Should I stay or should I go?

October 4, 2012 12:42 PM

I have an iPhone 4. It is not jail broken or anything and I have no plans to do so. Is the upgrade to ios6 worth it? I understand that applemaps is pretty awful, and I'm not sure if the rest of ios6 is worth the loss of google maps. If you have ios6, what else does it do?

Are the other improvements worth the loss of google maps? I understand that I can make a web app link to google maps' website through safari, but then the phone won't automatically use it when I click on addresses in other places. Is that super annoying? Or not a big deal? The iPhone 4 won't support Siri, so I'm basically wondering what else the upgrade will do for me and if the benefits outweigh the loss if google maps. Thanks!

posted by Weeping_angel to computers & internet (21 answers total)

I personally decided it wasn't worth it. Primarily because of the maps, but there are other cool things that iOS6 has but that the iPhone 4 doesn't get, like turn-by-turn directions, panorama camera and Facetime over cellular. If you scroll down to the very bottom of the iOS6 page you can see the fine print.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 12:46 PM on October 4, 2012

I should add that I have an iPad2 with iOS6 so I've seen and used it, and I still don't think it's worth putting on my iPhone 4.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 12:50 PM on October 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

Put it on my iphone 4, and meh. Day to day I don't notice it, except for the loss of maps! I would keep ios5 until google releases a maps app!
posted by defcom1 at 1:02 PM on October 4, 2012

Third comment and I'm done. The loss of the YouTube app icon actually kind of annoys me, so the only thing about iOS6 that I really notice on my iPad is that I can't look up the videos that I've uploaded as easily as I used to (though maybe I'm missing something?)...
posted by rabbitrabbit at 1:02 PM on October 4, 2012

Said this in a different, recent askme: I just spent the better part of a week driving around an unfamiliar part of the country, using a combination of paper maps and Apple maps and a little bit of Waze. Apple maps were totally fine, and even tried to give us helpful information about construction that was going to change the way we got to a hotel in Bloomfield, NM (so, not a popular urban area). Information we ignored because we were dumb.

Apple maps do lack street view and transit info. This kind of blows, but I never used Google's transit info anyway since I have a dedicated transit app for my city.

It really depends, I imagine, on how you use a maps app. I also have an 4, btw.
posted by rtha at 1:03 PM on October 4, 2012

I also have an iPhone 4 with the older operating system, and I also have an iPad that I've updated to the newer operating system. In my experience using both, the newer software offers no discernible benefit and I like my maps just fine the way they are. So I am not planning to update my phone.
posted by cribcage at 1:18 PM on October 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have recently made the switch with my iPhone 4, and I haven't seen any significant issues. Things may even be running a bit faster, and I like the new passbook app, although it will take some time to build up the ecosystem before it's very useful. I'm also looking forward to finally using Facetime without wifi.

The only thing that I miss from the old map app is the traffic view, but it's easy enough to bookmark GoogleMaps for that until they improve the Apple map app.
posted by blurker at 1:19 PM on October 4, 2012

I think it's worth it for the new iMessages (I can respond to my wife's texts from my computer or ipad, even if they were sent to my phone number, and the conversations all stay in sync), and not having to type my password to download updates to apps I already have installed (yes, that matters that much to me).
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 1:37 PM on October 4, 2012

I used to have trouble using Siri while I was in my car because Ford Sync would take over the call. IOS6 gives you to option to use Sync or the phone. Supposedly it also supports reading texts aloud while driving but after hours of messing with it, I gave up.
posted by tamitang at 2:25 PM on October 4, 2012

I've seen complaints from owners of iPhone 4/4S, saying iOS 6 drains their battery much faster.
posted by clearlydemon at 2:55 PM on October 4, 2012

Maps is fine. Used it for a long trip and worked great. Fast, speedy and cached the route so when I lost signal all was still good.

Loss of YouTube app is a bigger down for me, but not a huge loss.

