Technically, the iPhone 4S is capable of being updated to iOS 8, the newest version of Apple’s popular mobile operating system, and owners will indeed see a notification to update at some point beginning September 17. However, as a new report published by Ars Technica points out, updating may not be the best option for many 4S owners out there. They point out several different instances where the newest software may actually worsen the experience for owners, rather than improve it.
First and foremost, the iPhone 4S’s display size is a big cramp on iOS 8’s style. While several of the new features work, like the new Spotlight search, Ars points out that the smaller display can only show a max of two results due to the 3.5-inch display, and the keyboard taking up a good majority of it already. More often than not, it’s only one result. As the original report notes, the smaller screen makes iOS 8 feel cramped.
The biggest issue that iPhone 4S should look after is performance. The report includes a chart that compares several different areas of testing an iPhone 4S running iOS 7.1.2, and iOS 8. The results, unanimously, are that updating to the newest mobile OS means that apps will open slower. That includes Safari, which opened in about 1.25 seconds running on iOS 7.1.2, while it took 2.16 seconds on iOS 8. The camera gets bumped to a slower 1.8 seconds from 1.5 seconds. Even simply turning the iPhone 4S on takes three seconds longer.
[via Ars Technica]
