This disaster may ultimately be a good thing

[skillwill]

iOS 11 (and High Sierra) are synonymous with failure. There's been headline bugs - in both, root, notifications, calculator, battery life, predictive keyboard. There's been update after update- eight in a little over 2 months (remember your average user that isn't us doesn't get excited about updates, they just find them annoying).

And that's just the stuff that's made the news - every user has had to put up with their $600-$1000 device lagging - 3D Touch lag, home button lag, scrolling lag, horrible battery life on all but the newest devices. Inconsistencies - iOS 11.2 and the big word "Inbox" etc in Mail for example still isn't properly aligned with the search bar.

Features dropped - 3D Touch app switcher, Apple Pay Cash (the headline feature in 11.2, not even IN 11.2 on launch!!!), iMessages in the Cloud, swipe down for spotlight search from left-of-home-screen widgets - all delayed, or gone.

We thought there were early iOS 10 problems - but without knowing what was to come, I think there'd be fewer complaints if we were going to that level from this.

Surely this disaster can only be a good thing for iOS 12 and macOS 10.14. Surely Tim will not let this happen again. Your normal early bugs we can accept, but showstoppers, slop, unfinished, missing features continue to pain this release 8 updates in.

TLDR: iOS 11 has been an unmitigated disaster, surely Apple can't afford to let iOS 12 be this bad.

 

[C8XY]

Aligning iOS updates with yearly hardware upgrades is the problem.

 

[Merkie]

Aligning iOS updates with yearly hardware upgrades is the problem.

Definitely. I don't understand why this needs to happen. I think it would be wise to release smaller updates more frequently.

 

[Radon87000]

I think Apple needs to check out the Windows 10 model where there are no longer annual releases. Features and patches are releases as soon as they are ready and not to match deadlines.

 

[C8XY]

I think Apple needs to check out the Windows 10 model where there are no longer annual releases. Features and patches are releases as soon as they are ready and not to match deadlines.

I think most people in this community would agree with this, it’s selling it to normal people that’s the problem... a new £1000+ phone with old software? What the F yo?

 

[Ritsuka]

I think Apple needs to check out the Windows 10 model where there are no longer annual releases. Features and patches are releases as soon as they are ready and not to match deadlines.

Windows 10 has its own share of issues after each update. One update broke DHCP, apps broke after each small update…

 

[Radon87000]

Windows 10 has its own share of issues after each update. One update broke DHCP, apps broke after each small update…

Yeah but nothing as serious as allowing anyone to enter the OS without a password or in the case of iOS 11, everything crashing as soon as clock strikes 12;15

 

[naasrd]

iOS 11 (and High Sierra) are synonymous with failure.... Surely Tim will not let this happen again.

These disasters are because of Tim and are a reflection of his weak leadership. As long as he’s in charge we will continue to pay.

 

[Radon87000]

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/12/01/apple_ios_11_security_downgrade_decried_as_horror_show/

Apple iOS 11 security 'downgrade' decried as 'horror show'

Ability to reset iTunes Backup passwords unravels layered protection, claims researcher

iOS 11 is rapidly leaving Windows Vista in the dust with all its issues.

 

[skillwill]

Aligning iOS updates with yearly hardware upgrades is the problem.

Completely agree. I think most people would accept a 2 year cycle for major iOS updates if it meant getting a solid user experience

 

[Paradoxally]

iOS 11 is the worst version of iOS ever. Apple can go up to 11.10 if they want and it still won't erase the fact that it was an unmitigated disaster at launch with problem after problem.

I'm so glad I'm still on iOS 10 and Sierra. They work perfectly fine.

 

[lexvo]

I can see that people have issues with iOS 11, but a disaster? In my opinion every main version of iOS has had its set of problems.

Maybe I am lucky or my usage is different, but I have 4 iOS devices running smoothly (and without battery problems) on iOS 11: my iPad Air 2, work iPhone 6s, my iPhone 5s and my wife's iPhone 5s.

Edit: I forgot the iPad Air of my wife, it is running smooth also on iOS 11

 

[maflynn]

iOS 11 is the worst version of iOS ever. Apple can go up to 11.10 if they want and it still won't erase the fact that it was an unmitigated disaster at launch with problem after problem.

What problems?

I'm not being coy, I really don't follow iOS news much, and so far iOS 11 for me has been good. Yes, I'm aware of the date bug which is bad and the auotcorrect but what else had has caused issues on iOS 11. I'd say the autocorrect was more embarrassing then anything else.

 

[rtomyj]

iOS 11 (and High Sierra) are synonymous with failure. There's been headline bugs - in both, root, notifications, calculator, battery life, predictive keyboard. There's been update after update- eight in a little over 2 months (remember your average user that isn't us doesn't get excited about updates, they just find them annoying).

And that's just the stuff that's made the news - every user has had to put up with their $600-$1000 device lagging - 3D Touch lag, home button lag, scrolling lag, horrible battery life on all but the newest devices. Inconsistencies - iOS 11.2 and the big word "Inbox" etc in Mail for example still isn't properly aligned with the search bar.

