6 ms·

iOS 8 Adoption Stalls at 47% of Users After Three Weeks

54 points by funkyy 12y ago

minikites 12y ago
I bet a big part of it is that you need ~5GB of free space which is really difficult on 8 or 16GB devices. iOS 7 only needed 1 or 2, if my memory is accurate.
- Hansi 12y ago
  If it's done via iTunes the space requirement isn't an issue (or at least less of one). I was able to upgrade with less than 1GB free in iTunes. But yes the lack of many people being unable to use OTA upgrades does put a hamper on things.
- albedoa 12y ago
  Yup. I'm a "technical user" and it still took effort and a few decisions to free up 5.7GB, which included deleting a few things I otherwise would have kept. I imagine many people can't be bothered.
- mpg33 12y ago
  Wow that is a huge difference. I don't think we will see the 16GB option offered in future iPhone models.
- acomjean 12y ago
  Thats what holding me back from upgrading and I have 32gb 4s. Plus it just doesn't seem that compelling and upgrade. Makes one wonder the 16-64-128 gb storage strategy.
  - calvin_c 12y ago
    You don't need the on board space if you upgrade through iTunes. It's a drag, considering OTA updates have been a big push since iOS 5, but it avoids the issue of trying to clear out 5 GB of space.
    - buro9 12y ago
      And those of us on Linux who have no Mac or Windows PC? I haven't upgraded my iPod and iPad precisely because of the space issue. Looks like I won't be upgrading.
      - jedberg 12y ago
        If you go into an Apple store they'll let you use their computers to do it.
        buro9 12y ago
        I'm in London so this seems the easiest thing to do when I get the chance. The VM route feels a lot like yak-shaving.
      - jeffreyparker 12y ago
        You could use VirtualBox and the free Windows VM images from http://www.modern.ie http://www.modern.ie
    - fro 12y ago
      For many people who's phone is their sole device, this is asking the impossible.
      - selectodude 12y ago
        We're talking about iPhones here. I would be shocked if anyone's iPhone was their sole computing device.
        calvin_c 12y ago
        True, but Apple has advertised "PC-Free" as a selling point of iOS devices since they rebranded iCloud in 2011. Theoretically the device should function perfectly fine as your sole computing device. I suppose their solution to this problem though would to have a larger storage option.
  - Reich 12y ago
    As others have mentioned, upgrading through iTunes is a workaround. I'd like to propose another solution that's worked for me. Back your phone up to iCloud (this is probably the biggest bottleneck if your data doesn't fit into the free storage). If you have a recent backup, you can wipe your phone (Settings -> General -> Reset -> Erase all content and settings). That should clear up plenty of space on your device. Then upgrade and restore your backup once it's completed. This is how I upgraded to iOS 7 and 8 without having iTunes installed. But definitely be _sure_ you have a backup.
- rblatz 12y ago
  This is the issue. And people have no idea how to effectively clean up space. Scott Hanselman had some relevant tweets about this from around when ios 8 launched. http://twitter.com/shanselman/status/512299554243616768 http://twitter.com/shanselman/status/512299554243616768
- jeremymcanally 12y ago
  Just a tip, but I don't think you have to do this if you use iTunes to upgrade. I know it's a bummer, but don't let that keep you from upgrading. I think I had to do it for iOS 7 actually. 16GB ain't what it used to be. :)
- Jonovono 12y ago
  Upgrade through iTunes. You don't need much free space at all. I upgraded with about 300MB.
- roc 12y ago
  It's popular to suggest this is a symptom of the paltry entry-level storage -- but I think that's naive. People's storage use expands to the capacity of their device. Even if the entry level was 64GB, Apple would see this effect. [1] As these devices are increasingly sold to people who have never plugged them into a PC running iTunes, the storage problem is exacerbated: without being able to dump everything to a (cheap) external drive, users agonize over which memories to delete and many simply balk at the entire process. And this isn't just a problem with updates: people struggle with this during regular use. So what we have is really two problems: no space to update and no way to simply/effectively/cheaply archive device data. So what is needed are two solutions: 1. Apple needs to reserve storage space for updates. [2] 2. Mobile devices, in general, need a PC-free way to bulk-archive data. Cloud services are great and all, but people are far more likely to walk into a Best Buy and pick up an external drive, than they are to find/vet/pay for Flickr. And even if they're willing to pay for the service, most are not willing to pay the hosting fees for the quantity of digital memories they're creating. And if you can't save everything, you're just back at the same problem of asking people to explicitly cast memories into the void, and they just won't do it. Not happily. Not willingly. And they'll resent every instance where they feel forced. We're well past the point where the value in this arrangement was obvious. Why iOS devices, in particular, can't talk directly to Time Capsules (for device backup and a local media archive) is beyond me. It's particularly curious that Apple is ignoring the situation, given that they don't seek to profit from being a cloud provider, and would stand to make a decent chunk of change from putting a Time Capsule (or three) into every iOS home. They could even leverage the AppleTV as yet-another-viewer of this home-archived media and sell a few more of those. I know it's popular to assume this is all inevitably going "to the cloud". But there's simply too much data being collected. People marvel at how much data is being uploaded to