This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them.Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.
iOS 9.2.1, the latest system update from Apple, improves the performance of the iPhone 4s and iPhone 5.
iPhone 7 Rumors: 7 That Have People Talking
(Click image for larger view and slideshow.)
iPhone owners who've shied away from the newest versions of iOS for fear of crippling their smartphone may finally have reason to update their devices. Apple pushed out iOS 9.2.1 this week, and preliminary results show the cleaned-up code runs smoothly on older Apple handsets.
The latest data from MixPanel suggests approximately 84% of iOS devices -- iPhones, iPads, iPods Touch -- are already running iOS 9.x. That leaves about 12% on iOS 8 and 4% on iOS 7 or older. That small percentage of people still running older generations of Apple's mobile operating system is made up of two groups: Those who won't update and those who can't.
iOS 9 is compatible with iPhones going back to the 2011-era iPhone 4s. Installing the newest code on devices that old, however, is a risky venture. The likelihood of wrecking the smartphone's performance is fairly high, which is what causes some people to stick with what they know works.
(Image: Bulgac/iStockphoto)
Anyone who falls into that camp should be encouraged by new evidence revealed by iAppleBytes. In a video comparison, iAppleBytes clearly demonstrates the ways iOS 9.2.1 performs better than iOS 8.4.1 on the iPhone 4s. The 4s is a bit slower to boot with the new code, but the overall speed of the operating system is appreciably better.
I tested iOS 9.2.1 on a 2012-era iPhone 5 and can confirm that the system update delivers a marked improvement over iOS 9.1.
Aside from the new features and speed boost, iOS 9.2.1 installs a number of important bug fixes not available in older versions of Apple's operating system.
In other words, if you've been holding out for fear of turning your iPhone 4s or iPhone 5 into a brick, it looks like your fears are no longer warranted.
Apple pushed out several other new operating system variants this week, including iOS 9.3 Beta 1.1. Apple made the first beta of iOS 9.3 available last week. This week's .1 update to the beta cleans up several important performance bugs. This new OS from Apple bolsters the platform's education tools and adds a nighttime mode that makes it easier to sleep after staring at your screen right before you go to bed.
iOS 9.2.1 is available to everyone. iOS 9.3 Beta 1.1 is available to registered developers and public beta testers.
Eric is a freelance writer for InformationWeek specializing in mobile technologies. View Full Bio
We welcome your comments on this topic on our social media channels, or [contact us directly] with questions about the site.
2021 Top Enterprise IT TrendsWe've identified the key trends that are poised to impact the IT landscape in 2021. Find out why they're important and how they will affect you.
To save this item to your list of favorite InformationWeek content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.