Informal Testing Suggests Minor Performance Increase for iPhone 3G on iOS 4.1 - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Informal Testing Suggests Minor Performance Increase for iPhone 3G on iOS 4.1


Late last week, Lifehacker posted a video comparison of the performance of iOS 4.0 and iOS 4.1 on an iPhone 3G.

The video demonstrates the results, but here they are in all their glory:

- Messages: iOS 4.1 Wins (By a Little)
- Maps: iOS 4.1 Wins (By a Lot)
- Photos: iOS 4.1 Wins (Just Barely)
- Safari: iOS 4.1 Wins (Just Barely)

While the speed advantages ranged from marginal to significant, iOS 4.1 clearly outperformed iOS 4.0. It's still significantly slower performance than you'll get from a 3GS or iPhone 4, and we're still not sure it's a big enough improvement that 3G owners will want to ditch iOS 3. The most obvious difference was UI responsiveness. The UI didn't get stuck nearly as much on an interface element or when trying to enter text. If you are set on using iOS 4, the upgrade is worthwhile for that alone.

In late July, Apple acknowledged that it was looking into reports of performance problems for the iPhone 3G under iOS 4.0, and Apple CEO Steve Jobs confirmed late last month in an email to a customer that a software update addressing the issuing was forthcoming.

At last week's media event, Jobs announced the release of iOS 4.1 set for this week, noting the iPhone 3G performance issue as one of the bugs addressed in the update.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple Just Released a New Accessory

Monday May 4, 2026 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today released a new Pride Edition Sport Loop for the Apple Watch. The band features a rainbow design with 11 colors of woven nylon yarns. The new Pride Edition Sport Loop is available to order now on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app in 40mm, 42mm, and 46mm sizes, and it will be available at Apple Store locations starting later this week. In the U.S., the band costs $49. There...
Instagram Feature 2

PSA: Instagram Encrypted Messaging Ends on Friday, May 8

Tuesday May 5, 2026 8:24 am PDT by
Instagram will remove end-to-end encryption for direct messages between users from May 8, 2026. When the date comes around, Meta will potentially be able to see the contents of all messages between users on the social media platform. Encrypting messages has been an optional feature in Instagram since 2023, but in March of this year the social media platform quietly updated a help page to say ...
iOS 26

Apple Says iOS 26.5 Adds Three New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday May 5, 2026 7:36 am PDT by
iOS 26.5 includes three new features for iPhones, according to Apple's release notes for the update, which is expected to be released next week. As discovered during beta testing, iOS 26.5 enables end-to-end encryption for RCS messaging between iOS and Android devices. Apple says this security upgrade is limited to supported carriers around the world and will continue to roll out....