Youtube/Facebook/Instagram/etc. But for every picture or video uploaded to those services, how much data did that one user capture that they didn't upload? And then consider how many users are capturing similar amounts of data but never upload anything. The growth rate of data capture is far exceeding the growth rate of bandwidth and the affordability of "enough" cloud storage. It's going to be years and years until cloud storage is "there". There's a huge opportunity in the interim. Beyond iOS, I don't know how every storage vendor doesn't have their own android solution to the problem. Solving this problem can sell an awful lot of hard drives. That you're explicitly selling the safe archive of precious memories is going to mean you can sell a higher number of RAID solutions as well. And the growth rate of captured data means you've got a huge market for selling additional/newer storage devices to your installed base. [1] Desktop users don't fill multi-terabyte hard drives as often, only inasmuch as they don't connect high quality data capture devices. Hand a person a DSLR or a GoPro and they'll fill every drive they buy. Mobile devices fill more-quickly, more-regularly, largely because they all have high quality cameras built in. [2] The updates themselves probably should be smaller at this point, but you'd always need room for a full restore anyway. So shrinking the update sizes is really only a bandwidth concern and can't lead to a reduction in the reserved space.
untog 12y ago
Urgh. The one upside of web developer for the iPhone is that the users upgrade quickly. I really don't want to be left having to debug two different, broken, versions of Safari. (Please, Apple, break Safari out into an app that can be updated in the App Store. Oh, and actually update it.)
CapitalistCartr 12y ago
I upgraded from 5.x to 6.0 and it broke three important tools I used, all for political reasons to benefit Apple and hurt Google. I was careful to make a backup first. Guess what! The backup won't allow returning to 5.x. So a fake backup process. Don't expect me to trust "upgrades" after getting screwed like that.
- ck2 12y ago
  http://www.idownloadblog.com/downgrade/ http://www.idownloadblog.com/downgrade/
wlesieutre 12y ago
I'm in that remaining 53%. I still have an iPhone 4S, which works fine, and the new features in iOS 8 aren't enough for me to justify the performance hits. Safari launch goes from 1.25 to 2.16 seconds, and I use that all the time. Not worth it, as much as I'd like 3rd party keyboards and 1password integration. Plus there's the fact that everything is being designed for iPhone 5 and iPhone 6 screens now, so it gets terribly cramped without the extra height. Integrated apps like Music have already been crammed into the 3.5" screen on iOS 7, but 8 only takes more steps toward needing a bigger screen. http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/09/ios-8-on-the-iphone-4s-performance-isnt-the-only-problem/ http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/09/ios-8-on-the-iphone-4s-...
- steve-benjamins 12y ago
  Totally. I have a 4S but I did upgrade to iOS 8. I wish I had stuck with iOS7. Everything got pretty sluggish.
  - wlesieutre 12y ago
    On the bright side, the 4S is 3 years old now, so with updates through iOS 7 I'm still doing better than the majority of smartphones.
  - happyscrappy 12y ago
    Anyone running iOS8 on a 4S should change some settings: Settings->General->Accessibility->Increase Contrast Set to On Settings->General->Accessibility->Reduce Motion Set to On
    - wlesieutre 12y ago
      Honestly, it doesn't hurt to do that on iOS 7 either.
- acdha 12y ago
  Most of the performance claims are exaggerated – unless you're obsessively stop-watching or switching apps all the time, the difference in Safari startup isn't significant and the newer WebKit means that Safari is actually faster once you actually use it, noticeably so on JavaScript-heavy sites. A fraction of a second startup time is lost in network overhead or render on the first page you visit. In general, it feels like iOS 7 - slower than 6 but still usable, particularly if you disable background apps to reduce memory pressure. What is a big deal is screen real-estate: it's not just the apps but also the new predictive text entry. In an app like Tweetbot, the full keyboard now leaves only 3 lines of text visible. Some of the custom keyboards are shorter but you can definitely tell that most developers are now assuming at least the larger iPhone 5 screen height.
tehwalrus 12y ago
I am holding off until I see a compelling reason to upgrade, and a review showing that that reason works on my (phone-wise) ancient 4S. A custom keyboard might be that... but I'll still wait for 8.1 for the stability.
happyscrappy 12y ago
How long did it take KitKat to get to 47%?
- untog 12y ago
  I'm not really sure those comparisons are accurate any more. Most developers can target Android >= 4.0 and not worry about exactly which point version users are on. Coupled with that, things like the browser, maps, e-mail and keyboard are updated through the Play Store now, not through OS updates. Google have done a pretty great job with this.
  - mhurron 12y ago
    > I'm not really sure those comparisons are accurate any more They never were accurate because it's mostly not in the users control if/when they upgrade. The carrier has to 'bless' you with the privilege of even being offered an update. This is one of the reasons I just switched to an iPhone.
    - untog 12y ago
      It's as if you totally ignored the rest of my post. Was this in the Android 2.x era? That was awful, I agree. But like I said, these days it doesn't matter very much. Almost every single core app is updated via the Play Store, out of the control of carriers.
      - mhurron 12y ago
