The way Apple handles iOS upgrades is almost criminal.

[C DM]

How did I know reciting the EULA would trigger a response from you? Haha.

The EULA has yet to be challenged.

Just as I knew who made the post mentioning it before I even checked.

Apple's might not have been directly, but certainly various others have. And outside of US various ones had to be modified to fit within regulations of different countries and regions and different companies have been caught violating this or that even if they tried to cover it in their license agreements.

All that is to say that EULA is certainly something that plays a role, but it's not the be-all and end-all of it.

 

[mKTank]

I always upgrade my devices to the latest OS and I have never felt that way

Well you must always have up-to-date devices (or at the very most 1 generation old) because anything over one gen old gets pretty horribly mistreated with new updates. iOS 4 on iPhone 3G, iOS 6 on 3GS, iOS 7 on iPhone 4, iOS 8 on iPhone 4S and 5, etc.

I can't tell if you're being a bit of an apologist or if you're more up-to-date with your hardware than I am, but it's pretty commonly known that the second update for pretty much any device makes it much less usable, sometimes to the point of being obsolete.


Aside, as for the whole 'oh but android phones are slow' thing...well, I mean, I got KitKat running on my Nexus S and it actually ran pretty smooth. Obviously not as smooth as Gingerbread but way more usable than, say, iOS 7 on an iPhone 4, which is a pretty fair comparison.

 

[yaboyac29]

here are apple's options

option 1. give update to devices that can run the software

answer: OMG MY IPHONE FROM 3 YEARS AGO IS SLOW ON THIS NEW SOFTWARE. WHAT'S WRONG WITH APPLE. WHY ARE THEY EVEN MAKING SOFTWARE UPDATES FOR MY PHONE.

option 2. give update to devices that are 1 year old, max

answer: OMFG MY IPHONE FROM 2 YEARS AGO IS NOW OBSOLETE. EVEN THOUGH I WAS NEVER PROMISED THESE NEW UPDATES, I WANT IT!!!111!1!11!!1 NOW I AHVE TO GO AND BUY A NEW DEVICE JUST TO GET THE NEW FEATURE. APPLE IS SO STUPID I HATE THEM. WHAT A DUMB COMPANY

option 3. no updates. the features you got when you purchased the iPhone, is what you'll be stuck with until you get a new device

answer: WOW I JUST BOUGHT THIS IPHONE LAST MONTH AND IT'S NOT EVEN SUPPORTED ANYMORE?

apple just can't win.

 

[BrettApple]

I feel the solution should just be to let people install whatever firmware they want. Keep it like it is now, but allow downgrades. That's all.

Example, I've downgraded my iPod touch from iOS 6 to iOS 4.2 and it made it fly again. Sure I don't have iCloud and some other features, but the battery lasts longer, it's smoother, changing songs doesn't lag. It's a better experience for my use case. Same goes with the iPhone 3G going from iOS 4 to iOS 3, huge performance difference. iPhone 4 from iOS 7 back to iOS 6, another performance gain. Let the customer choose what their device should run.

Maybe I've been spoiled running whatever ROM I want on my Android devices, or installing whatever version of Windows, Linux, even OS X on my Macs. Want to go from Yosemite back to Snow Leopard for something? You can! That's how it should be.

If I was stuck running Leopard on my iBook G4, I'd never use the poor thing, but on Tiger it's a totally different beast. (I know there are tweaks, but that's beside the point here

I know Apple does it to try and prevent fragmentation, help developers, help their numbers say everyone is up to date and for security reasons and such. But they can keep that up if everything stays the same, but at least allow downgrades for the few of us that know how to and have a reason for it. I doubt it would be super impactful to their numbers, but would make for happier users like us.

 

[JackieInCo]

I have no problem upgrading to the latest once there is a jailbreak for the latest version. Never experienced a problem with a slow phone by upgrading.

 

[nebo1ss]

The only problem I have with the existing procedure is that after doing an upgrade if you are unhappy with either the new features or it significantly slows down your device you should have the ability to downgrade.

Not that long ago when it was possible to fake out the apple signing with SHSH blobs many of us were used to having the ability to downgrade.

 

[ArtS007]

In my situation update problem is quite different.

In march I bought iPad Air, my first Apple device. It have iOS 7.0.4 on board. I didn't wanted to update it too fast. I planned do it later, even after iOS 8 release.

But I didn't knew, that Apple will stop signing iOS 7 updates for iOS 7 users, after iOS 8 release.

For now I know, that stop signing of older versions is usual procedure, but eriler I didn't.

 

[newellj]

In my situation update problem is quite different.

In march I bought iPad Air, my first Apple device. It have iOS 7.0.4 on board. I didn't wanted to update it too fast. I planned do it later, even after iOS 8 release.

But I didn't knew, that Apple will stop signing iOS 7 updates for iOS 7 users, after iOS 8 release.

For now I know, that stop signing of older versions is usual procedure, but eriler I didn't.

