iphone 4 upgrade from 5.1.1 to 7.1.2?

[rs123456789]

Hi,

I have a 32GB Iphone 4 which I haven't upgraded since iOS 5.1.1 because of the fear that my perfectly fine (well almost) iphone will be rendered useless with an OS that is too demanding. However, as time goes on more and more apps simply don't work with my phone and I feel like I need to upgrade, but am worried about performance.

Should I upgrade? What is the performance difference like? I ask as this is not a usual comparison (between ios 5 and 7, not 6 and 7).

Thanks,

R

 

[R. S. Shuford]

I am also still floating in the 5.1.1 boat, and have not yet tried the upgrade.
However, here are two articles about how iOS 7.x runs on an iPhone 4:

http://www.guidingtech.com/25051/improve-ios-7-performance-iphone-4-4s/
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/09/new-lease-on-life-or-death-sentence-ios-7-on-the-iphone-4/

 

[white4s]

you can only update to ios8 unless you jailbreak it then you can get 7

 

[rs123456789]

you can only update to ios8 unless you jailbreak it then you can get 7

Not true. iOS 8 doesn't run on the iphone 4 and so the 7.1.2 is the update offered in 'software update'

 

[white4s]

how is that possible if apple doesn't sign off ios7 anymore

 

[R. S. Shuford]

Apparently the releases Apple will authenticate vary according to the specific hardware involved.

 

[C DM]

how is that possible if apple doesn't sign off ios7 anymore

Apple signs the latest versions that are available for the given device. In case of an iPhone 4 the latest available is iOS 7.1.2.

 

[Jr. Pac]

^ Correct. Like iOS 6 is still signed for 3GS, 4.2.1 for 3G, and so on.
It's their max upgrade, so it still has to be signed for that particular device.



Honestly, if you want performance I would strongly advise against upgrading. iOS 7 is incredibly sluggish on iPhone 4. Animations are choppy, everything takes too long to load.

You can back up and save your SHSH blobs for 5.1.1 for safety if you absolutely must try iOS 7.

 

[MagicHAM]

^ Correct. Like iOS 6 is still signed for 3GS, 4.2.1 for 3G, and so on.
It's their max upgrade, so it still has to be signed for that particular device.



Honestly, if you want performance I would strongly advise against upgrading. iOS 7 is incredibly sluggish on iPhone 4. Animations are choppy, everything takes too long to load.

You can back up and save your SHSH blobs for 5.1.1 for safety if you absolutely must try iOS 7.

But the downside to that is that they are stuck on apps that old and cant be updated (e.g linkedin for example, you cant download the older version LinkedIn won't allow it, even though Apple tries to do so). i0S7 runs fine on the iPhone 4 provided you turns off parallax effects. 7.1.2 is pretty stable for the old mole.

I say upgrade, at least then you can keep up to date with new apps that are still compatible with 7 and up.

 

[Jr. Pac]

But the downside to that is that they are stuck on apps that old and cant be updated (e.g linkedin for example, you cant download the older version LinkedIn won't allow it, even though Apple tries to do so). i0S7 runs fine on the iPhone 4 provided you turns off parallax effects. 7.1.2 is pretty stable for the old mole.

I say upgrade, at least then you can keep up to date with new apps that are still compatible with 7 and up.

iPhone 4 doesn't even support parallax It still runs like garbage.
Honestly, in terms of loading apps, it is about the same loading time with an iPhone 4 on 5.1.1 as a newer iPhone on OS 8. Heck, I tested my iPhone original on OS 1.0 and it was only a fraction of a second slower to load apps than a 5S on OS 8.

I say just use Safari and use the Add to Home Screen shortcut.

But in the end, it's up to the user. If it still functions, the apps on 5.1.1 will be faster than the ones compatible with 7.1.2. In fact, I believe they will be dropping OS 7 support for a lot of apps fairly soon. If you don't mind the new design of OS 7, you may just want to consider a phone upgrade to something like a 5c, for longevity.

 

[MagicHAM]

iPhone 4 doesn't even support parallax It still runs like garbage.
Honestly, in terms of loading apps, it is about the same loading time with an iPhone 4 on 5.1.1 as a newer iPhone on OS 8. Heck, I tested my iPhone original on OS 1.0 and it was only a fraction of a second slower to load apps than a 5S on OS 8.

I say just use Safari and use the Add to Home Screen shortcut.

But in the end, it's up to the user. If it still functions, the apps on 5.1.1 will be faster than the ones compatible with 7.1.2. In fact, I believe they will be dropping OS 7 support for a lot of apps fairly soon. If you don't mind the new design of OS 7, you may just want to consider a phone upgrade to something like a 5c, for longevity.

See I never used i0S1. I was pretty much Apple user from i0S5 from iphone/ipad standpoint.

I will have to kindly disagree with you about 7 running garbage. Even after all the updates, with my old iPhone 4 I never experienced the issues that the drama queens on here complained about. (Well they were, sorry, but they were. Who gets upset at slow frame rates on a phone? Seriously?) The apps loaded fine, there was no crashes ... Then again those people who likely complained were using their phones for more then just what it was... a phone.

All the matter of perception and how you used the phone at the time though.

 

[saberz]

7.1.2 runs pretty good, much better than the first release of 7. I don't experience choppiness with apps but do have some loading times for media intensive apps and occasional keyboard lag.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

My girlfriends iPhone 4 runs iOS 7.1.2 and to me it is extreeeeeemly slow. I could never live with it, and it pains me to see her use it, although she seems satisfied. My iPhone 4S runs it MUCH better.

So I wouldn't recommend updating, unless you need the App support.

 

[Shirasaki]

This applies to A5 devices running IOS 9 as well, although this version is still in fifth beta.

And iOS 7 runs great on iPhone 4, except the speed and responsiveness.