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What's the urgency to update iOS each and every year?

Giuanniello

Giuanniello

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 21, 2012
776
214
Capri - Italy
It mostly looks like a competition against itself, Android is not an iOS competitor, that's a different philosophy like MAC is vs PC so what I don't understand is the urgency to update the mobile operating system each and every year without anything really worth and, most of all, by making the users feel like paying beta testers...

Ok, one can decide not to update (I didn't yet, waiting for it to be at least "stable") but, still, why this rush (and this applies to MacOS too but this is iOS dedicated forum so I will limit my rant to mobile OS)?
 
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Operating systems, like most software products nowadays, are ongoing constant development and most of it is something that is not visible to you, the end user in any way. Whether it's making it easier to develop apps on the platform or fixing bugs that only appear in edge cases or closing security holes, this is something that keeps happening so they release new versions every now and then.

Obviously to make users keep up to date, it's important to introduce new features that make the OS nicer to work with. iOS 11 was a huge update in usability for the iPad and it laid an important foundation for the iPhone X which is more gesture-based than previous phones. Most of the bugs people see are iPhone X related at the moment and you don't really have an option not to update.

I updated close to iOS 11 golden master on my iPad Pro and really like the new features introduced. That was reason enough to upgrade. So far iOS 11 has worked very well on my iPad barring some animation hitches that seem to be fixed in iOS 11.1.

OS releases are based entirely on factors like are there severe bugs present (e.g software or OS crashes or a feature doesn't work at all) and necessary timing for new products. Less severe bugs can be fixed in point releases as wider user feedback rolls in. What is considered "stable" is nowhere near bug free, there is probably a long task list of bugs to be solved, they are just not important enough to stop a major release.
 
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kasakka said:
Operating systems, like most software products nowadays, are ongoing constant development and most of it is something that is not visible to you, the end user in any way. Whether it's making it easier to develop apps on the platform or fixing bugs that only appear in edge cases or closing security holes, this is something that keeps happening so they release new versions every now and then.

Obviously to make users keep up to date, it's important to introduce new features that make the OS nicer to work with. iOS 11 was a huge update in usability for the iPad and it laid an important foundation for the iPhone X which is more gesture-based than previous phones. Most of the bugs people see are iPhone X related at the moment and you don't really have an option not to update.

I updated close to iOS 11 golden master on my iPad Pro and really like the new features introduced. That was reason enough to upgrade. So far iOS 11 has worked very well on my iPad barring some animation hitches that seem to be fixed in iOS 11.1.

OS releases are based entirely on factors like are there severe bugs present (e.g software or OS crashes or a feature doesn't work at all) and necessary timing for new products. Less severe bugs can be fixed in point releases as wider user feedback rolls in. What is considered "stable" is nowhere near bug free, there is probably a long task list of bugs to be solved, they are just not important enough to stop a major release.
Click to expand...


You gotta admit that biggest user base of iOS is iPhone and as such I don't think that what you experienced as such a big improvement finds all the iOS base agreeing it you and so far it doesn't look like off the complains I can read on the forum.

Also, instead of jumping ship this quickly just to respect marketing expectations ("ohhhhhh, no new iPhone, no WWDC, no OS X Grizzly Bear...) why not just keep fixings bugs and getting to major releases when the product is mature and not to have people who, in some cases, rely on such devices for important tasks, to be beta testers?

Did you notice such big improvements on your iPhone to not think twice at upgrading if you could set time back to that day you decided to go ahead and jump ship? Honest!!!
 
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Giuanniello said:
You gotta admit that biggest user base of iOS is iPhone and as such I don't think that what you experienced as such a big improvement finds all the iOS base agreeing it you and so far it doesn't look like off the complains I can read on the forum.

Also, instead of jumping ship this quickly just to respect marketing expectations ("ohhhhhh, no new iPhone, no WWDC, no OS X Grizzly Bear...) why not just keep fixings bugs and getting to major releases when the product is mature and not to have people who, in some cases, rely on such devices for important tasks, to be beta testers?

