iPhone App Directory

Will we get 3GS only apps?

I really hope that this doesn't happen, at least not soon anyway. It was bad enough with the 1st gen touch and no mic input, but if apps start appearing that are 3GS only I think it will cause a big issue for the existing hardware base.

I would be very interested in know views on this.

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6 comments:

Tom said...

Technology moves on, things become obsolete! Why is everyone so concerned about 'splitting the install base'?

There will be 3GS only apps, and they will be capable of things that the 3G isn't; you'll be able to run a 16 track recorder instead of an 8, you'll have more polyphony, less latency and so on.

formal said...

I'll just be waiting for the upgraded itouch with the new CPU/GPU as well as the 3rd party accessory stuff. I've already bought 2 idevices and I need a damn good reason to buy my 3rd.

robman84 said...

I just hope we don't get "lazy" fragmentation, e.g. devs forgetting to enable installs on all models even though their app doesn't require the new model (as frequently happens now with apps "requiring" an iphone rather than iPod despite not using any of its features). You'd think the fact that they'd get a larger user base would be incentive enough!

I've made the decision not to get the 3GS yet as the upgrade reasons aren't strong enough for me (I was hoping for decent camera and video). So I went with a Sony DSC-T900 camera instead, thus blowing my budget!

ashley said...

I'm hoping that devs won't forget to 40 million or so users who are currently NOT on 3GS.

Chad said...

I can't see any musical reasons for 3GS-only (unless you are using the compass for your UI). Because the OS is multi-tasking, you can't depend on getting 100% of the CPU. You should anticipate fewer CPU cycles due to a slower device OR because of background tasks.

But, miniMusic may move to 3.0-only pretty quickly. Unfortunate that Apple can't figure out how to account for iPods so they can get 3.0 for free!

Unknown said...

It depends...

I agree that there would benefits of having 3GS only apps.

For example; an app that allows you to film, edit and directly upload to youtube.
Such an application will not run on the original 3G because of its hardware limitations.

However, an application that is able to run on both types of iPhone should be made freely available on both platforms.

Take for example a Diary/Journal application that allows you to add pictures and sound recordings.
This can run freely on both.

However; certain functionality, such as the ability to add video could be a 3GS only feature.

So while the App runs on both, there are advantages in functionality to having a 3GS handset.

Is that not fair?

It means that the original iPhone 3G handset is not obsolete, simply that the new handset has more features.