After updating to iOS 8, iphone4s owners may notice more than just slower performance

iOS 8 ( possibly the biggest release to date ).
With it, a ton of new features will find their way out
into the public domain , and a wide range of devices
will be able to get the newest software underneath
their owner’s fingertips. The iPhone 4S included.
Technically, the iPhone 4S is capable of being updated
to iOS 8, the newest version of Apple’s popular mobile
operating system, and owners will indeed see a
notification to update at some point beginning
September 17. However, as a new report published by
Ars Technica points out, updating may not be the best
option for many 4S owners out there. They point out
several different instances where the newest software
may actually worsen the experience for owners, rather
than improve it.
First and foremost, the iPhone 4S’s display size is a
big cramp on iOS 8’s style. While several of the new
features work, like the new Spotlight search, Ars
points out that the smaller display can only show a
max of two results due to the 3.5-inch display, and
the keyboard taking up a good majority of it already.
More often than not, it’s only one result. As the
original report notes, the smaller screen makes iOS 8
feel cramped.
One of the biggest issues, though, may come down to
performance. The report includes a chart that compares
several different areas of testing an iPhone 4S running
iOS 7.1.2, and iOS 8. The results, unanimously, are that
updating to the newest mobile OS means that apps
will open slower. That includes Safari, which opened in
about 1.25 seconds running on iOS 7.1.2, while it took
2.16 seconds on iOS 8. The camera gets bumped to a
slower 1.8 seconds from 1.5 seconds. Even simply
turning the iPhone 4S on takes three seconds longer.
It should also be noted that while the iPhone 4S can
be upgraded to iOS 8, and several new features are
indeed accessible, many are not. That includes, just
like in iOS 7, AirDrop. It also includes TouchID (as this
only launched with the iPhone 5s), Apple’s new
Handoff feature, and support for OpenGL ES 3.0 or the
Metal graphics API.