Did you notice such big improvements on your iPhone to not think twice at upgrading if you could set time back to that day you decided to go ahead and jump ship? Honest!!!
Click to expand...
To me there are few outward differences between windows xp and windows 10. I could have kept going on windows xp for the next 10 years. IMO, similar opinions applies to iOS 5 vs iOS 11. It’s an individual call.
 
Giuanniello said:
You gotta admit that biggest user base of iOS is iPhone and as such I don't think that what you experienced as such a big improvement finds all the iOS base agreeing it you and so far it doesn't look like off the complains I can read on the forum.

Also, instead of jumping ship this quickly just to respect marketing expectations ("ohhhhhh, no new iPhone, no WWDC, no OS X Grizzly Bear...) why not just keep fixings bugs and getting to major releases when the product is mature and not to have people who, in some cases, rely on such devices for important tasks, to be beta testers?

Did you notice such big improvements on your iPhone to not think twice at upgrading if you could set time back to that day you decided to go ahead and jump ship? Honest!!!
Click to expand...

I don't own an iPhone anymore so can't say anything about that but there have been previous iOS updates that have done absolutely nothing for me as an iPad user. iOS 11 was big for iPad users but maybe less so for iPhone users.

Bugs are sometimes unexpected and not caught in internal testing. You really can't anticipate everything real users will do or what might occur with a particular batch of devices etc.
 
It does really sound like putting a mouse on a treadmill. Too much on their plate to be putting out new iOS in the midst of new iphones rolling off production.

And then forcing people to upgrade, stopping support. In sure companies are overjoyed at the added demand to retest.

I've been on OS X and iOS beta track for 3 yrs and iOS is having its worst year.
 
you also have to keep in mind that a new phone is released every year with the next ios version.

a new ios version allows apple to make a clean break in ios development for the next device.
 
BrianBaughn said:
And there are marketing reasons.
Click to expand...

Probably one of the most important points.

The numbering scheme for iPhone and iOS encourages people to buy new phones every year.

iOS 11 no longer works with iPhone 5 and those users start looking for new devices soon.
 
iOS is pretty good now after the .1 update. I really can’t complain.

But I also feel like they should just introduce features as they are needed and ready instead of having a big annual update where everyone expects big changes and if they can’t polish it enough on time, it comes out without bugs.

Why not for example new control center in March, new icon design in June and so on? Would make more sense to me but I guess the poster above me is right, it is needed for marketing reasons...
 
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New software supports new hardware. There are security updates, etc.
If you ran windows - they would do dozens of updates every month.
They could call it IOS 1.18.1.3 or IOS 11. Makes it easy to know what you are running.

I don't know why there would be any reason not to update software Do you want to run the same messaging app, same Safari, same, same, same.

Every year there are more an more changes which bring more and more features. I think every release has gotten better and better. For me IOS 11 is great
 
I think the last release that I was really looking forward to updating was iOS 8 and the "send contact my location". I used that all the time!

...and then I finally starting using Find my Friends so my wife could always know where I was and I didn't have to answer the question "where are you" all the time :D

We could have just been using Find my Friends the whole time! But, I was worreid about battery drain, until I actually read about how FMF actually works and only pings location when someone else opens the app. It was nice to have the map show up in Messages in iOS 8 though.

iOS 9 was a happy upgrade because iOS 8 was so terrible with lags, animation glitches, and other undesirable issues. *(Oh, almost forgot the AD BLOCKERS in 9! I HAD TO UPGRADE ASAP for that)
iOS 10 was a solid upgrade, but there were probably some issues that had to be ironed out with updates.

This time around, I don't see iOS 11 as a MUST upgrade immediately: there isn't anything really exciting about it that will make my life better... the one handed maps zoom is about the only thing I'm interested in.
 
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So far, over two months after iOs11 release, by reading the forum, it still looks like not a good move to upgrade (...), what's up Apple???
 