Speed increase made it worth it.
posted by Nufkin at 2:58 PM on October 4, 2012

No specific recommendation because I think a 4S on iOS6 is a different situation but for everybody talking about the loss of the Youtube app, I can't recommend Jasmine enough. It's a gorgeous native Youtube client that blows away Google's official third party effort (For one thing, it didn't rip out AirPlay streaming out of spite).

(There are lots of not-specific-to-newer-phones small touches I like about iOS6 and I don't regret updating my 4S for a second but I'm pretty lazy about listing them here.)
posted by whittaker at 3:20 PM on October 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

I HATE HATE HATE HATE the new podcasts app and am pulling my hair out that they removed the ability to play podcasts in the "Music" app as you were allowed to under iOS 5. Other than that, I like iOS6 just fine.
posted by pwb503 at 3:31 PM on October 4, 2012

Another data point: on the long drive around the southwest, I saw no faster-than-usual battery use on my 4, despite heavy use (taking pictures, looking for a signal in order to send the pictures, etc.). Seems to last as long as usual.
posted by rtha at 3:38 PM on October 4, 2012

pwb503: Do you hate the UX or the performance of the podcasting app? Because their last update made it almost miraculously faster.
posted by whittaker at 3:52 PM on October 4, 2012

There's plenty of sites that list what features are coming to the iPhone 4 with iOS6, and which ones are not. Decide if what you're getting is worth it to you and then make your decision.

But for me:

- haven't had a problem with the maps app.
- there's enough features I use to make it worth it. As an example, the 'do not disturb' feature, the messaging options on incoming phone calls, and passbook's possibilities make it well worth it to me.
- No sign of battery problems.
posted by justgary at 4:38 PM on October 4, 2012

I heard lots of horror stories, but eventually I made the switch.

A week and change later, I've half forgotten that this was ever even a thing.

(I have a 3gs, if that matters.)
posted by Sara C. at 4:54 PM on October 4, 2012

The maps thing has been a huge pain for me, since I use the map function daily or more. I went to see a friend in the sticks who had recently moved, and iMaps had his address about 2 miles away from where it should have been, and on the wrong side of a major U.S. highway. Plus the location didn't even make sense - he lives in numbered streets - and the map had him at, like, 170th street and 93rd ave when the house number was (let's say) 12670 76th ave.

I was kind of freaked out about losing the YouTube app, but then I went and downloaded it again. I assume it will work.
posted by toodleydoodley at 5:33 PM on October 4, 2012

There's one little tiny change that makes all the irritations worthwhile for me, and that's the Do Not Disturb option in settings. As a former Blackberry user, trying to manage the sounds at night without a "phone only" setting was just ridiculous. With the new setting, you set it with one swipe and the only sound it makes is when you get a call from anyone on your favorites list. This is a godsend if you have elderly parents, kids in college, AND a light sleeper sharing your bed.
posted by raisingsand at 5:34 PM on October 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you want to get rid of the awful podcast app you can. Delete it. I had to reboot my touch but all my podcasts were back in with my music.
posted by kathrynm at 6:24 PM on October 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oh, I see I'm very late to this. But for the benefit of future generations...

When I changed to iOS6:

Apple Maps got turn-by-turn directions right, once.

The second time I tried to use the map, I spent 55 minutes walking around trying to find a destination that was 5 minutes, and literally almost in the sightline, from where I started.

The third time, I decided to experiment and tried to use the turn-by-turn directions to drive me home. It took me to a destination two hours away. I found my way home by guesswork.

I couldn't just install Google Maps and be done with it. You can put the web page on your home screen, but that's not actually anywhere near as usable.

For some time after the upgrade, I couldn't get the phone to power off. It would always instantly power back on again. This problem resolved after a day or two, but then came back.

The sound cut out intermittently and none of the tricks I read on forums could fix it.

Finally I couldn't stand it any more and I tried to roll back to 5.1. I couldn't, that's forbidden now.

Fortunately my phone was still under warranty and they replaced the handset for me. If your phone is out of warranty, and you get hardware problems like I did with the speaker and power on/off, you are fucked.

My new handset was on 5.1 and there is no way in hell I am upgrading it to 6.0.
posted by tel3path at 11:12 AM on November 17, 2012