It would be nice if Apple would allow firmware rollback, but I've been using iOS devices since iOS 1 and I don't think that has ever been an option.

 

[MacDawg]

Well you must always have up-to-date devices (or at the very most 1 generation old) because anything over one gen old gets pretty horribly mistreated with new updates. iOS 4 on iPhone 3G, iOS 6 on 3GS, iOS 7 on iPhone 4, iOS 8 on iPhone 4S and 5, etc.

I can't tell if you're being a bit of an apologist or if you're more up-to-date with your hardware than I am, but it's pretty commonly known that the second update for pretty much any device makes it much less usable, sometimes to the point of being obsolete.


Aside, as for the whole 'oh but android phones are slow' thing...well, I mean, I got KitKat running on my Nexus S and it actually ran pretty smooth. Obviously not as smooth as Gingerbread but way more usable than, say, iOS 7 on an iPhone 4, which is a pretty fair comparison.

iPhone 5
iPad mini original
iPad 3

All running latest iOS with no problems for me
No less usable and certainly not obsolete
I guess in your opinion, that makes me an apologist
I see myself as someone who shared his own personal experience on the subject

 

[Italianblend]

Upgrades are voluntary. If you trash your device, it was voluntary. Lots of people shouldn't be allowed to own smartphone because they're not, well, smart. And I don't mean the phones.

I disagree. When average joe gets a popup saying a new iOS is available, and on that list is something to the effect of "various bug fixes and improvements," and that is coming directly from Apple, that person should feel safe in upgrading.

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I feel the solution should just be to let people install whatever firmware they want. Keep it like it is now, but allow downgrades. That's all.

That is all I'm asking.

And have a recommended iOS. For example, iPad 3 would have iOS 6 recommended, etc.

 

[mKTank]

iPhone 5
iPad mini original
iPad 3

All running latest iOS with no problems for me
No less usable and certainly not obsolete
I guess in your opinion, that makes me an apologist
I see myself as someone who shared his own personal experience on the subject

Well 'acceptable' is a matter of degree. If you're okay with being shafted repeatedly by shoddy unintentional/intentional lack of optimization, then go for it. Apple users do way too much apologizing for a company with more money in the bank than practically anyone else.

iPhone 5 gets really stuttery and iPad 3 is really suffering from iOS 7 and 8. Your opinion is cool and valid and all, but facts are facts.

 

[Armen]

Well 'acceptable' is a matter of degree. If you're okay with being shafted repeatedly by shoddy unintentional/intentional lack of optimization, then go for it. Apple users do way too much apologizing for a company with more money in the bank than practically anyone else.

iPhone 5 gets really stuttery and iPad 3 is really suffering from iOS 7 and 8. Your opinion is cool and valid and all, but facts are facts.

I think the real problem is Apple users do ZERO maintenance on their phones and data and expect iOS to work perfectly.

A co-worker of mine was complaining about his iPhone being slow and when I investigated further the guy had NOT restored his phone for 3 years. After doing a simple restore he saw much better performance.

I have 2 iphone 5's that run iOS 8 just fine without stutter so I don't know what is causing your experience to be different.

iOS 8.1 runs kind of clunky on my 6+ but I'm expecting optimizations by 8.1.2 so I'm ok with it.

 

[sunking101]

There are a few rational arguments in this thread, along with the usual fanboy trolls who happily accept everything Apple does.
There SHOULD be an o/s downgrade path and at the very least Apple should make it totally obvious, clear as daylight, that performance/speed issues may arise should you install the 'update'. Instead of the little note saying how brilliant the new o/s is and listing all the new features. An Apple 'update' can ruin an iPhone! They can render it painfully slow and frustrating to use. A new phone suddenly comes onto one's radar when 10 mins before 'updating' all was well with the old phone.

I would MUCH rather have an older phone running an older o/s, and performing as new, than some slightly different o/s which takes away far more than it gives me. Apple should make this perfectly clear to the 80%+ of their customers who have very little idea what an update is liable to do to their phones. They see 'update' and as it's from Apple they trust that it will be 100% beneficial. If and when their phone slows down they just chalk it up as their phone being 'old' and head down to the Apple store to purchase a new one. This is what Apple wants! Unaware, cash-rich customers who blindly follow the 'program'.

 

[DomC]

I disagree. When average joe gets a popup saying a new iOS is available, and on that list is something to the effect of "various bug fixes and improvements," and that is coming directly from Apple, that person should feel safe in upgrading.

I agree. Most people I know who aren't real techie people always make their decision to upgrade this way. It's not so much a choice to make since Apple is telling them it's OK.

A 4s user isn't getting a message:

This is the newest system update. It contains many new features and improvements that are primarily focussed to perform on our latest hardware releases. Users of hardware more than 2 years old and in our list of compatible devices, may find in some cases this update could possibly slow down or impact in other ways the use of those devices.