It is for me the best IOS yet. My 6s was fast smooth and had exceptional battery life. I even considered cancelling my X order. My X is smooth, fast and has great battery life. My wife's 8+ has the same experience. So it all depends upon what you run and how you run things. Although the people who talk about bad battery and bad performance scream loudest here there are plenty of people who are loving their IOS 11 on their phones.
 
CTHarrryH said:
I don't know why there would be any reason not to update software Do you want to run the same messaging app, same Safari, same, same, same.
Click to expand...

It's not unusual for the update brings a worse user experience. Slower, less user-friendly, features that people actually liked removed, design change, etc...

I'd go back to iOS 9.3 on my iPhone 6 in a heartbeat. Not only was the performance leaps and bounds better than 10 and 11, but most of the apps (such as Messages) were better IMO. They crammed Messages full of junk I have no interest in but now just sending messages and photos is more convoluted.
 
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Apple is in competition with Android and Android devices. New features and functionality to stay ahead of the competition is a requirement. Unfortunately the pace of these new releases is set on yearly cycles for new phone models to be released to increase sales. This will eventually slow down, but not in the foreseeable future. All of this OK and to be expected for progress from which we all benefit in the long run.

However with that said, it would be great if Apple ensures the OS is rock solid and well tested before pushing in on the masses with updates popping up for the common user. In this case they pushed iOS 11 on many unsuspecting users, and the result has been crippling for most users that I'm aware of. Without fail every single person I have spoken to that had an older iPhone that went to iOS 11 were complaining about it being jittery/sluggish and poor battery life (much worse than with iOS 10 release). While I understand Apple's push to upgrade users, they also need to make sure the user experience is good before "pushing it" like they did.

Why not wait at least 3 months after the release with extensive testing in the real world on older models before pushing the update to the masses on older iPhone models?? I used to think the x.1 release was solid enough even the x.0.2, but it seems the smart thing may be to wait for the x.3 given how poorly it is working in iOS 11. I do hope 11.3 will be much better from a usability and battery perspective.
 
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And yet NO one figured out why iOS needs to be updated yearly. It has to because Apple tied their core apps to the firmware update. If you want the latest version of Safari, that requires a new or updated version of iOS. Now if Apple used the same strategy that Google does with their Android and updates all of their core apps via the Google Play Store, then yes to answer the OP's question you don't need yearly versions of iOS.
 
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It's very similar to how linux distros are updated. Instead of breaking the current major release, Apple releases a new major version with breaking changes.
 
Giuanniello said:
So far, over two months after iOs11 release, by reading the forum, it still looks like not a good move to upgrade (...), what's up Apple???
Click to expand...

Forums like this tend to focus a minority into a loud and easily generalization group that people assume represent the entire population of something. However, this is rarely true. In most cases people who are happy with the way their device is working are not reporting in, and thus, it skews the forum towards the negative. Negatives feed off other negatives and the result to the watcher is that everyone has problems, when in reality, it's more like for every complainer here on the forum there are dozens of people living life happily on IOS11 without a care in the world.
 
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Heat_Fan89 said:
And yet NO one figured out why iOS needs to be updated yearly. It has to because Apple tied their core apps to the firmware update. If you want the latest version of Safari, that requires a new or updated version of iOS. Now if Apple used the same strategy that Google does with their Android and updates all of their core apps via the Google Play Store, then yes to answer the OP's question you don't need yearly versions of iOS.
Click to expand...
Not really. Apple can update core apps at any time with any update, it doesn't have to be once a year. iOS 8.4 redesigned the Music app.
 
Give the freezing and no touch on both iP7+ and iPP 2nd gen 12.9 + pencil not working in Procreate on 11.1 and 11.1.2 when either woken up from sleep or charging, I wish I would not have bothered upgrading either device from 10.3. DFU has fixed the 7+, but I've already done multiple DFUs on the iPad Pro and am done with it.

If this continues, I will just wipe the iPP, box it up and trade in when 2nd gens are eligible.

It would be wonderful if Apple went back to 18-24 months in between software releases (and I think some of their hardware would benefit as well.) Bugs and smooth sailing were much better when the annual deadline wasn't there. iOS 9 was the last solid iOS system for me.
 
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