        That's nice. That doesn't update the base OS. Have a bug? You have it forever. New features your phones hardware supports? Maybe you'll get lucky but they would prefer you to buy a new phone, so don't bet on it. > Was this in the Android 2.x era? Galaxy S3. Galaxy S Relay 4g. Android 4.1/4.0 respectively the day they were bought and the day they were traded in.
      - soylentcola 12y ago
        I'm definitely more familiar with the Android side of things than with iOS but it really has more to do with the OEM. Sure, if you buy a carrier branded device then they will stick their approval process after the OS release and OEM porting but in general, it's more a firmware/driver issue a lot of the time. Apple's strength is that they provide the hardware and the software so they are responsible for building any new version of iOS with applicable drivers and firmware for each device. Core apps are one thing but if you want to update to the latest version of Android, you're mostly out of luck without the OEM's involvement. Third parties regularly work on building current versions for all manner of devices as soon as Google publishes the source but without driver source from the maker of the actual chips and other hardware, they're left cobbling together unoptimized drivers for important things like the cellular radio or the camera or reverse engineering their own. If it was just a matter of carrier interference, there would be a "vanilla" build available for every device shortly after release.
etimberg 12y ago
I upgraded an iPad 3 to iOS 8 and I definitely regret it. I don't like how Safari has changed, and it just feels sluggish.
- eddieroger 12y ago
  I was in the same boat, and ended up wiping my 3. That helped more than it should have, especially for the pain in the ass that it was to reinstall the stuff I use regularly.
  - tacoman 12y ago
    Wiping it actually increased responsiveness? I guess I'll give that a try.
    - eddieroger 12y ago
      Working theory is that it cleared out things like Safari's caches (which I could have done without a wipe, of course), and cleared up free space. iOS isn't a happy camper when it lacks free space.
- slig 12y ago
  I somehow missed the iOS 6 update on my iPad 3. Everything I use still worked fine, so never bothered to update to iOS 7 and now it's very unlikely that I'll upgrade to iOS 8.
- tacoman 12y ago
  I had the same experience. The devices is noticeably slower. I feel like I had no choice because of the potential security problems of staying on iOS 7. e.g. https://isc.sans.edu/forums/diary/iOS+7+1+x+Exploit+Released+CVE-2014-4377+/18693 https://isc.sans.edu/forums/diary/iOS+7+1+x+Exploit+Released...
msluyter 12y ago
At least part of it is that folks like my mom just never attach their phones to their computers and ignore any upgrade notifications on their devices, so they basically never upgrade until their son comes to visit. This applies to me as well -- I have two iPads and frankly it's not really worth the bother. I'll probably upgrade them eventually; there's just no hurry. Compounding the problem -- since getting the iPhone 6, I've noticed something I've almost never noticed before on an iPhone: lag. There are times where it seems there's a huge (like 1 second) delay between touching the screen and a reaction. This is noticeable when scrolling in safari. For that reason alone I would recommend against upgrading until the problem is resolved.
Xeoncross 12y ago
I have an iPhone 4s and I didn't even want to update to iOS 7 because my brother did, and his phone really slowed down. Since I need to answer calls or take photos fast I really could care-a-less about other features. If my device isn't fast, I lose the moment. iOS 6 forever on this device (baring some big security problem)
NDizzle 12y ago
My iPad2 runs worse and worse with every new version of iOS. I wish I could go back to 6.
- chrisBob 12y ago
  My oldest iOS device is an iPad2, and I upgraded everything but that. The 4th generation iPad was fine, but it sounds like I made a good call holding off on the iPad2.
- msrpotus 12y ago
  My original iPad couldn't even upgrade past iOS 6. Want to trade?
- soylentcola 12y ago
  That is actually my only iOS device at the moment and it certainly has been slower with each update. I do understand the benefit of building an OS to more current specs but unlike a desktop PC where you can add a stick of RAM or a newer GPU for $50-100, it seems to hit mobile devices a lot harder. On one hand, nobody wants to buy a shiny new device and find that the software isn't taking advantage of the hardware you paid for in order to preserve performance on older models. On the other hand, the more rapid pace of mobile hardware development and the inability to add inexpensive upgrades can make it seem like you have little choice but to replace the things every couple of years. It doesn't help that there's no official way to downgrade if your experience is unsatisfactory (no reinstalling XP on that old beater PC because it doesn't have the RAM to run Vista well, etc) and applications quickly start to require the latest version of the OS for program updates.
bpicolo 12y ago
To be honest I wish I were back on iOS7. They got rid of the all photos (camera roll) view, which was the only way I actually made use of photos. Terrible decision. Why remove camera roll? It's not exactly a tricky thing to support / leave in. The new way of viewing photos is awful. I have no clue on what date or what location I saved / took that one photo I'm looking for.
- calvin_c 12y ago
  It looks like the Camera Roll is back in iOS 8.1 Beta http://www.product-reviews.net/2014/09/30/ios-8-1-beta-release-notes-live-camera-roll-back/ http://www.product-reviews.net/2014/09/30/ios-8-1-beta-relea...
eddieroger 12y ago
