Steve Jobs on Support for iPhone 2G: ''Sorry, No.''

Way to screw over your customers apple.

Typical Apple but, honestly, how many people are still using the original iPhone? At some point in time you have to cut ties with older hardware because the older hardware is holding back software development on the newer hardware. Microsoft did this with Xbox Live and the original Xbox a couple of months ago. There are obviously vast differences when comparing a console and a mobile phone but the concept still applies. Most companies phase out software updates of older products but Apple is the quickest about it.

Another example of why Apple is a terrible company...

I can understand the need to phase out older hardware, but 3 years seems a little premature to me, especially since these people shelled out for unsubsidized phones.

Because they don't support old hardware? Hardware that can be replaced with much newer variations for relatively little money? Do you see HTC providing a Windows Phone 7 update for the Hermes?

Seriously, stop whining. In the cellular phone market, it's remarkable to see consistent support and updates for as long as 3 years.

You still see HTC providing updates to the older Windows Mobile OS, that is the difference.

Now go away.

And yet my original zune keeps getting more and more features. How old is that thing now?

This is like Nintendo's ideals taken to the extreme.

i sent an email to apple asking them if they still have costumers? .... Steve Jobs replied, "Sorry, no."

Actually, what's being lost in all of this is that Steve Jobs actually took the time to respond to someone asking a question.

For someone as famous as he, not to mention he's the CEO of an important company and is likely very busy, to at least respond is pretty impressive, and very unusual.

I can't run Windows NT derivatives on my original PC, or even PC/AT! I don't think my Pentium has enough memory either. My i815 based Tualatin can't cut it either, since the chipset doesn't support more than 512 MB of memory.

It's how things are. Apple designed the original iPhone to do what it did at that time. They didn't have the time, and probably wouldn't have had a competitive product if they made it do what they want today (it would have been even more expensive, even if it were possible). So, they probably have the choice of either limiting what their OS could do, or letting go of old hardware support so they could do what they really want. If I were an Apple customer, I'd want the latter.

I'm not an Apple fan (I only have antique Apples), but, I'm impressed Jobs actually responded, however terse, and I don't think Apple is necessarily doing their customers a disservice by choosing progression over compatibility in this case.

Truth of the matter is that supporting 3 year tech holds back all the tech that uses their software. Since you have to program for the weakest link. At some point their going to have to cut old stuff loose.

This will lead to better apps that take advantage of newer hardware. In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with that.

3 years for a phone is honestly an eternity for a cell phone. Which would be why most carriers offer discounted/free cell phone upgrades at 18/24 months. For apple to kill MAJOR upgrades for a 3 year old product is hardly unreasonable. Beyond that they will obviously support it on the stability level, but that's it.

Products have a life span people. For upgrades and support. Or perhaps I'm wrong and I should follow the advice of some of ya'll and whine about having no major upgrades for win95 >.>

So what this all comes down to is:
Want new features and etc? Upgrade. Plain and simple. Apple is a company, and the 2g isn't putting money in their wallets nor food in their family's mouth.

Funny how some consumers want so much for free.. >.> So please, take a few classes on economics and in the words of my "Hero of the Day":

Jobs sold his soul for the cure to cancer

I disagree, I think it should be the same as the PC arena. why do people insist that smartphones are so different from PCs? they sure cost a hell of alot. I know it mightn't look like they do, with them being subsidized by your mobile contract, but they do! I think stuff like this, and charging ipod touch owners for a "new" os every year is lousy.

Absolutely! Treat smartphones like pc's. And microwaves and modern cars too, since they have "computers" in them too. Yeah! Major upgrades and overhauls for everything! My solar-powered calculator too!

Negative. PC's are a completely different product, regardless if they use software with the same basic origins. Cell phones have a life span. Sneaky Snake had a really good point I missed. Supporting old tech after a while will slow progress on better spec'd hardware because of compatibility issues. Sorry, a cell phone is not, or ever will be the same as a PC due to a phones mobile nature. Their purposes and design are completely different. They do the same things with laptops. Mobile devices are only designed to last so long!

Wait..scratch that.. They COULD prolly design them to last forever! Enjoy the rediculously inflated price tag if they do.

Wait, let me get this straight. Apple releases iPhone OS 2.0 and 3.0 since the original iPhone launch. BOTH were free upgrades. And you want it to be like the desktop world? If that's the case, 2.0 and 3.0 would have been a paid upgrade. Win Vista and Win 7 were both paid upgrades.

Apple GAVE AWAY two operating system point increases for COMPLETELY FREE and you actually think it is unfair that after this, they aren't offering OS 4.0 to first gen customers?

I wonder if you can just copy the frameworks from 4.0 over to a jailbroken device... that and change some version strings.

