Just updated my iPhone 3G to iOS 4.1 beta 2. The beta 1 already did a good job in improving the UI responsiveness over iOS 4.0 but beta 2 acts like a turbo! No more delays and snappy interface – almost feels like an iPhone 3GS. In my previous post I mentioned the clogged iPhone 3G after unlock. Now this issue has been completely remedied. Even apps seem to start faster. Wow!
First I installed Xcode 3.2.4 and iOS SDK 4.1 beta 2. No separate iTunes update needed. I skipped Xcode 4 developer preview 2 for this iOS update because I’m not sure about the possible side effects. One beta at a time should be enough excitement.
Upgrading to iOS 4.1 beta 2 didn’t take long, but iTunes quit unexpectedly right after finishing the upload. I ignored it and the iPhone completed the procedure without iTunes and after a manual restart of iTunes everything was back to normal. Weird but luckily I didn’t end up with an iBrick.
A quick network speed test shows the same WiFi performance as before. Camera app and digital zoom (since iOS 4) work fine. Overall iTunes backup and sync times have improved (also in beta 1). Still some apps have problems starting up but ran fine on second attempt. Haven’t tried all the features yet but as far as I can tell for now this is the best iPhone OS ever. Apparently the iOS background processes have been significantly reduced or al least their hunger for resources has been lowered.
In the About section of the General Settings tab I can now see the Apple Universal Dock‘s Model Number and Firmware Revision. I probably never opened this pane with my iPhone docked and missed this until now or just forgot about it.
Tethering still blocked by my provider but my plan is now eligible to regular SIM unlock. I hope this includes tethering, too.
Should you upgrade to beta 2? I’d recommend doing so at your own risk if you’re already running iOS 4.1 beta 1. Don’t blame me if something goes horribly wrong and your house burns down! Apple warns about the beta pre-release firmware that should only be used on testing devices.
Unfortunately my iPhone 4 is still in production or travels around somewhere in a container with its newly born twin brothers and sisters. The initial order has been lost somehow and I had to re-order it. Will post back a review of a comparison between both devices when it arrives.
