Apple’s iOS 7 redesign has been available to download for nearly four weeks
now since it went live on 18 September. Apple revealed soon after that 200
million devices have downloaded the software, and that number is no doubt
higher now.
However, it is fair to say that not everyone has been won over by the new design
which has seen numeroususers complaining about issues, glitches and irritations
with the new OS.
As such, below are 10 issues we've seen repeatedly raised, and some we’ve
experienced ourselves, and that we hope Apple will be working to address in
any major overhaul in the near future.
10. iMessage bug still not fixed
Since iOS 7 came out there have been complaints that messages sent over Apple’s
iMessage platform between devices, especially to those still on iOS 6, are
failing to deliver.
Coupled with this is the fact the notification of the failure often does not
arrive until much, much later, meaning a user may not be aware an important
message has not been sent, until it is far too late.
This is something Apple has promised to fix but until it does, the issue
remains one of the top frustrations with the new operating system.
9. Battery drain complaints
A number of users who have installed iOS 7 on older devices, such as the iPhone
5 and iPhone 4S, have reported a dip in battery life since installing Apple's
fancy new software.
iPhones already don't have a great reputation when it comes to battery life,
so it's fair to say this issue hasn't gone down too well among iOS 7 users.
Some have said their battery is draining twice as quickly as before installing
the software, while other are claiming their handset struggles to make it
through just a few hours.
The iPad is also reportedly affected by the issue, but given its longer
battery life, owners of the tablet haven't been so quick to moan about it.
Apple is yet to issue a fix, but iOS users have found a few workarounds. These
include turning off Apple's motion features, disabling 'Background App Refresh'
and turning off the Airdrop feature.
8. Illegible fonts
Several millions of users commented that they found Apple's stylish new font
choice difficult to read in many situations. The combination of a high-resolution
screen coupled with very thin vertical lines is causing a great deal of strife.
"It's basically unreadable. The fonts are too thin, and the translucent
background is gimmicky and distracting."
It's worth noting that it is actually possible to alter various aspects of
the font in iOS 7, including size and boldness. Furthermore, there are options
to change the contrast of the device.
With that being said, it would seem Apple didn't take non-20/20 vision into
account when designing iOS 7's default appearance.
7. Concerns linger over security issues
While Apple has rolled out two fixes since it launched iOS 7, we can’t help
but wonder about the other perils that lurk in the system. The passcode bypass
techniques came to light fairly sharpish, and ioss has now fixed this.
However, as the 41 fixes in the iOS 7 update showed when Apple rolled out
the new software, the firm is always having to patch issues as it goes.
In this respect Apple is not so different from Microsoft, but it would be
nice if the launch of its new software wasn’t so immediately followed up with
a raft of security concerns.
6. Calendar app loses daily updates
The Calendar app in iOS 7 no longer offers an overview of the day's events
when you're in the Month view. Daily information can be accessed via the
reworked Notifications menu – which offers Today, All and Missed views – or
by clicking through to each individual day from the month view, but after using
this for a couple of weeks we found ourselves missing the original and handy
monthly view.
Apple has also reworked the Calendar app to fit its new streamlined, clean look and feel. Gone are the grey lines dividing up each day, and blue banner highlighting today; in comes rows of numbers with a grey circle underneath each digit, and today highlighted by a bright red circle. Although the thinking behind Apple’s disposal of lines and boxes for other apps and features of iOS 7 makes sense, in this case it seems users would prefer a calendar that looks like a calendar.
5. Update is slowing down older devices
Those who haven't picked up either an iPhone 5C or iPhone 5S and who have
instead installed iOS 7 on their current iPhone - or iPad - are likely
experiencing a downgrade in speed, with hoards of angry iOS users slamming
Apple for the slow-down they are experiencing.
The team has installed iOS 7 on a third-generation iPad and an older iPhone 4,
and the dip in performance is very noticeable. This is likely due to the
updated operating system's fancy new motion effects, design features and
reworked applications.
While Apple is yet to comment on this issue, Apple fans have been hasty in
finding a quick fix for the issue, which involved turning off the newly-implemented
motion effects and the translucent visuals within the redesigned interface.
So, if you want iOS 7 without a dip in performance, it looks like you'll have to
settle for a compromise for now.
4. Universal search disappears
With the arrival of iOS 7, Apple has changed the search feature to remove
rather than add functionality. Rather than swiping from left to right on the
homescreen to search, you now tap the top of the screen. We found this takes
some getting used to when moving from iOS 6 to 7, but isn't too inconvenient.
However, we didn't like the fact that you can no longer carry out a single
search across your device and the web. In iOS 7, the OS will search everything
stored in your device, but you need to visit a browser and carry out a separate
web search. The universal search feature of previous iOS versions was a very
useful feature, and one that many users would like to see returned.
3. Motion sickness
Not one we’ve been unlucky enough to suffer from here, but scores of people
have complained that the movement between applications on 6 on7 is inducing
motion sickness.
This is said to be because of the way the phone ‘lurches’ in and out of apps.
Furthermore, because the platform has a 3D effect called the parallax effect,
this means apps and text are always adjusting to display at the viewer's angle.
All said, whether or not this is Apple’s fault is slightly irrelevant. Anyone
made to feel sick using their phone can only feel justified in feeling aggrieved.
2. Design gripes
Apple has based its success on having the best looking devices and software.
This focus on beauty and elegance has made Sir Jony Ive the toast of the
design world, earning him a knighthood in the process.
However, it is fair to say many are distinctly unimpressed with the new design
of iOS 7. Criticisms seen have ranged from people describing it as making
their phone look like “a Fisher Price toy” and as if it was designed “by a
13-year-old girl”.
Other issues focusing on more specific areas of the redesign include the over
use of white backgrounds, which are hard to look at on apps such as Notes:
"The Notes pages used to have lines and made your text far clearer and
readable but not now."
Furthermore, the use of a foggy grey shade for folders and the fixed app bar
at the bottom of the screen is fairly uninspiring. These criticisms could
well hurt Apple and maybe it will consider a minor refresh to the platform
when it unveils its next new iOS products. We, and many others, certainly
hope so.
1. No downgrade option to iOS 6
Often if you buy something and then regret this decision, you can take the
item in question back to the shop and get a refund. However, with software
it is not so simple and Apple has removed any chance of a backwards downgrade
to iOS 6 for those really hating the new OS.
The reason Apple removes the option to revert to an old system is because
it wants as many devices as possible across its ecosystem on the same platform.
This helps the firm maintain a controlled environment, unlike the wild west of
Android where device fragmentation is rife.
If you’re on iOS 6 now and are yet to upgrade, and concerned these issues
will frustrate you, you may just want to hold out as a modern day Luddite on
an old iOS platform, and wait for a major update to iOS 7 to address all the
above issues.