Right? Lol. Don't forget that the basis of all of his theory is flawed to boot. Eventually, even PC's become outdated, and unable to work with new software and technology. Which leads to another major difference between PC's and mobile tech..

Try to buy a new "video card" for your phone. Or cpu. Or anything for that matter. Everything mobile is designed to die. Hell.. Even cars are designed and built with a 7 to 11 year "buy a new one" thought process.

Eventually, the company will need more money. And when they do, it has to come from somewhere, and diverting manpower from backwards compatibility projects and into new technology IS more profitable. Which is what companies ARE for.

alsdjkf...(etc) Maybe. Prolly can.. But apple doesn't want to, and i don't blame them.

"Jobs sold his soul for the cure to cancer"

Seriously IF YOU HAVE ENOUGH MONEY THERE IS A CURE TO EVERYTHING!

I'm not one to defend this man but I bet he is well connected!

I guess you could compare Steve to Magic Johnson who seems SUPER HEALTHY despite having HIV......he will live to the normal age of death.....must be NICE!!!!!!!

One of these days celluar providers will be mailing you an upgraded phone every year, then every six months, who knows where it will end. But rather than wait for you to decide to upgrade at your leisure (decision), they'll build in the price of upgrades completely into your service plan and all phones will be free. Why would they do this, because it would guarantee a higher revenue stream each month and really consumer choice is the enemy of corporations.

Whats Steves e-mail address? I want to know if at least skype can run in the background on my 3g with this update....

Why cant steve just come out and say that the 3g wont support multitasking because IT ONLY HAS 128 meg OF RAM!

one more thing

STEVE......WEAR A BELT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!

how could he not wear a belt during a presentation like this!

SO TACKY!

Unless Jobs sent a video of himself responding to this guy, then I doubt it was actually Steve Jobs that responded. It was probably his assistant's assistant that responded. That, or Steve's Windows-based mobile phone has started to make decisions for the company now.

I still think the "no support" option is b*lls**t. Take the original xbox. I bet Microsoft will still sue the pants off of XBMC if they release prebuilt binaries. Why can't they just let the people who paid good money for this console do as they please? Is there going to come a day when because a company considers something "too old", that they are going to implement a network killswitch or an internal expiration date. I bet these things are completely secret and don't get printed on the carton.

Then you got people who are at the opposite end of the spectrum like John Carmack who benefits by open sourcing his old stuff.

Heh, poor iPhonies . Even though he doesn't care about your old iPhone, he still cares enough to write back to people .

Because they are so different. Just because a phone can do similar functions of a personal computer and is as expensive as a personal computer does not make it a personal computer. You don't hold your computer up to your face and make calls.

Also, you flip flopped on your own argument. You start off wanting to treat smart phones like personal computers then you say it is "lousy" that iPod Touch owners have to pay for new operating systems. When is the last time you got a free (legal) operating system upgrade on your computer at home?

The main issue here with me is that it doesn't appear that Apple will be supporting the iPhone 2G in any fashion which would not only mean no major OS updates but no minor bug fixes or patches either. It's not abnormal at all to phase out software support for older platforms but you can't completely abandon a three year old product. That's messed up. It's cool to stop delivering major OS upgrades but you have to keep working to patch security issues or you are leaving your customers vulnerable.

"Sorry, no. fork over some more money so i can wipe my ass with it in my private starbucks"

every one is forgetting the hardware is about the same between the iphone and the iphone 3g. Look it up there really isnt much difference. This is just planned obsolescence from apple, to make people upgrade.

ive had my cell phone for 4 years now, works a charm... i expect to keep using it for another 2 years (though i fear the battery might not keep it's charge for that long), it's not a smart phone, i dont think it will play cysis, im pretty sure it barely has 0.5 mb of ram but strangely enough it makes and takes phone calls just fine, i even benched marked it, it answers the phones calls the moment i press the answer button, that would be fast in my books. i brought it fully unlocked and unbranded for $100..... i wished i can find another phone like it....

i asked my friend who has an iPhone what does it do with it, he says surf the web and make phone calls..... apparently thats whats called a smartphone....

When steve jobs retires the healing of apple's image can begin... too bad he wont retire because hes a fascist control freak who lead apple from the biggest threat that IBM had to a tiny company that only graphic artists and college stoners could get any use out of. Good job steve youre a credit to the 60's hipster generation that you represent... dont let your company get too big then you cant fight "the man".

Can anyone show me a major Cellphone maker who offers OS updates on their phones other than Apple? Nokia, Sony, Samsung, Motorola all make you buy a new phone to get the new OS. Even the vaulted Google forced its customers to buy Nexus 1 toget the new OS. Apple , to say the least treats the iPhone like a platform.

I'm sure some resourceful hacker will find a way to put OS 4.0 on the older iPhones.