. Apple is extremely sharp when it comes to long term, so they know exactly what they're doing. One only has to look at Apple's track record with regard to OS and hardware integration to realize what this is the start of.
@peepeeland
You don't get it. They're not allowing apps which SPECIFICALLY TARGET OS 2.x. Why would they allow apps into the app store which wouldn't be able to run on 99.9% of their devices (which are 3.x or 4.x)? Apps are still freely backwards compatible for 2.x, so there is really no issue for people who wish to stay on 2.x.
@peepeeland
What reason makes this a big deal? The OS is now 2 versions along. And most apps are written for iOS 3+. I love innovation and progress.
If Android = fragmentation.
If Apple = great news and totally expected.
@Zimzoom
In other news, Gears of War 7 won't run on Windows 95
@Zimzoom
How is this possibly considered fragmentation when it's all the same hardware and all the same OS? And this change doesn't even affect the OS, prevent you from running the OS or prevent you from running new apps on the OS.
Seriously, buy a clue.
@Jack I see you've had to run to the rescue and defend your precious princess Apple by responding to nearly every non-positive post.
This is fragmentation by the same rules that Engadget applies to Android. Multiple OSes on multiple devices concurrently.
@Zimzoom
Wrong. Fragmentation is when you buy a NEW PHONE and it doesn't run the latest version of the OS. Completely arbitrarily. Some run 2.2, some don't. Why? How? WHO FUCKING KNOWS? It's a complete crap shoot.
Does that happen when you buy an iPhone? No it doesn't. Stop being an idiot.
@Jack
You're asking a mindless Android fanboy to stop being an idiot.
It's not going to happen.
@jellotime91 OH NO I'M AN ANDROID FANBOY BECAUSE I SAID SOMETHING BAD ABOUT APPLE!!!!
It's probably hard for simple minds like yourself to equally apply the rampant Engadget propaganda (because "Android fragmentation" is just that) to Apple's camp. Antenna issue: Apple? MINIMIZE! Android? DEALBREAKER. Screen resolution: Android has highest? Compare from normal distance. Apple has highest? BUST OUT THEM MICROSCOPES! Multiple devices and OSes: Android? FRAGGYLAND! Apple? Thanks for the upgrades.
Anyway, how can I be an android fanboy when I'm currently running and loving my HD2 on windows mobile?
The iPhone platform has again become hopelessly "fragmented". Quick someone call the "fragmentation" police.
All iPod touches and iPhones should at least be iOS 3.0, even for those that didn't want to pay the $10 upgrade fee for iPod touches. I'm one of those hold outs, but about a month before the release of iOS 4.0 the 3.0+ upgrade became a free update. So no real issue for dropping support of 2.0
Here was me thinking anyone with an Ipod / Iphone was an Apple fanboy that bought every product Apple released.
So now everyone is telling us there's still Ipod owners with 2 / 3 year old hardware, and a versions old OS?
This is a revelation!!!
"The King is dead. Long live the King."
Stop being such pansies. I am surprised with some of you people you find this an issue.. this is a gadget blog. you think people in here would be happy to see progress and move forward. But as always some moron has to whine about a 3 year old phone or ipod getting shafted. That is life. Live with it. Move on. If you cant let go, then go lock yourself in a basement and cut off your internet and may be your electriticy too. god forbid a new tv spec is released.
as a 1st gen iPod Touch and iPhone user, i think it is time. They are simply too slow compare with current generation.
I still run iOS 2 on my Touch because it's the last version to be able to access my work's wifi. Everything after 3.0 locks it out. It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.
@steviehill
Not really, this doesn't prevent you from running iOS 2, nor does it prevent apps from running in iOS 2. Apps recoded in the iOS 4 SDK are backwards compatible, and that's all Apple is asking developers to do - and that's only if their apps were specifically targeted at iOS 2 in the first place. Most of them aren't.
Actually, that means, next year, if they drop support for OS3, the CURRENTLY SHIPPING entry level iPod Touch is out. the 8 gig touch is still the original design isn't it? as in non OS4 compatible?
@KnoxHarrington True...except for 1st gen iPod Touch owners. Early adopters got tagged $20 for the 1.1.3 upgrade, and then anther $10 for each upgrade to the 2.0 and 3.0 releases. Even after the 4.0 release was announced as a free upgrade for (non 1st gen) iPod Touch owners, they still charged $5 to get to 3.0 if it is not installed yet. These are insignificant charges, but still enough to upset Joe Consumer and drive him away from the brand or into jailbreaking.
