I've been an Apple fanboy since my first 32gb iPod, back in 2006. I've bought after that two iPod 160gb, one in 2007 and another one in 2008. After that, I've bought an iPhone 3GS back in 2010 and at the time a brand new iPhone 4s in 2011's Christmas. In the same Christmas, I've bought an iPad 2, then in 2012 I've bought an iPhone 4 for my fiancée, and an iPad 4th Gen in 2013's Christmas. My point is: I'm an Apple fanboy, like most of us here.
But I can't and I won't keep endorsing what Apple is doing after this fiasco. My girlfriend own an iPhone 4 like I've said above, and after her update to iOS 7, it was indeed slower than before, but
very slightly. She still can use several apps at once and there is not a single ounce of freezing, apps shuting down by themselves, laggy and not responsive keyboard, battery problems or for Christ's sake, she can normally make phone calls.
Not the same luck with my iPhone 4S, I've waited until iOS 8.1 because I've heard about the problems with iOS 8 and iOS 8.0.2, but I never could imagine that after updating, my completely flawless cellphone with less than THREE years of use and that I've bought at the release date here in Brazil back in 2011, it's now a glorified brick.
Here is a run down of problems that I've been facing since the update, which before anyone asks me, I did with a CLEAN INSTALL and after doing procedures that would "speed up" the 4s:
- I can't open the Cellphone app. Seriously, it literally freezes. I can't make or accept phone calls, and that's my office's cellphone.
- I can't type properly, the keyboard is laggy and not responsive.
- My apps crash constantly, and God forbid I open two to three apps at the same time.
- Games? Well, forget it, Infinity Blade 3 and games with heavy graphics aren't worthy of my 4S anymore, even though it worked flawlessly before.
- Battery life is lasting six to eight hours a cycle, and the cellphone is heating up a lot.
- What is Wi-Fi? My Wi-Fi keeps getting disconnected, and when I try to find it, it says it isn't there, when the router is on and with other devices like the PS4 working normally.
- It's slow. SO slow. I remember that my first smartphone was a Sony Xperia Mini, and that thing was slow, but it isn't remotely as much slow as this travesty that it's the iOS 8.1 on my iPhone 4s. By the way, my iPod 160gb classic it's still my FAVORITE Apple device and it's working FLAWLESSLY after SIX years of use. My iPhone 4s isn't even 3 years old yet.
Here in Brazil we do have a strong and avant garde Consumer Law, it's beyond obvious that Apple is indeed explicitly applying a planned obsolescence policy and they were already comndened for this very practice around here before. We are treated here like some kind of "second rate" consumers, unlike the United States and other countries that have a program to exchange your old iPhone for a new one under a contract, there's simply not this option here, so if I want to get a new iPhone, I have to buy a new one, and here it's almost three times more expensive than in the United States.
By the way: I'm aware that Apple aren't selling iPhone 4s models in the US anymore. Not the same case around here: the iPhone 4s 8gb model is sold here at the Brazillian Apple Store for around $445 dollars, which is insane, when you think at what is happening with the iPhone 4s all across the globe, let alone the ammount of space that iOS 8 will eat up, Apple here in Brazil is inducing people to buy glorified bricks for abusive prices.
I'm afraid that my time as an Apple fanboy is coming to a bitter end, but I'm going not without a bang, I'll see what I can do about this. And before someone starts white knighting Apple, remember that we need Apple to do better than this, and we all know that they can do better than this. Innovation can't and shouldn't come at this price, they need to find ways to keep their products working, and if there's any proof that they are capable of that, there is no need to look any further than any old iPod Classic device out there in good conditions, they don't get suddenly and artificially made "worst devices" in order to Apple to profit.
Apple need to start treating their loyal costumers right, this is the first time since I've bought an iPhone that the idea of going Android ever crossed my mind, sadly now it's a distinct possibility.
