Apple's Pull Back iOS 8 Due to Software Problems

Apple released iOS 8.0.1, but the update was pulled due to complaints about dropped calls. The update caused some iOS users to lose their cellular service and it disabled the Touch ID fingerprint sensor on certain devices.

“We are actively investigating these reports and will provide information as quickly as we can,” said Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller. “In the meantime, we have pulled back the iOS 8.0.1 update.”

Ever since iOS 8 was released, it has been plagued with instability issues. iOS 8 also requires 5.8GB of free space for the installation, which is not ideal for people with devices that have smaller storage sizes. Mobile application performance management (APM) company Crittercism has published a report claiming that iOS 8 has a crash rate that is 78% higher than what is seen on iOS 7.

The average crash rate of iOS 8 is 3.56% across all devices. Devices that are compatible with the iOS 8 upgrade includes the iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, iPhone 4S, iPad Air, iPad (4th generation), iPad (3rd generation), iPad 2, iPad mini, iPad mini with Retina Display and the iPod Touch (5th generation). The iOS 8 crash rate compared to iOS 7 is not a surprise because Apple has been stabilizing iOS 7 ever since it was released about a year ago.

Older devices that have been upgraded to iOS 8 crash substantially more than the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The crash rate is 2.63% for the iPhone 6 and 2.11% for the iPhone 6 Plus. The iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S have an average of a 3.57% crash rate. What causes the iPhones to crash are a combination of bugs in iOS 8 and apps with bugs that are not optimized for the new mobile operating system. The failure rates could have been higher, but iOS users are resisting the upgrade due to the necessary storage space and the bug reports.

In an interview with NetworkWorld.com, Crittercism CEO Andrew Levy said that over 4,000 APIs were introduced in iOS 8, which is more than double the number of APIs that debuted in iOS 7. When Apple announced iOS 8, it also introduced a new programming language called Swift. Developers that have to switch to a new language generally notice higher failure rates. “In particular, Apple introduced new APIs to deal with varying screen sizes and to optimize the GPU, both of which are targeted at new devices,” said Levy in the interview.

When the Apple iOS 8.0.1 update was available, it was supposed to include fixes for several other software bugs and the HealthKit fitness application. Last week, Apple said that it noticed bugs in HealthKit so they held back the app. Apple said that it was planning to fix the HealthKit app in a software update by the end of the month.

source: http://www.forbes.com/

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