iOS 5 means different things to different iUsers, and the impact of the latest iOS generation on each of Apple’s various newer and older iDevices will range greatly in ways that are not yet one hundred percent clear despite iOS 5′s major features already being mostly on the table. Here’s a look at how iOS 5 is set to impact each of Apple’s existing iOS hardware devices new and old, from the iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4 to the iPad 2 to older models of both, once it arrives this fall.

iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4: major deal. iOS5 delivers by far the most fundamental major changes to Apple’s touchscreen operating system in its four-plus year history. And while the iPhone 5 and iPod touch 5 may end up with hardware additions required to enable some iOS 5 features which Apple has yet to reveal, the iOS 5 highlights Apple has already shown off appear to be fully functional on the iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4. In other words, iOS 5 is a big deal even for those who choose to remain one hardware generation behind when the iPhone 5 and iPod touch 5 surface.

iPad 3 and iPad 2: mystery machines. While Apple has shown off quite a bit of iOS 5′s biggest features, it hasn’t yet made clear what will make iOS 5 special on the iPad’s larger screen. Add in the fact that the iPad 3 is still yet to be revealed, and there’s plenty of intriguing mystery on this front.

iPhone 3GS: nil. Don’t expect iOS 5 to do too much on the iPhone 3GS, which has been around since 2009. It runs on a much slower processor family than the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5, whose A4 and A5 processors (respectively) represent Apple’s new in-house line of low power, high performance mobile chips. The best 3GS users can hope for is to be able to run basic versions of the highlighted features, and hope Apple doesn’t repeat last year’s fiasco in which iOS 4 was released for the previous iPhone 3G but it offered little and ran like crap until Apple got around to releasing iOS 4.2.1 which cleared up the stunningly slow performance issues. Our recommendation will likely be that those iPhone 3GS users who want to take advantage of the best of iOS 5 should get an iPhone 5 to go with it – and that’s something to keep in mind for those who are buying their first iPhone right now and are trying to decide whether to go with an iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4.

But little is set in stone when it comes to iOS 5 as of today. Although Apple has shown off major features, it’s still in beta testing, isn’t finished, and doesn’t have a tightly defined release date. For more details on how iOS 5 will impact each of Apple’s newer and older iDevices, stay tuned. Here’s more on iOS 5.

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