Features dropped - 3D Touch app switcher, Apple Pay Cash (the headline feature in 11.2, not even IN 11.2 on launch!!!), iMessages in the Cloud, swipe down for spotlight search from left-of-home-screen widgets - all delayed, or gone.

We thought there were early iOS 10 problems - but without knowing what was to come, I think there'd be fewer complaints if we were going to that level from this.

Surely this disaster can only be a good thing for iOS 12 and macOS 10.14. Surely Tim will not let this happen again. Your normal early bugs we can accept, but showstoppers, slop, unfinished, missing features continue to pain this release 8 updates in.

TLDR: iOS 11 has been an unmitigated disaster, surely Apple can't afford to let iOS 12 be this bad.

I stopped reading in the first paragraph. You listed a lot of things that only happened recently not on initial releases. You also don't know what synonymous means so I figure the post is going to be a pseudo intellectual rant.

As a developer I hate backseat coding/QA from people who don't know what they're talking about. Bugs will happen. Things that worked before can be broken at a later point.

I do agree with your title though. If Apple cares they will do better next year. All the patches do indicate lots of problems they are fixing.

Yes iOS 11 has been the worse release I've had too.

Yes we as Apple users need to keep Apple in check.

No I haven't had most of the issues you listed in the first paragraph. "It" autocorrect, worked. The other autocorrect bug didn't happen. I've had amazing battery life. So clearly there's more to these bugs. A little lesson for you; with software you are taught to expect the unexpected to prevent against it. With iOS 11 and it's million of users. Millions of apps. Billions of use cases it's complicated as ****. And yes Apple has to take bug reports more serious. This is the only way to fix the outliers.

 

[Shark5150]

What problems?

I'm not being coy, I really don't follow iOS news much, and so far iOS 11 for me has been good. Yes, I'm aware of the date bug which is bad and the auotcorrect but what else had has caused issues on iOS 11. I'd say the autocorrect was more embarrassing then anything else.

Same for me. iOS 11 has been good and very stable on ALL my devices.

 

[CPTmom2wp]

I can see that people have issues with iOS 11, but a disaster? In my opinion every main version of iOS has had its set of problems.

Maybe I am lucky or my usage is different, but I have 4 iOS devices running smoothly (and without battery problems) on iOS 11: my iPad Air 2, work iPhone 6s, my iPhone 5s and my wife's iPhone 5s.

Likewise;
I have 6 iOS devices, including the iPhone X, iPad pro, my husband's iPhone 6s, my Dad's iPhone 6 Plus and iPad Air2, and another friend's iPhone 7. All have been running flawlessly with iOS 11. Everyone loves to complain, but there is little substantiation of what the problems they reference are. We started purchasing Apple products when the first computers became available for the quality and continue to do so today for the same reasons. Our kids had PC's in college and learned first hand how poorly they operated, crashed, lost data, and needed frequent repair. We both work in a PC environment and see the frequency of software problems (Windows a better product........seriously??!) almost on a daily basis that require IT resolution or need to revert back to earlier iterations due to flaws in a new OS. Apple may need to fix minor flaws in their new OS, but it is still light years ahead of the competition for all types of hardware, IMHO.

 

[Radon87000]

What problems?

I'm not being coy, I really don't follow iOS news much, and so far iOS 11 for me has been good. Yes, I'm aware of the date bug which is bad and the auotcorrect but what else had has caused issues on iOS 11. I'd say the autocorrect was more embarrassing then anything else.

There has been 3dt stutter, battery drain,lag, the autocorrect bug has happened twice so far, no sign of their advertised 3DT for tab switching in Safari, Messages in icloud. App Switcher 3DT gesture was removed and it took months before it was added back in. There is also the crashing phone app which causes the phone app to be unresponsive until you toggle airplane mode on and off.

The reason you aren't having any problems on iOS 11 is because you are on iPhone X which is their newest phone. The update hasn't really treated older devices well

 

[maflynn]

There has been 3dt stutter, battery drain,lag

No offense but I've been seeing a small minority of people complaining about that since iOS 7, and since everything is smooth as butter on my phone, my old SE, my wife's iPhone 7 and my kids iPhones, I don't really consider that an issue. There may be people who pixel peep and see something but I think for the average person its a non-issue.

Likewise with the battery drain, I've seen those complaints for so many ios versions yet it seems the majority of people have no problem.

So my point is is for many people its been very stable, though I understand much of the regulars in the iOS forum install the betas and so are more used to seeing bugs and issues because they're using the betas.

 

[trusso]

This is the long and the short of it: Apple and the rest of Silicon Valley need to stop making every software update into the greatest thing since sliced bread. Consumers like myself pay good money for hardware, and the very least we're asking is to have some semi-regular software updates that continue to patch security issues; trivial things like animojis and message stickers are not what we're for here.