8.0.1 got a lot of negative press and scared people who have no idea what they're talking about into not updating. I don't know how many of those "cousin's boss' fiance who works for an Apple certified technician said not to update" posts I saw on Facebook. I imagine if Apple gets 8.1 out with the rumored iPad announcement in a few weeks, it'll all right itself.
crazygringo 12y ago
I upgraded to iOS 8 on my 4S, and regret it immensely. Sluggish doesn't even begin to describe it. Animations have gone from ~30 fps to maybe 2 or 3 fps. It's almost as if the update disabled the GPU or something, I can't even begin to understand it. A popular game like Subway Surfers is now completely unplayable -- it'll run smoothly for a couple seconds, then freeze for half a second, and bam, you run into a train. It's bizarre. What really pisses me off is the attitude of app developers to only support the newest version of iOS. I'd upgraded from iOS 6 to 7 simply because I needed HipChat and FourSquare for professional reasons, and both companies had completely dropped support for iOS 6. And then upgraded to iOS 8 because I know the same thing is going to happen again. I don't criticize Apple so much for creating new iOS versions that require greater processor power -- I criticize the app developers which force us to upgrade to OS's our phones can't support. And now I basically need to drop $500 to buy a new phone I shouldn't need, just for my phone's interface to feel even minimally responsive again. Ugh.
- themodelplumber 12y ago
  I had this experience going to iOS 6 on an iPod. It was so frustrating (as any device with poor responsiveness is) that I decided I'd only upgrade to a new major OS version within the same year the product was released. That's worked really well so far, though it's always annoying that the notifications don't seem to completely go away.
- kmfrk 12y ago
  The performance on my iPad 3 also deteriorated, after I updated. I don't seem to experience it anymore, so I may support the theory that it's Spotlight re-indexing my device after updating. Tweetbot crashes like mad, though, but it was designed for iOS 5-6 anyway.
- happyscrappy 12y ago
  Anyone running iOS8 on a 4S should change some settings: Settings->General->Accessibility->Increase Contrast Set to On Settings->General->Accessibility->Reduce Motion Set to On
  - 12y ago
geuis 12y ago
I regret doing the upgrade too. My 5s has had terribly slow LTE and wifi since the upgrade from 7. I usually have to turn off all the radios with airplane mode for a few moments to get any connectivity back when it slows down. There aren't any new obvious features that make a big difference. Tried keyboards but they all kind of suck so just went back to stock. If you haven't upgraded, hold off for a while.
uptown 12y ago
iOS8 dropped support for Cisco LEAP. This caused our team to delay upgrading until the wifi network could be upgraded.
fudged71 12y ago
I know people still on iOS5 because they don't like change.
- lisper 12y ago
  I was on iOS 5 until a few weeks ago. It's not because I don't like change, it's because iOS 5 did everything I needed it to do, it did it well and reliably. Upgrading is risky because you can't go back, and nowadays it's a total crap shoot in terms of whether the upgrade will actually be an improvement, or if it will be full of nasty surprises when you find that your favorite feature has stopped working or has simply gone away.
adamors 12y ago
I'm staying on 7 for at least a couple more minor versions. iOS 8 was incredibly buggy so far, with the 8.0.1 update almost bricking phones, and 8.0.2 introducing a lot of bluetooth connectivity issues/wi-fi slowdowns and battery problems. The 5S has a weak battery life as is, I don't need it shrunk to a half day.
ck2 12y ago
There are tricks to force downgrade. Doesn't even need root. http://osxdaily.com/2014/09/21/downgrade-ios-8-back-to-ios-7-1-2/ http://osxdaily.com/2014/09/21/downgrade-ios-8-back-to-ios-7...
- selectodude 12y ago
  That stopped working awhile ago.
misterbwong 12y ago
I'm surprised the article doesn't take into consideration the fact that there's a month-long wait for the iPhone 6 and 6+ upgrade. I'm willing to bet a decent chunk of those with older iPhones are waiting for their upgrades and not bothering with the update.
gbrhaz 12y ago
Unfortunately this year's release has been... well, awful, from both a user's and a developer's perspective. * APIs that were fine in iOS 7 are now broken on iOS 8 devices (that's the OS I'm talking about, not the SDK). 6 -> 7 contained the biggest UI changes of any release, and on an iOS 7 OS, apps built under iOS 6 still looked like iOS 6 apps. How it should be. * Developers saying they have to get/renew both iOS and Mac developer programs, and then request a refund for the one they don't want. * Requiring 5GB for an over-the-air installation, which given how most devices are 16GB, is terrible. There aren't many end-users that would go through iTunes for this. * Shocking performance on 4S and iPad 2. I disagree with allowing users to upgrade on these devices. My iPad 2 was unusable; even swiping on the springboard was dropping frames everywhere. Apps taking 10 seconds to load. That's not a good user experience, keep them on 7. * Apple silently changing their approval processes (not allowed to authenticate through Safari now - it has to be through a web view, which doesn't handle SSO, and is a lot less secure). * HealthKit bugs. * The whole 8.0.1 disaster. I couldn't believe this one.
lordbusiness 12y ago
My own personal experience is that iOS 8's feature set is muted until Yosemite comes out. Once people with recent enough devices are able to enjoy Continuity, Handoff, and fully experience iCloud Drive, then adoption will (I predict) increase; and I believe the "not much difference" statements (which are arguably currently correct) will subside. I believe Apple could have done well to coordinate a simultaneous launch for Yosemite and iOS 8.
panikos 12y ago
I don't what are do
panikos 12y ago
O
panikos 12y ago
0 points

