With this week’s introduction of iOS 5, Apple’s next-generation mobile operating system, owners of older iPhones are curious as to whether or not their device will support all the new features. iOS 5 brings a number of exciting additions, including a revamped notification system, deep Twitter integration, an updated version of Safari with support for tabbed browsing and reading lists, a more advanced camera system, a Newsstand app for managing newspaper and magazine subscriptions, a free messaging service for iOS users similar to BlackBerry’s BBM, and more. In total, Apple has added over 200 new features to the operating system, the company says.
But will your phone run them?
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Several blogs, including 9to5Mac, AppleRumors, CNET and Engadget, have begun to track what features have gone missing on older Apple mobile devices.
As it turns out, it’s all good news so far. According to early reviews, it appears that the only missing feature for iPhone 3GS users is a minor one: image editing in the Camera app. In tests, the red eye removal feature, cropping feature and “magic wand” option were not available on this older iPhone model.
Some reports stated that Safari’s new implementation of tabbed browsing was also missing from the iPhone 3GS, but it won’t be available on the iPhone 4 either. This is by design. During the keynote, it was explained that the tabbed browsing feature would be coming to iPads only.
For iPhone 3G owners, note that iOS 5 will not run on your phone at all. iOS 5 is only supported on the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad 1 and 2, and whatever future iPhone Apple has yet to reveal.
This YouTube video shows iOS5 on the iPhone 3GS in action, if you’re curious to see how it works.
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