If updates are released that purposely, or even inadvertently cripple someone's hardware (be it phone or computer), then I consider that theft on the part of the company who releases such software. I don't do business with organizations who steal from me, just as I don't associate with individuals who are liable to do the same.

 

[jrdatrackstar1223]

This is the long and the short of it: Apple and the rest of Silicon Valley need to stop making every software update into the greatest thing since sliced bread. Consumers like myself pay good money for hardware, and the very least we're asking is to have some semi-regular software updates that continue to patch security issues; trivial things like animojis and message stickers are not what we're for here.

If updates are released that purposely, or even inadvertently cripple someone's hardware (be it phone or computer), then I consider that theft on the part of the company who releases such software. I don't do business with organizations who steal from me, just as I don't associate with individuals who are liable to do the same.

This, especially when the breaking that occurs is intentional until after they get their first month of high sales from the new device released that year...

 

[Feenician]

iOS 11 (and High Sierra) are synonymous with failure. There's been headline bugs - in both, root, notifications, calculator, battery life, predictive keyboard. There's been update after update- eight in a little over 2 months (remember your average user that isn't us doesn't get excited about updates, they just find them annoying).

And that's just the stuff that's made the news - every user has had to put up with their $600-$1000 device lagging - 3D Touch lag, home button lag, scrolling lag, horrible battery life on all but the newest devices. Inconsistencies - iOS 11.2 and the big word "Inbox" etc in Mail for example still isn't properly aligned with the search bar.

Features dropped - 3D Touch app switcher, Apple Pay Cash (the headline feature in 11.2, not even IN 11.2 on launch!!!), iMessages in the Cloud, swipe down for spotlight search from left-of-home-screen widgets - all delayed, or gone.

We thought there were early iOS 10 problems - but without knowing what was to come, I think there'd be fewer complaints if we were going to that level from this.

Surely this disaster can only be a good thing for iOS 12 and macOS 10.14. Surely Tim will not let this happen again. Your normal early bugs we can accept, but showstoppers, slop, unfinished, missing features continue to pain this release 8 updates in.

TLDR: iOS 11 has been an unmitigated disaster, surely Apple can't afford to let iOS 12 be this bad.

“Synonymous with failure”? “Unmitigated disaster”? A bit dramatic I think. If the embarrassing issues this week though lead to a re-examination and improvement of development and testing practices then, yes, we surely all stand to benefit.

 

[skillwill]

I stopped reading in the first paragraph. You listed a lot of things that only happened recently not on initial releases. You also don't know what synonymous means so I figure the post is going to be a pseudo intellectual rant.

As a developer I hate backseat coding/QA from people who don't know what they're talking about. Bugs will happen. Things that worked before can be broken at a later point.

I do agree with your title though. If Apple cares they will do better next year. All the patches do indicate lots of problems they are fixing.

Yes iOS 11 has been the worse release I've had too.

Yes we as Apple users need to keep Apple in check.

No I haven't had most of the issues you listed in the first paragraph. "It" autocorrect, worked. The other autocorrect bug didn't happen. I've had amazing battery life. So clearly there's more to these bugs. A little lesson for you; with software you are taught to expect the unexpected to prevent against it. With iOS 11 and it's million of users. Millions of apps. Billions of use cases it's complicated as ****. And yes Apple has to take bug reports more serious. This is the only way to fix the outliers.

Interesting to hear it from a deeper perspective. Generally users feel that they’re not getting a good experience - you know it and you know why. Completely agree that Apple need to take bug reports more seriously because 99.9% of users are not like you, they don’t know/want to know why the software has bugs, they are Apple users because they are told it just works.

Shame about the first para, because I generally agree with everything you’ve written - although I accept it was fuelled by emotion, but it’s because I do care about the UX. And I know it’s annoying when you’re an expert and other people who are not act like they are. I was trying to come from the end user perspective - as you said I don’t know why or how things go wrong in iOS, as a user, I just know that they do and as a paying customer have a right to expect a better (not saying perfect, but better) experience.

Furthermore, synonymous as I understand it can mean to be closely associated with something - I believe these two OS’s in future will be associated with these failures. Unless iOS 12 and macOS 10.14 are worse.

 

[macfacts]

Completely agree. I think most people would accept a 2 year cycle for major iOS updates if it meant getting a solid user experience

The problem with that is Apple ties their stock app and major os updates together. People aren't going to want to wait 2 years between app updates/features.

 

[I7guy]

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/12/01/apple_ios_11_security_downgrade_decried_as_horror_show/

Apple iOS 11 security 'downgrade' decried as 'horror show'

Ability to reset iTunes Backup passwords unravels layered protection, claims researcher

iOS 11 is rapidly leaving Windows Vista in the dust with all its issues.

Not in the least. I will admit iOS 8 is the leader in this area. iOS 11 has it shares of issues with one standing out. There have been other things through the years.

 

[C DM]

The problem with that is Apple ties their stock app and major os updates together. People aren't going to want to wait 2 years between app updates/features.

Apps can be updated in non-major release as well.