54 points by funkyy 12y ago

I bet a big part of it is that you need ~5GB of free space which is really difficult on 8 or 16GB devices. iOS 7 only needed 1 or 2, if my memory is accurate.

Hansi 12y ago
If it's done via iTunes the space requirement isn't an issue (or at least less of one). I was able to upgrade with less than 1GB free in iTunes. But yes the lack of many people being unable to use OTA upgrades does put a hamper on things.
albedoa 12y ago
Yup. I'm a "technical user" and it still took effort and a few decisions to free up 5.7GB, which included deleting a few things I otherwise would have kept. I imagine many people can't be bothered.
mpg33 12y ago
Wow that is a huge difference. I don't think we will see the 16GB option offered in future iPhone models.
acomjean 12y ago
Thats what holding me back from upgrading and I have 32gb 4s. Plus it just doesn't seem that compelling and upgrade. Makes one wonder the 16-64-128 gb storage strategy.
- calvin_c 12y ago
  You don't need the on board space if you upgrade through iTunes. It's a drag, considering OTA updates have been a big push since iOS 5, but it avoids the issue of trying to clear out 5 GB of space.
  - buro9 12y ago
    And those of us on Linux who have no Mac or Windows PC? I haven't upgraded my iPod and iPad precisely because of the space issue. Looks like I won't be upgrading.
    - jedberg 12y ago
      If you go into an Apple store they'll let you use their computers to do it.
      - buro9 12y ago
        I'm in London so this seems the easiest thing to do when I get the chance. The VM route feels a lot like yak-shaving.
    - jeffreyparker 12y ago
      You could use VirtualBox and the free Windows VM images from http://www.modern.ie http://www.modern.ie
  - fro 12y ago
    For many people who's phone is their sole device, this is asking the impossible.
    - selectodude 12y ago
      We're talking about iPhones here. I would be shocked if anyone's iPhone was their sole computing device.
      - calvin_c 12y ago
        True, but Apple has advertised "PC-Free" as a selling point of iOS devices since they rebranded iCloud in 2011. Theoretically the device should function perfectly fine as your sole computing device. I suppose their solution to this problem though would to have a larger storage option.
- Reich 12y ago
  As others have mentioned, upgrading through iTunes is a workaround. I'd like to propose another solution that's worked for me. Back your phone up to iCloud (this is probably the biggest bottleneck if your data doesn't fit into the free storage). If you have a recent backup, you can wipe your phone (Settings -> General -> Reset -> Erase all content and settings). That should clear up plenty of space on your device. Then upgrade and restore your backup once it's completed. This is how I upgraded to iOS 7 and 8 without having iTunes installed. But definitely be _sure_ you have a backup.
rblatz 12y ago
This is the issue. And people have no idea how to effectively clean up space. Scott Hanselman had some relevant tweets about this from around when ios 8 launched. http://twitter.com/shanselman/status/512299554243616768 http://twitter.com/shanselman/status/512299554243616768
jeremymcanally 12y ago
Just a tip, but I don't think you have to do this if you use iTunes to upgrade. I know it's a bummer, but don't let that keep you from upgrading. I think I had to do it for iOS 7 actually. 16GB ain't what it used to be. :)
Jonovono 12y ago
Upgrade through iTunes. You don't need much free space at all. I upgraded with about 300MB.
roc 12y ago
It's popular to suggest this is a symptom of the paltry entry-level storage -- but I think that's naive. People's storage use expands to the capacity of their device. Even if the entry level was 64GB, Apple would see this effect. [1] As these devices are increasingly sold to people who have never plugged them into a PC running iTunes, the storage problem is exacerbated: without being able to dump everything to a (cheap) external drive, users agonize over which memories to delete and many simply balk at the entire process. And this isn't just a problem with updates: people struggle with this during regular use. So what we have is really two problems: no space to update and no way to simply/effectively/cheaply archive device data. So what is needed are two solutions: 1. Apple needs to reserve storage space for updates. [2] 2. Mobile devices, in general, need a PC-free way to bulk-archive data. Cloud services are great and all, but people are far more likely to walk into a Best Buy and pick up an external drive, than they are to find/vet/pay for Flickr. And even if they're willing to pay for the service, most are not willing to pay the hosting fees for the quantity of digital memories they're creating. And if you can't save everything, you're just back at the same problem of asking people to explicitly cast memories into the void, and they just won't do it. Not happily. Not willingly. And they'll resent every instance where they feel forced. We're well past the point where the value in this arrangement was obvious. Why iOS devices, in particular, can't talk directly to Time Capsules (for device backup and a local media archive) is beyond me. It's particularly curious that Apple is ignoring the situation, given that they don't seek to profit from being a cloud provider, and would stand to make a decent chunk of change from putting a Time Capsule (or three) into every iOS home. They could even leverage the AppleTV as yet-another-viewer of this home-archived media and sell a few more of those. I know it's popular to assume this is all inevitably going "to the cloud". But there's simply too much data being collected. People marvel at how much data is being uploaded to Youtube/Facebook/Instagram/etc. But for every picture or video uploaded to those services, how much data did that one user capture that they didn't upload? And then consider how many users are capturing similar amounts of data but never upload anything. The growth rate of data capture is far exceeding the growth rate of bandwidth and the affordability of "enough" cloud storage. It's going to be years and years until cloud storage is "there". There's a huge opportunity in the interim. Beyond iOS, I don't know how every storage vendor doesn't have their own android solution to the problem. Solving this problem can sell an awful lot of hard drives. That you're explicitly selling the safe archive of precious memories is going to mean you can sell a higher number of RAID solutions as well. And the growth rate of captured data means you've got a huge market for selling additional/newer storage devices to your installed base. [1] Desktop users don't fill multi-terabyte hard drives as often, only inasmuch as they don't connect high quality data capture devices. Hand a person a DSLR or a GoPro and they'll fill every drive they buy. Mobile devices fill more-quickly, more-regularly, largely because they all have high quality cameras built in. [2] The updates themselves probably should be smaller at this point, but you'd always need room for a full restore anyway. So shrinking the update sizes is really only a bandwidth concern and can't lead to a reduction in the reserved space.