DOWNLOAD | SKIP

 

[Armen]

T

I would MUCH rather have an older phone running an older o/s, and performing as new, than some slightly different o/s which takes away far more than it gives me.

On the flip side developers would much rather not have to support older devices and focus their efforts on new ones.

For example Yahoo Mail and Skype apps both require iOS 7+ in order to run. Neither company cares to support the older version of iOS and they are not obligated to. So if you want to keep your old phone with old iOS then you will slowly see apps disappear.

 

[Italianblend]

So if you want to keep your old phone with old iOS then you will slowly see apps disappear.

In most cases, you just keep the older version of the app.

 

[iRoRo]

not criminal, paving the way for it.

Perhaps apple should charge for the privilege to downgrade to a previous iOS?
After all, the newest iOS or OSX is a free upgrade, simples!

 

[TheRainKing]

You would have to be one hell of a fanboy to agree with the way Apple handles iOS updates. I understand if you're someone who always owns the latest device it's not going to effect you, but that doesn't mean you have have to be so close-minded. The bottom line is, most people who do iOS upgrades have no idea what is about to be installed on their device, they simply click update because the word 'update' implies something good. When the update is finished and their device is suddenly running slow because it can barely handle the update, they SHOULD be able to downgrade. There's no argument here, they SHOULD be able to downgrade because thats whats best for the consumer. It would be nice if people would just admit it instead of acting as though Apple are somehow in right..

 

[bigchrisfgb]

Why do all the poll options paint Apple in a bad light?

 

[johandup]

Why are so many people defending Apple?
It is a public company and may be critized if you so wish.
We should all be of the common opinion that their IOS8 was of a very poor quality and did not please their customers - myself included.
In this case the old saying of hindsight is a perfect science is very true.
If they would be so kind as to open the downgrade to IOS7 again it would soon be obvious to what their customers prefer.
I upgraded to Yosemite on a Macbook pro with no problems.
However I fail to see any advantages as advertised.
Needless to say I will never ever do a "free" Apple upgrade again.
You fool me once shame on you.
You fool me twice shame on me.

 

[Menel]

The way Apple handles ios upgrades is almost criminal.

Why do all the poll options paint Apple in a bad light?

Because its a troll thread, and should likely have long back been closed.

 

[Italianblend]

Why do all the poll options paint Apple in a bad light?

The first pool option defends Apple, by saying that Apple is doing what is necessary to make money and people should do research before upgrading. All of the pro Apple opinions on this thread seem to align with that.

 

[newellj]

Why are so many people defending Apple?
It is a public company and may be critized if you so wish.
We should all be of the common opinion that their IOS8 was of a very poor quality and did not please their customers - myself included.
In this case the old saying of hindsight is a perfect science is very true.
If they would be so kind as to open the downgrade to IOS7 again it would soon be obvious to what their customers prefer.
I upgraded to Yosemite on a Macbook pro with no problems.
However I fail to see any advantages as advertised.
Needless to say I will never ever do a "free" Apple upgrade again.
You fool me once shame on you.
You fool me twice shame on me.

You can have your opinion, but it is your opinion, not the common opinion of all of us. You evidently aren't smart enough to own, use and maintain a smartphone. There are lots of people for whom the iOS updates work fine. That's not to say that specific incremental updates don't have problems - they do. But the point is that Apple does get them right. If you can't operate a tech device, you need to look at someone other than Apple. Here's a hint if you want to find the responsible party: head for the bathroom and look in the mirror.

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Why do all the poll options paint Apple in a bad light?

Because, on the whole, people without complaints don't bother to post that everything's doing well. When was the last time you made a doctor's appointment to tell your doc that you're feeling great?

 

[Max(IT)]

It's really not cool, and here's why:

You have a cool apple device that works fine. Oh look, there's a new ios update, cool! It popped up on my screen. That means that it's an improvement and a normal upgrade. I will get it. I can't wait to try it out.

Now, my ipod, ipad, iphone, etc, is slower that it was before. This new ios is slowing things down. And, I can't downgrade back? Now, I have to buy a brand new device so that it runs smoothly when my device was working perfectly a few minutes ago?

Well, personally, I feel as if it's borderline criminal to offer upgrades that cripple their own devices. If apple is the transparent company they claim to be, they should inform its customers as to the version of ios that runs the best on their device, and then allow them to use it.

It really should be done away with, and if I was a hotshot lawyer, I would be on the case. I would really like to see somebody put apple in its place on this issue.

Quite sure you are speaking about iPhone 4S or iPad 2. I'd like to inform you those are old devices, slow also with iOS 7

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Sounds like you should buy an android. You may never get any update at all.

.... and be happy about a device that was slow and will stay slow #

 

[Armen]

In most cases, you just keep the older version of the app.

Sure, unless the developer forces your hand.

Skype and Yahoo Mail apps only work on iOS 7+ now. Sucks to be whoever is on iOS 6 and needs those apps but don't want to upgrade.