iPhone 4S users rejoice: Apple iOS 9 to be optimized for older devices

In theory, the release of a new OS version from Apple is supposed to be a reason to cheer, but if you own anything but the latest hardware, that’s rarely been the case. The Cupertino-based smartphone manufacturer has released multiple OS updates (iOS 4, iOS 7, and iOS 8, specifically) that were significantly slower than the operating systems they replaced. While this issue has always been most acute on older hardware, Apple’s update policies are designed to make falling back to an earlier operating system difficult, if not impossible. We’ve already covered reports that iOS 9 will focus on fixing bugs and improving performance rather than relentlessly launching new features, and a new report extends that focus by claiming that the OS will be optimized for older devices like the iPhone 4S.

Before iOS 9, Apple’s apparent development model was to build the OS on the latest hardware versions, remove a handful of features that couldn’t run well on older products, and call the whole thing done. The new approach is tailored to creating operating system variants that are actually tailored to older products and will enable new features only after testing and optimizing them for older hardware.

It’s a misconception that OS development has to be a zero-sum game, in which older hardware can only be supported if newer hardware is left on the table. To be sure, this can occur in certain cases: Trying to carry the entire spectrum of Windows XP compatibility and security bug fixes for devices more than ten years old was undoubtedly a headache for Microsoft. But it doesn’t really reflect the reality of the iOS world, where Apple has just a handful of products to support, and even the slowest offer dual-core processors, a specific and known amount of RAM, and well-understood hardware and software capabilities.

While the iPhone 4S is a bit long in the tooth, news of better support for that platform should also pay dividends for the iPhone 5 and 5c, which are significantly newer. I’ve avoided iOS 8 due to the general loss of performance in launching applications and UI changes — I’m hoping iOS 9 can at least match iOS 7 on my iPhone 5c.

The new OS, which 9to5Mac reports is codenamed Gala, is also expected to adopt Apple’s new San Francisco typeface, offer split-screen app views on the iMac, and add mass transit directions to Apple Maps. Apple is also reportedly adding a “feature” called Rootless, which is expected to prevent even administrative-level users from accessing certain protected files. This could be a platform-wide adoption of trusted execution hardware-enforced security or a further evolution of software efforts, but locking certain files out from even an administrator account could be problematic for jailbreakers. Apple is also reportedly stepping up its efforts to push iCloud and will use that system as a backend for more applications and content syncing. Major updates to Swift and features like “secure WiFi” are all on the menu — check 9to5’s full report for further details.

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