untog 12y ago

Urgh. The one upside of web developer for the iPhone is that the users upgrade quickly. I really don't want to be left having to debug two different, broken, versions of Safari. (Please, Apple, break Safari out into an app that can be updated in the App Store. Oh, and actually update it.)

CapitalistCartr 12y ago

I upgraded from 5.x to 6.0 and it broke three important tools I used, all for political reasons to benefit Apple and hurt Google. I was careful to make a backup first. Guess what! The backup won't allow returning to 5.x. So a fake backup process. Don't expect me to trust "upgrades" after getting screwed like that.

ck2 12y ago
http://www.idownloadblog.com/downgrade/ http://www.idownloadblog.com/downgrade/

wlesieutre 12y ago

I'm in that remaining 53%. I still have an iPhone 4S, which works fine, and the new features in iOS 8 aren't enough for me to justify the performance hits. Safari launch goes from 1.25 to 2.16 seconds, and I use that all the time. Not worth it, as much as I'd like 3rd party keyboards and 1password integration. Plus there's the fact that everything is being designed for iPhone 5 and iPhone 6 screens now, so it gets terribly cramped without the extra height. Integrated apps like Music have already been crammed into the 3.5" screen on iOS 7, but 8 only takes more steps toward needing a bigger screen. http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/09/ios-8-on-the-iphone-4s-performance-isnt-the-only-problem/ http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/09/ios-8-on-the-iphone-4s-...

steve-benjamins 12y ago
Totally. I have a 4S but I did upgrade to iOS 8. I wish I had stuck with iOS7. Everything got pretty sluggish.
- wlesieutre 12y ago
  On the bright side, the 4S is 3 years old now, so with updates through iOS 7 I'm still doing better than the majority of smartphones.
- happyscrappy 12y ago
  Anyone running iOS8 on a 4S should change some settings: Settings->General->Accessibility->Increase Contrast Set to On Settings->General->Accessibility->Reduce Motion Set to On
  - wlesieutre 12y ago
    Honestly, it doesn't hurt to do that on iOS 7 either.
acdha 12y ago
Most of the performance claims are exaggerated – unless you're obsessively stop-watching or switching apps all the time, the difference in Safari startup isn't significant and the newer WebKit means that Safari is actually faster once you actually use it, noticeably so on JavaScript-heavy sites. A fraction of a second startup time is lost in network overhead or render on the first page you visit. In general, it feels like iOS 7 - slower than 6 but still usable, particularly if you disable background apps to reduce memory pressure. What is a big deal is screen real-estate: it's not just the apps but also the new predictive text entry. In an app like Tweetbot, the full keyboard now leaves only 3 lines of text visible. Some of the custom keyboards are shorter but you can definitely tell that most developers are now assuming at least the larger iPhone 5 screen height.

tehwalrus 12y ago

I am holding off until I see a compelling reason to upgrade, and a review showing that that reason works on my (phone-wise) ancient 4S. A custom keyboard might be that... but I'll still wait for 8.1 for the stability.

happyscrappy 12y ago

How long did it take KitKat to get to 47%?

untog 12y ago
I'm not really sure those comparisons are accurate any more. Most developers can target Android >= 4.0 and not worry about exactly which point version users are on. Coupled with that, things like the browser, maps, e-mail and keyboard are updated through the Play Store now, not through OS updates. Google have done a pretty great job with this.
- mhurron 12y ago
  > I'm not really sure those comparisons are accurate any more They never were accurate because it's mostly not in the users control if/when they upgrade. The carrier has to 'bless' you with the privilege of even being offered an update. This is one of the reasons I just switched to an iPhone.
  - untog 12y ago
    It's as if you totally ignored the rest of my post. Was this in the Android 2.x era? That was awful, I agree. But like I said, these days it doesn't matter very much. Almost every single core app is updated via the Play Store, out of the control of carriers.
    - mhurron 12y ago
      That's nice. That doesn't update the base OS. Have a bug? You have it forever. New features your phones hardware supports? Maybe you'll get lucky but they would prefer you to buy a new phone, so don't bet on it. > Was this in the Android 2.x era? Galaxy S3. Galaxy S Relay 4g. Android 4.1/4.0 respectively the day they were bought and the day they were traded in.
    - soylentcola 12y ago
      I'm definitely more familiar with the Android side of things than with iOS but it really has more to do with the OEM. Sure, if you buy a carrier branded device then they will stick their approval process after the OS release and OEM porting but in general, it's more a firmware/driver issue a lot of the time. Apple's strength is that they provide the hardware and the software so they are responsible for building any new version of iOS with applicable drivers and firmware for each device. Core apps are one thing but if you want to update to the latest version of Android, you're mostly out of luck without the OEM's involvement. Third parties regularly work on building current versions for all manner of devices as soon as Google publishes the source but without driver source from the maker of the actual chips and other hardware, they're left cobbling together unoptimized drivers for important things like the cellular radio or the camera or reverse engineering their own. If it was just a matter of carrier interference, there would be a "vanilla" build available for every device shortly after release.

