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Do you still use iOS 6?

  • Yes

    Votes: 56 61.5%
  • No

    Votes: 30 33.0%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 5 5.5%

  • Total voters
    91

BlueMoonForever

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 2, 2012
303
16
Just out of curiosity, does anybody still use Apple's best iOS version? I am using it on an iPhone 5 and enjoying NO lag, stutters, or childish icons.
 

kamalds

macrumors regular
Dec 16, 2010
243
91
I had to sell my wife's iPhone 4 after I upgraded it to iOS 7. It made it unusable.

Unlike android or windows phone, I could not roll back.
 
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stevemiller

macrumors 68000
Oct 27, 2008
1,983
1,491
I had to sell my wife's iPhone 4 after I upgraded it to iOS 7. It made it unusable.

Unlike android or windows phone, I could not roll back.

I found some hacky instructions and did it on my old 4S for fun.

Typing this reply on it now! It's definitely not imagined, the 4S feels as snappy as my 6 when it's running an OS that doesn't artificially slow down basic tasks like typing.

Apple should have enough faith in their new hardware and software features driving upgrades that they don't need to cripple old devices as badly as they do.

Then again things are so bumpy even on new hardware that I wonder if they've just lost the talent to make good user experiences anymore.

I'm most sad because I can't enjoy my iPad 3 anymore. I know it has the worst reputation, but I'm pretty sure it was perfectly smooth on iOS 6. Jokes on apple though, because it all that did was sour me to iPads. Personally I wouldn't be surprised if the slowing iPad sales were more due to frustrated users like me than the oft-cited and BS-sounding "people are TOO satisfied with their iPads to bother upgrading"
 

kamalds

macrumors regular
Dec 16, 2010
243
91
Apple should allow people to downgrade to whatever OS they want. Of course as a company they should warn regular users that they may run into some app compatibility issues - but at least give us the freedom.

For instance I own a galaxy s3 which became tad slow with kitkat. I rolled back to android 4.0.4 stock ROM and it is again as fast it was on the first day. Luckily on android there are almost no compatibility issues.
 

R2FX

macrumors regular
Mar 25, 2010
233
385
iPad 4 (3G+WiFI) 128GB and iPhone 4s 64GB - both running stock versions of iOS 6 and will continue so...haven't updated either to iCloud drive so these two babies can continue rocking their cloud documents

Apple used to be about superior experience while not being always technically ahead of the curve, now it's the other way round and my other Apple devices are soul-less pieces of aluminium
 
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sunapple

macrumors 68030
Jul 16, 2013
2,722
5,022
The Netherlands
I use iCloud Photos and Apple Music, iOS 6 can't do that. We also have the iCloud Family structure which requires iOS 8 or higher (my sisters iPhone 4 is not compatible on iOS 7).

Sure, I'd run Snow Leopard on our old hardware too if I could, but it's becoming more and more obsolete. I'd rather deal with the lag.
 

na1577

macrumors 6502a
Jan 20, 2008
899
88
I still use iOS 6.1.3 on my iPad mini. I also run the iOS 6 era versions of all Apple's App Store apps (like iWork and iLife) on my 6s despite them being stretched to fit on the 4.7" screen.
 

iScholtz

Suspended
Feb 11, 2016
22
2
I still use it, but just on my iPod 4th gen.. I still like it and would love to see updates for 6.1.6 to improve the performance, even if I know that wont ever happen.
 

vista980622

macrumors 6502
Aug 2, 2012
369
177
Me!

Rocking a 5th gen iPod touch with iOS 6.1.3. iOS 6 is so much easier on the eyes.

I wish my iPad 2 can be downgraded to iOS 6. Sadly, it uses the A5 Rev A chip rather than the regular A5 chip. So despite I have all blobs and APTicket saved for iOS 6, nobody has posted firmware keys for that device.
 

1458279

Suspended
May 1, 2010
1,601
1,521
California
I'm still running it but only because I can't upgrade. It sucks because I can't find apps that I want that'll work on iOS 6. Skype's older version doesn't work, their tech support sucks.

The App Store sucks because it doesn't filter based on OS version. As a developer, many of the communication libs don't work < ios 7.

It really kills the usefulness of the product when Apple doesn't filter apps based on OS and doesn't have a way to find the apps that used to work on the device.
 
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globalist

macrumors 6502a
Aug 19, 2009
748
264
I'm still on 6 too! Too much BS in the later versions and it looks a lot nicer/user friendly.

Take for instance the volume changer bar on videos - in iOS6, it is dark and thus a lot more transparent against a video picture. In all later versions, it is light, opaque and pretty much obscures the video. Doh, videos usually contain a lot more light than dark. Whouda thought that - surely not Jonny Ive.

Little things like this (and some big ones like the whole skeumorphic design) make me a happy 6 camper. :)
 

ThunderMasterMind

macrumors 6502a
Apr 29, 2016
543
521
Use it everyday!! I use it on my iPad 4 and iPhone 4S. With that said here is an article I wrote a few weeks ago about iOS that points out good key points about why 6 and older were better than the newer ones.

