OpenAI has expanded its ChatGPT chatbot to almost all platforms, ranging from desktops to mobile devices. You can basically run the AI model on any device with an internet connection, and it only goes on to show how vast the company's audience can be. However, when we talk about ChatGPT's app compatibility with the iPhone, it only supports the latest models running iOS 17 or later versions. Well, a 17-year-old developer took upon himself a challenge to run ChatGPT on the aged iPhone 3GS, and the results are pretty interesting.
Developer runs ChatGPT on the old iPhone 3GS, which is more than a proof of concept
The app is called "ChatGPT for Legacy iOS," and it works as a client app for the platform for devices that do not support the official app from OpenAI. However, it performs the same way as the standard app, as it is powered by the official OpenAI API. The developer claims that the app is more than a "proof of concept" as it supports a wide range of features from the main app to the latest versions of iOS, including contextual memory and chat history. Users also have the option to upload images for visual search on devices that have been aged and rendered almost useless.
ChatGPT for Legacy iOS is a client for older versions of iOS that allow you to interact with the OpenAI API in many ways. ChatGPT for Legacy iOS supports most things that you already know from modern chatbot apps, such as thorough text conversations with context, image analysis by ChatGPT and image generation. Your conversations are also always saved automatically and can always be returned to whenever you want to.
If you happen to have an old iPhone, you just have to make sure that it runs iOS 6 or later versions. This also means that the ChatGPT app will only run on the iPhone 3GS and all newer models. However, there is a catch, as you can not install the app on your device from the App Store due to the inability to distribute the app through official means. This means that you can install the ChatGPT for Legacy iOS app on your iPhone 3GS after you have jailbroken the device.
Once you have installed the app on your older iPhone, you will need a ChatGPT API key from OpenAI's official website. You can check out this website to learn how you can install the app, and you can also find the source code of the app on GitHub.