etimberg 12y ago

I upgraded an iPad 3 to iOS 8 and I definitely regret it. I don't like how Safari has changed, and it just feels sluggish.

eddieroger 12y ago
I was in the same boat, and ended up wiping my 3. That helped more than it should have, especially for the pain in the ass that it was to reinstall the stuff I use regularly.
- tacoman 12y ago
  Wiping it actually increased responsiveness? I guess I'll give that a try.
  - eddieroger 12y ago
    Working theory is that it cleared out things like Safari's caches (which I could have done without a wipe, of course), and cleared up free space. iOS isn't a happy camper when it lacks free space.
slig 12y ago
I somehow missed the iOS 6 update on my iPad 3. Everything I use still worked fine, so never bothered to update to iOS 7 and now it's very unlikely that I'll upgrade to iOS 8.
tacoman 12y ago
I had the same experience. The devices is noticeably slower. I feel like I had no choice because of the potential security problems of staying on iOS 7. e.g. https://isc.sans.edu/forums/diary/iOS+7+1+x+Exploit+Released+CVE-2014-4377+/18693 https://isc.sans.edu/forums/diary/iOS+7+1+x+Exploit+Released...

msluyter 12y ago

At least part of it is that folks like my mom just never attach their phones to their computers and ignore any upgrade notifications on their devices, so they basically never upgrade until their son comes to visit. This applies to me as well -- I have two iPads and frankly it's not really worth the bother. I'll probably upgrade them eventually; there's just no hurry. Compounding the problem -- since getting the iPhone 6, I've noticed something I've almost never noticed before on an iPhone: lag. There are times where it seems there's a huge (like 1 second) delay between touching the screen and a reaction. This is noticeable when scrolling in safari. For that reason alone I would recommend against upgrading until the problem is resolved.

Xeoncross 12y ago

I have an iPhone 4s and I didn't even want to update to iOS 7 because my brother did, and his phone really slowed down. Since I need to answer calls or take photos fast I really could care-a-less about other features. If my device isn't fast, I lose the moment. iOS 6 forever on this device (baring some big security problem)

NDizzle 12y ago

My iPad2 runs worse and worse with every new version of iOS. I wish I could go back to 6.

chrisBob 12y ago
My oldest iOS device is an iPad2, and I upgraded everything but that. The 4th generation iPad was fine, but it sounds like I made a good call holding off on the iPad2.
msrpotus 12y ago
My original iPad couldn't even upgrade past iOS 6. Want to trade?
soylentcola 12y ago
That is actually my only iOS device at the moment and it certainly has been slower with each update. I do understand the benefit of building an OS to more current specs but unlike a desktop PC where you can add a stick of RAM or a newer GPU for $50-100, it seems to hit mobile devices a lot harder. On one hand, nobody wants to buy a shiny new device and find that the software isn't taking advantage of the hardware you paid for in order to preserve performance on older models. On the other hand, the more rapid pace of mobile hardware development and the inability to add inexpensive upgrades can make it seem like you have little choice but to replace the things every couple of years. It doesn't help that there's no official way to downgrade if your experience is unsatisfactory (no reinstalling XP on that old beater PC because it doesn't have the RAM to run Vista well, etc) and applications quickly start to require the latest version of the OS for program updates.

bpicolo 12y ago

To be honest I wish I were back on iOS7. They got rid of the all photos (camera roll) view, which was the only way I actually made use of photos. Terrible decision. Why remove camera roll? It's not exactly a tricky thing to support / leave in. The new way of viewing photos is awful. I have no clue on what date or what location I saved / took that one photo I'm looking for.

calvin_c 12y ago
It looks like the Camera Roll is back in iOS 8.1 Beta http://www.product-reviews.net/2014/09/30/ios-8-1-beta-release-notes-live-camera-roll-back/ http://www.product-reviews.net/2014/09/30/ios-8-1-beta-relea...

eddieroger 12y ago

8.0.1 got a lot of negative press and scared people who have no idea what they're talking about into not updating. I don't know how many of those "cousin's boss' fiance who works for an Apple certified technician said not to update" posts I saw on Facebook. I imagine if Apple gets 8.1 out with the rumored iPad announcement in a few weeks, it'll all right itself.