Today while I had some free time in Biology, I decided to look at the iPad Pro as possibly my new iPad. I scrolled and looked at the previews then I got to the part about iOS 9. It says "A better experience with every touch. iOS 9 is the world’s most advanced, intuitive, and secure mobile operating system. From powerful multitasking features to Night Shift and News, iOS 9 is designed to help you get the most out of iPad." I was one inch away from tipping over in my chair laughing. iOS used to be able to hold its ground like Apple said before iOS 7, but now you just can't say that iOS is better than iOS 6 and older. The experience is dead and Apple is struggling like crazy trying to optimize it to run better.
Ever since Scott Forstall was fired from supposed "complications" working with him, which I believe was him not wanting to get rid of the graphical design he made for OS X and iOS with Steve Jobs in exchange for a flat design. Everyone else says it was from him not apologizing for Apple maps which I can't confirm because I've never talked to him and I live on the other side of the country. I've heard many things about why he was fired so I really can't say too much. Anyway, Jonathan Ive has taken over software design and now manages both Industrial and Graphical design. With Ive now in charge, we were given iOS 7 with a new design and an over simplified UI. Now every app you open, you are blinded with a white UI that looks like it's fresh out of the 80s with app icons that barely match the content of the app at all. Ive said he wanted to contain consistency and that skeuomorphic real looking textures were no longer necessary as for he said everyone knows how to use their iDevice now. What he didn't realize is that skeuomorphism contains consistency but allows for different user interfaces to tie together at the same time by using the same style of design. He also didn't realize that pretty much everyone liked the old design and didn't care about a change to a flat design. Most people that I talked to after iOS 7 came out said that they wish they could go back because they absolutely hated it. I went back and I didn't regret it at all. I still use iOS 6 every day on my main iPad and my old iPhone 4S.
Have you ever wondered why the nice finger tips quick start guide is no longer included with iDevices, and all you get is a piece of paper telling you what the buttons do? Its because there is absolutely nothing to show off in iOS. It's almost embarrassing how crummy the UI looks. They can't really show how an app looks and functions because THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
angry.png

Wondering why your iDevice is running slowly, well I believe I have an answer for that. iOS 7 and up uses stylesheets much like CSS files for websites. The processor has to generate the UI from the ground up as soon as you open an app and that also applies to notification center, control center, and spotlight search, but you don't have to worry about those because iOS generates the style for those when your booted into iOS.
iOS 6 and older didn't use stylesheets in that fashion. iOS was image based and made the UI much like layers. The navigation bars, background, buttons, etc, were cropped and put into the appropriate spots via a stylesheet pointing out where they are supposed to be.
On a moderately powered device, having to generate the UI from the ground up takes a HUGE chunk out of performance. It's ridiculous, my iPhone 4S almost five years old on iOS 6 can perform just as well as my new iPhone 6S.
So what can be concluded here? Well iOS has become a lifeless, unprofessional looking, goofy, displeasing, buggy, laggy, and clunky operating system with too much blinding white UIs and pointless and obtrusive Gaussian blurs that only bog down your device. Jony Ive just doesn't understand that you can't just load down the processor and expect good performance, even on a more powerful device. He makes great device designs (except for the iPhone 6), but he can't do graphical design all to well... or at least efficiently.


Seriously though...
image.jpg


Hmm... What a shame...
 
Last edited:

1458279

Suspended
May 1, 2010
1,601
1,521
California
It's ridiculous, my iPhone 4S almost five years old on iOS 6 can perform just as well as my new iPhone 6S.
So what can be concluded here? Well iOS has become a lifeless,

+1
This is one of the problems with "devices". The device (PC, Smartphone, tablet...) has an OS and the manufacture (Apple, MS, etc) wants the OS the be the focus or at least part of the focus.

That's where things break down, many people don't get a dam about the OS. They care about the software (apps). To the user, they hold something (iPhone, Lenovo, Samsung,...) it has an OS and then the apps.

The main thing the user cares about are the apps. As long as the device and the OS do their job well (fast, functional, etc...) they don't care.

I was pissed when so many apps no longer supported < iOS7.

Apple has such pride in their upgrade rate, yet they seem to forget that they are reaching the point of "is it really worth upgrading for" as their sales for the first time in 13 years, didn't grow.

If they continue down this path, they'll continue to slow.
 

ThunderMasterMind

macrumors 6502a
Apr 29, 2016
543
521
+1
This is one of the problems with "devices". The device (PC, Smartphone, tablet...) has an OS and the manufacture (Apple, MS, etc) wants the OS the be the focus or at least part of the focus.

That's where things break down, many people don't get a dam about the OS. They care about the software (apps). To the user, they hold something (iPhone, Lenovo, Samsung,...) it has an OS and then the apps.

The main thing the user cares about are the apps. As long as the device and the OS do their job well (fast, functional, etc...) they don't care.

I was pissed when so many apps no longer supported < iOS7.

Apple has such pride in their upgrade rate, yet they seem to forget that they are reaching the point of "is it really worth upgrading for" as their sales for the first time in 13 years, didn't grow.

If they continue down this path, they'll continue to slow.
I know, that's what I'm afraid of. Apple has been good to me and I don't want to see the company crash and burn (even though they have plenty of money lol).


These are some pictures I made from scratch for iPhone 6 and 6S using original iOS 6 resources. Very beautiful!!

iPhone%206_iOS%206%20stock_zpsjf3rfkbs.png

Camera%20App_zpsjhetc8hu.png

iOS%206%20Phone%20keypad%204.7i_zpssqw7hf6j.png
 
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