iPhone 4S

Most people thought 2014 would be the beginning of the end for the iPad 2, but Apple has decided to grant it one more year of life by allowing it to support iOS 8. However, Ars Technica has discovered that iOS 8 on the iPad 2, and iPhone 4s, isn't all that it's cracked up to be.

As with past iOS releases, the oldest models on their way out are not equipped to handle Apple's improved software. Both the iPad 2 and iPhone 4s suffer from glitches when iOS 8 is installed, and they can't take advantage of some of the new features found in the update. For example, Ars Technica lists these iOS 8 features that depend on newer hardware:

Even though it has been officially retired by Apple, the iPad 2 will support iOS 8 when the new OS is released this fall. Normally discontinued Apple products do not support the latest iOS release, but the second-generation tablet is listed as one of the comptible devices at the bottom of Apple's iOS 8 preview. The older iPhone 4s and 5th generation iPod will also support Apple's new operating system. Here's a complete list of all the iOS 8 compatible devices:

• iPod Touch: 5th Generation
• iPhone: 4s, 5, 5c and 5s
• iPad: iPad 2, iPad with Retina display (3rd and 4th generation), iPad Air, iPad mini and iPad mini with Retina display

Some iPhone 4S and iPad 3 owners are reporting that their Wi-Fi is being "greyed out" or disabled after installing iOS 6. A thread about the issue on the Apple Support forums has already reached 93 pages. Users are reporting that their Wi-Fi settings are either disabled, or that they can't connect and are being forced to use a cellular data connection only. There have also been complaints about the problem affecting Bluetooth capabilities as well.

Early iOS 6 users did suffer from Wi-Fi issues when it was originally launched on September 19, however, Apple has fixed the problem. Two users have replied that Apple is aware of the new issue, but the Wi-Fi complaints are still piling up. The Apple Support thread has over 900 replies at the time of this post.

Tablet fans waiting for a smaller, more affordable iPad will have to wait a little longer. Apple did not announce the rumored 7-inch iPad as some hoped, instead they announced the long-awaited iPhone 5, a 2.5-inch iPod nano, and fifth-generation iPod touch on Wednesday in San Francisco.

iPhone 5

There weren't many surprises during the iPhone 5 presentation as most of the next-generation rumors finally turned out to be true. The iPhone 5 does feature a hybrid metal and glass back, 4G LTE speeds and a larger 16:9 ratio in-cell touch display. Apple managed to make the new iPhone lighter and thinner without sacrificing battery life, and added a new and faster A6 processor. The iPhone 5 also stayed the same in price. The 16GB model will cost $199, the 32GB model is $299, and the 64GB version is $399. The iPhone 4S was reduced to $99, and the iPhone 4 is free with a new contract. Pre-orders for the iPhone open on September 14. Full shipping and availability will commence on Friday, September 21, and iOS 6 drops on September 19.

It looks like an untethered iPad 3 jailbreak should be right around the corner. Pod2g released a video (see below) showing a jailbroken new iPad running iOS 5.1. On Friday, the IOS hacker confirmed that his new jailbreak also works with iOS 5.1.1, and should work with all iOS devices inculding the iPad 3 and iPhone 4S.

Pod2g tweeted: "OK, tested on an iPad 3,1 running 5.1.1. Jailbroken untethered. :-) No issue."

It's unknown when the new jailbreak will be released, but when it's, pod2g said it will be a bundled tool created by the Chronic Dev Team.

The Chronic Dev team issued a simple warning to both veteran and amateur jailbreakers during the Apple iPad event yesterday. Along with the new iPad announcement Apple released iOS 5.1 for the iPhone 3GS, 4 and 4S, the 3rd generation iPod touch, iPad and iPad 2. iPhone 4S and iPad 2 users should not update to iOS 5.1 if they want to keep their jailbreak. Read the Dev Team's complete warning below.

After the iPhone 5/iPhone 4S fiasco I'm not convinced Apple is going to release an iPad mini this year. Apple didn't need a new low-end iPhone to compete with other smartphone manufacturers at the end of 2011 like a lot of analysts predicted they would. The iPhone 4S performed well, and the iPhone 3GS allowed them to compete in the low-to-mid end market without having to release a new affordable phone. However, some analysts still believe Apple will release an iPad mini to compete with the Kindle Fire in 2012.

A Technology Business Research analyst believes Apple plans to release an iPad mini sometime this year. "I believe that's always been in the plan," Ezra Gottheil told Computer World. "Actually that's a good form factor for some users, and although they will also charge a premium above other similar-sized tablets, they want to protect that price flank."

The latest iPad rumors come from iLounge‘s Jeremy Horwitz' Twitter feed (via 9to5Mac). According to Horwitz, the next generation iPad will feature a front-facing FaceTime HD camera, and the rear camera will be more "iPhone 4S-like." 9to5Mac also heard Apple was prepping an 8-megapixel camera for the iPad 3 last summer.

Horwitz also tweeted that the iPad 3 will be thicker like previous reports have suggested. This is due to the rumored dual OLED backlights for the improved LCD display.

“Curve radiuses on the body will change only a little to accommodate the added thickness, not dramatically. Think iPad 2 Pro, not a redesign."

"Body of the next iPad is, as we previously reported, getting just a little thicker to accommodate new parts - little = 1mm give or take."

Contradicting their previous report that Apple is working on a 7.85-inch iPad, the DigiTimes writes that Apple will release a "complete iPad series targeting the entry-level, mid-range and high-end market" in 2012. The iPad 2 will be reduced to compete with the Amazon Kindle Fire, and the next-generation iPads will "focus on the mid-range and high-end segments," according to sources in the supply chain.

The new iPads will feature 9.7-inch screens, QXGA resolution (1,536x2,048 pixels) and the rumored dual OLED backlights we keep hearing so much about. The new "high-end version" of the iPad will feature an increased battery capacity of 14,000mAH compared to 6,500mAH used currently. Both new devices will use the quad-core A6 processor being manufactured by Samsung.

It's already been proven Siri can be ported to an iPhone 4. Meaning there is no technical reason for it to be exclusive to the iPhone 4S. This also means it should work with the iPad or iPad 2, but is it really worth it?

A hacker known as Jackoplane did manage to add the voice assistant to a jailbroken iPad, but just like the iPhone 4, it isn't set up to communicate with the Apple servers. According to the jailbreaking community, any iOS device should be able to disguise itself as an iPhone 4S, and trick the servers into communicating with it. The voice assistant could also be set up to query Google, but as of right now it's pretty useless.