IOS 7 was released on 18th September 2013 and included many new features, including a new user interface, AirDrop, full multitasking capability, improvements to the camera and many other features. It was received very positively, considering the drastic change to the user interface. The adoption rate was reported to be as high as 35% says Techcrunch, with a large number of positive reviews, including David Pogue of The New York Times saying “The structure, layout and features represent some of Apple’s best work.”
With all these changes it is not surprising that a few issues and bugs have been encountered by users, possibly why 4 minor releases have been rolled out in the 2 months following the 18th. This article highlights a few of the issues and hopefully provides solutions, fixes and workarounds to make your lives a little easier.
The battery draining quickly is a common issue with IOS 7; a few quick changes can help reduce the drain. Disable the parallax effect on the home screen, go to settings, general, accessibility and set Reduce Motion to off. The WiFi and Bluetooth not working is another common issue, disabling and re-enabling will fix the issue for a short period, however this is often an extremely short period, rebooting your device or putting it into Airplane mode will fix the issue but again, it often returns. Backing up the device and then updating / restoring it to the latest IOS version seems to offer the highest success rate.
If you’re paranoid about security the passcode bypass technique is a worrying bug that allows anyone to bypass the need to enter a password. The hack involves holding down the power button and tapping to dial the emergency number. You will be pleased to know that Apple resolved the issue a little over a week after the original IOS 7 update was released.
The most annoying new feature of the IOS update is the drop in performance on older devices. The conspiracy theory with all tech companies is they update the software and implement new features in order to sell the latest and greatest hardware. This is almost believable with Apple who rely heavily on the revenue generated from their physical devices. After owning an IPhone 3GS for several years it did get to the point of being unusable, forcing an upgrade to the IPhone 5. I can’t help but notice that Android users seem to complain about this less. I don’t remember ever needing to upgrade my Nokia 3210 because it wasn’t fast enough 😉
Personally I didn’t expect to like the interface of IOS 7 but I find it natural, clean and easy to use, my IPhone 5 hasn’t slowed down at all, however I have noticed a selection of new issues, including WiFi disconnects, SIM card not recognised and a bug that I now think is a feature in the selection of voicemail not playing. It’s either a bug or poor interface design that I will be covering in a future post.
Special thanks Malabooboo for providing the image