Software
The iPhone 3G came preloaded with the latest version of iPhone OS both to offer users the newest and most capable software and to combat efforts at iOS jailbreaking. The device continued to receive updates to its software for over two years, with major iterations released on an annual basis. However, the phone had access to a decreasing proportion of new features with each update as its hardware became superseded by later models.
At launch in July 2008, the iPhone 3G came preloaded with iPhone OS 2.0. This introduced the App Store, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support, Apple’s MobileMe service, and push email support, along with other new features and bug fixes.
On June 2009, iPhone 3G users received the iPhone OS 3.0 software update, which introduced the long-awaited MMS feature, copy and paste, landscape support for more applications, Bluetooth stereo support, and other improvements.
On June 2010, users received the iOS 4.0 software update. Unlike owners of its successor models, users of the iPhone 3G did not gain access to important features included with iOS 4.0 such as multitasking, the ability to set a home screen wallpaper, or Bluetooth keyboard support. However, it did provide access to a unified mailbox feature, homescreen folders to better organise apps, playlist creation, and other enhancements. This update was widely criticized by users of the iPhone 3G for slow performance, though an updated iOS 4.1, released September 2010, improved this problem. However, unlike more modern iOS devices, this update again did not provide iPhone 3G owners with access to important features, in this case the Game Center application.
On November 23, 2010, the iPhone 3G received the iOS 4.2 software update, which included new features such as YouTube voting, and security fixes. However, the iPhone 3G was unable to use many features included in this update, such as AirPlay and Safari Text Search.
The last release of iOS to support the 3G model was 4.2.1, released on November 22, 2010. iOS 4.3, released on March 11, 2011, did not support the iPhone 3G, with Apple discontinuing further updates.
Read more about this topic: IPhone 3G