FaceTime over 3G with iOS 6 limited to iPhone 4S, iPad 3

Another new feature coming in iOS 6 will be limited to devices running Apple's custom A5 chip or later, as FaceTime over 3G will only be capable on the iPhone 4S or third-generation iPad.

That means owners of the iPhone 4, Apple's first device to offer FaceTime, or the iPad 2 will still need to be connected to Wi-Fi in order to conduct a FaceTime video chat call when iOS 6 launches this fall. The restriction was revealed in the fine print of Apple's official product page for iOS 6.

FaceTime over 3G joins turn-by-turn directions and the new "Flyover" feature in Maps as functions in iOS 6 that will require an A5 processor or newer. The iPhone 4, first released in 2010, runs the previous-generation A4 chip.

While iPhone 4 owners won't get FaceTime over 3G, turn-by-turn directions or Flyover, they will have access to shared Photo streams when iOS 6 launches this year. iPhone 3GS owners won't be so lucky, however, as Shared Photo Streams requires iOS 6 on an iPhone 4 or later or iPad 2 or later, and a Mac computer with OS X Mountain Lion.

The iPhone 3GS will also miss out on VIP list in the iOS 6 Mail application, along with VIP and Flagged smart mailboxes. Those features will be available on the iPhone 4 or later and iPad 2 or later.

And the new "Offline Reading List" in Safari also requires an iPhone 4 or later and iPad 2 or later, meaning the iPhone 3GS, which was first released in 2009, didn't make the cut.

Finally, "Made for iPhone" hearing aids, a new accessibility feature of iOS 6, will require an iPhone 4S to work, when compatible hearing aids hit the market.

Apple's fine print for iOS 6 features makes no mention of the fourth-generation iPod touch, which will run iOS 6 when it launches this fall. The fourth-generation iPod touch features an A4 processor similar to the one found in the iPhone 4, so it's likely that the same feature restrictions will apply.

149 Comments

macvertigo 75 comments · 13 Years

About 12 years ago

Wow - us iphone 4 owners are really getting the shaft. Pretty shitty move Apple - considering my phone is only a little over a year old.

ddawson100 531 comments · 16 Years

Oh, why! I don't want to use the F word here but Android's been having that trouble for a while. It's clear that they *can* allow older phones to have Siri, turn-by-turn, dictation, etc, but it's clear they're making some choices here. The line seems kind of arbitrary about which iOS devices will get which features. The latest will always have all, of course, but we're going to need a matrix to determine while features will be on which devices when iOS 6 is released.

dpriceslc 5 comments · 12 Years

If the iPhone 4 can do FaceTime over Wi-Fi, it can do FaceTime over 3G...

sleepy3 244 comments · 12 Years

Some may call it a thinly veiled exercise in getting people with iphone4's to buy new phones

.....Other's will call it business. Its all about the bottom line. And forcing people to upgrade ensures you have a pretty healthy bottom line.

As for the F word, yeah, its real. As a developer you have some with turn by turn, some with 3d maps, some with facetime over cellular, some with 4" screens (supposedly), multiple processor and GPU differences, some with siri. But it is still not as bad as Android overall though.

At the end of the day, as technology advances there is BOUND to be fragmentation of those on the cutting edge and those that still have devices from two or three years ago. Can't escape it. Just the way it is.

tallest skil 43086 comments · 14 Years

[quote name="dpriceslc" url="/t/150685/facetime-over-3g-with-ios-6-limited-to-iphone-4s-ipad-2-or-later#post_2127125"]If the iPhone 4 can do FaceTime over Wi-Fi, it can do FaceTime over 3G…[/quote] No, that's not how you determine it. Would you say that since the original iPhone could do FaceTime over Wi-Fi it could do FaceTime over cellular? Not all 3G is created equal, either.