crazygringo 12y ago

I upgraded to iOS 8 on my 4S, and regret it immensely. Sluggish doesn't even begin to describe it. Animations have gone from ~30 fps to maybe 2 or 3 fps. It's almost as if the update disabled the GPU or something, I can't even begin to understand it. A popular game like Subway Surfers is now completely unplayable -- it'll run smoothly for a couple seconds, then freeze for half a second, and bam, you run into a train. It's bizarre. What really pisses me off is the attitude of app developers to only support the newest version of iOS. I'd upgraded from iOS 6 to 7 simply because I needed HipChat and FourSquare for professional reasons, and both companies had completely dropped support for iOS 6. And then upgraded to iOS 8 because I know the same thing is going to happen again. I don't criticize Apple so much for creating new iOS versions that require greater processor power -- I criticize the app developers which force us to upgrade to OS's our phones can't support. And now I basically need to drop $500 to buy a new phone I shouldn't need, just for my phone's interface to feel even minimally responsive again. Ugh.

themodelplumber 12y ago
I had this experience going to iOS 6 on an iPod. It was so frustrating (as any device with poor responsiveness is) that I decided I'd only upgrade to a new major OS version within the same year the product was released. That's worked really well so far, though it's always annoying that the notifications don't seem to completely go away.
kmfrk 12y ago
The performance on my iPad 3 also deteriorated, after I updated. I don't seem to experience it anymore, so I may support the theory that it's Spotlight re-indexing my device after updating. Tweetbot crashes like mad, though, but it was designed for iOS 5-6 anyway.
happyscrappy 12y ago
Anyone running iOS8 on a 4S should change some settings: Settings->General->Accessibility->Increase Contrast Set to On Settings->General->Accessibility->Reduce Motion Set to On
- 12y ago

geuis 12y ago

I regret doing the upgrade too. My 5s has had terribly slow LTE and wifi since the upgrade from 7. I usually have to turn off all the radios with airplane mode for a few moments to get any connectivity back when it slows down. There aren't any new obvious features that make a big difference. Tried keyboards but they all kind of suck so just went back to stock. If you haven't upgraded, hold off for a while.

uptown 12y ago

iOS8 dropped support for Cisco LEAP. This caused our team to delay upgrading until the wifi network could be upgraded.

fudged71 12y ago

I know people still on iOS5 because they don't like change.

lisper 12y ago
I was on iOS 5 until a few weeks ago. It's not because I don't like change, it's because iOS 5 did everything I needed it to do, it did it well and reliably. Upgrading is risky because you can't go back, and nowadays it's a total crap shoot in terms of whether the upgrade will actually be an improvement, or if it will be full of nasty surprises when you find that your favorite feature has stopped working or has simply gone away.

adamors 12y ago

I'm staying on 7 for at least a couple more minor versions. iOS 8 was incredibly buggy so far, with the 8.0.1 update almost bricking phones, and 8.0.2 introducing a lot of bluetooth connectivity issues/wi-fi slowdowns and battery problems. The 5S has a weak battery life as is, I don't need it shrunk to a half day.

ck2 12y ago

There are tricks to force downgrade. Doesn't even need root. http://osxdaily.com/2014/09/21/downgrade-ios-8-back-to-ios-7-1-2/ http://osxdaily.com/2014/09/21/downgrade-ios-8-back-to-ios-7...

selectodude 12y ago
That stopped working awhile ago.

misterbwong 12y ago

I'm surprised the article doesn't take into consideration the fact that there's a month-long wait for the iPhone 6 and 6+ upgrade. I'm willing to bet a decent chunk of those with older iPhones are waiting for their upgrades and not bothering with the update.

gbrhaz 12y ago

Unfortunately this year's release has been... well, awful, from both a user's and a developer's perspective. * APIs that were fine in iOS 7 are now broken on iOS 8 devices (that's the OS I'm talking about, not the SDK). 6 -> 7 contained the biggest UI changes of any release, and on an iOS 7 OS, apps built under iOS 6 still looked like iOS 6 apps. How it should be. * Developers saying they have to get/renew both iOS and Mac developer programs, and then request a refund for the one they don't want. * Requiring 5GB for an over-the-air installation, which given how most devices are 16GB, is terrible. There aren't many end-users that would go through iTunes for this. * Shocking performance on 4S and iPad 2. I disagree with allowing users to upgrade on these devices. My iPad 2 was unusable; even swiping on the springboard was dropping frames everywhere. Apps taking 10 seconds to load. That's not a good user experience, keep them on 7. * Apple silently changing their approval processes (not allowed to authenticate through Safari now - it has to be through a web view, which doesn't handle SSO, and is a lot less secure). * HealthKit bugs. * The whole 8.0.1 disaster. I couldn't believe this one.

lordbusiness 12y ago

My own personal experience is that iOS 8's feature set is muted until Yosemite comes out. Once people with recent enough devices are able to enjoy Continuity, Handoff, and fully experience iCloud Drive, then adoption will (I predict) increase; and I believe the "not much difference" statements (which are arguably currently correct) will subside. I believe Apple could have done well to coordinate a simultaneous launch for Yosemite and iOS 8.

panikos 12y ago

I don't what are do

panikos 12y ago

0 points