I've seen 2 iPhones in the past year that were running something other than 3.x and they were both running 1.0. Both bought around launch and never been plugged into a computer. No App store, no cut/copy/paste, never even backed up. These aren't the droids you're looking for.
Smells like fragmentation to me.
@futuredavid
Only if you don't know what fragmentation is, or you can't tell the difference between an app and an operating system. Maybe you should read the article again.
@Jack
Agreed. I'm using Engadget's definition of "fragmentation". ;)
@futuredavid
Engadget's definition doesn't apply here either. Apps are not being prevented from running on iOS 2. Was this not clear to you? Apple is not supporting apps that are TARGETED at iOS 2 - not preventing apps from RUNNING on iOS 2.
The iOS 4 SDK is backwards compatible. All a developer has to do is update their app with the new SDK and it will continue to run in iOS 2. There is no fragmentation, and "fragmentation" is just the latest catch-all buzzword the idiot android fanboys have latched onto as a word to describe any perceived problem, real or not, with the iPhone infrastructure.
God forbid they actually learn what it means or how to use it in a sentence.
@Jack
Whoa. Calm down there sparky.
I think Engadget has defined fragmentation as, "Any phone not running the latest version of anything, especially when it comes to Android phones." Using fragmentation to describe iOS isn't accurate either, but I'm surprised you think it's a descriptor coming from Android fanboys about iPhone. I thought it was quite the opposite.
....Or well, you could be a cleverly disguised troll. In that case, I'll have you know that I am a young boy crossing a wooden bridge. But I'm the protagonist of this story, which means I have latent powers that will awaken when I'm in grave danger, and somehow magically escape.
Please don't eat me. You don't want to mess with my hidden .
@futuredavid
...hidden comments. Apparently Engadget comments interpret brackets.
Fail.
Let's try something....
\/
Two things:
1. My original iPhone is running the 3.x kernel. It can't do 4.x but that's not the point of the article.
2. Didn't they waive the $10 fee earlier in the year for the Touch?
Looks like a case of platform fragmentation. Why hasn't this been mentioned in the post, when 2 articles above this one, someone mentions Android platform fragmentation?
@jpxdude
Because it's not platform fragmentation. Only somebody who doesn't understand what fragmentation is would think that.
Does this mean that some apps that were previously compatible with iOS 2 will be given updates that make them no longer comatible?
Looks like the Giant Bomb app is going to need an update.
The original iPhone was not sold on contract. It was $599 free and clear, albeit locked to AT&T.
Why isn't Engadget bringing up the fragmentation issue that it only seems to attribute to Android phones?
Well time to start saving for the iPhone 3G lol
It's not exactly clear from Apple's wording what will happen to apps currently in the App Store that target iOS 2.x (for example, the popular "Plants vs Zombies" http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/plants-vs-zombies/id350642635?mt=8 requires iOS 2.2.1 or newer.) But it seems safe to assume that no NEW apps targeting iOS 2.x will be allowed. This means that all new apps submitted will have to require iOS 3.0 as a minimum or face being rejected. Therefore devices running iOS 2.x will be entirely unable to install new apps. Just like I cannot install iBooks (which requires iOS 3.2 or newer) onto my first-gen iPhone running iOS 3.1.3, somebody running iOS 2.x will not be able to install an iOS 3.x targeted app.
Basically, iOS 2.x devices will continue as-is, but no new apps will be made available for them. It doesn't matter if the dev uses the new SDK 4 - Apple is saying that if they don't require at least iOS 3.0, the app will be rejected. Devs MUST pick an iOS target when building an app - check the App Store, every single app indicates its OS requirements. Some are still at 2.2.1, like Plants vs Zombies. Some are at 3.0, like Facebook. Some are 3.1.3 (Enigmo), some are 3.2 (iBooks) and some are 4.0 (iMovie.) But if you're running an OS older than the required version, you're entirely SOL for running that app.
Is this a bad thing? Eh, not really. It sucks for the people still running iOS 2.x, but that's only about 3% or 4% of the iOS community - http://zeroinverse.com/2010/06/iphone-ipod-osusage-statistics/ So it's no great loss to developers to loose the ability to sell new apps to that small fragment of devices.