My Oft-Repeated Advice -- Hold off on iOS8

There is nothing in the new Apple OS update that is particularly pressing, and even if there were, don't update on the first day.  Wait.  I gave this advice to my family for iOS7 and saved everyone a world of grief.  One would think that Apple would have a way easier time with releases than, say, Android or Windows.  Apple OS runs only on Apple devices, whereas Google and Microsoft have to deal with all sorts of hardware compatibility issues.  Nevertheless, Apple has had many issues with its round-number OS releases such that there is no reason to rush.  I suggest you wait 2 weeks, then Google "iOS8 issues" and "iOS problems" and see what you find.  If nothing scares you, then update.

Here is the problem with Apple - whether it be OSX or iOS or even iTunes - it is almost impossible to roll back.  I hated Windows Vista and Windows 8 (Windows is sort of like original-series Star Trek movies where every other release sucks more than average) but I was able to roll back in both cases.  Short of rooting your iPhone, I am not sure iOS rollbacks are even possible.

13 Comments

  1. disqus_00YDCZxqDV:

    If you have an iphone 4S, IOS 8 will work, but the phone lacks the CPU power IOS 8 needs so it will run slow

  2. J_W_W:

    One reason to upgrade would be if you are running Yosemite beta, all of the integration features are pretty impressive. But you've got to be a bleeding edge type to be running the OS X beta.

  3. ErikTheRed:

    I upgraded three devices yesterday. No drama so far. Hey, somebody has to find the bugs for the rest of you :-)

  4. pegr:

    Warren, I've been reading this blog for quite a while, and this is the FIRST time you've ever said "Hold off on IOS 8." I believe you may be losing your mind.

    Oh, and keep up the good work!

  5. marque2:

    I would imagine it would be the first time he gave this advice, since the OS just was released. I imagine next year will be the one and only time he advises about iOS9

  6. Guy:

    I updated 3 devices no problem. After backing up the devices with iTunes, my Recycle Bin included not only the older versions of updated apps but also a 7.1.2_110257_Restore.ipsw file about ~1G in size. With these files it may be fairly painless to rollback, if I want to (i don't so far).

  7. ErikTheRed:

    So far, my impression is that this is the first IOS update in awhile that I really, really like better. Email is significantly improved, as is the keyboard and the camera app. Some annoyances have been fixed in messaging (you can now leave group conversations and organize them better). IOS 8 seems to be very slightly smoother than 7, but that could just be me. The "family iTunes" concept is long overdue.

  8. David Zetland:

    Thanks!! iTunes doesn't tell you that "upgrade = downgrade" ;)

  9. schu:

    Not bad advice, but in this case iOS 8 is really nice. Running it on a 5s, 5c, 4s, and iPad 2.

  10. HenryBowman419:

    Whatever you do, don't bother to charge your iPhone using this "new" technology.

  11. Ugasailor:

    9-24-2014: Apple AAPL -0.86% issued the first update to its iOS 8 just a week after the mobile-operating system was released—and then immediately pulled it due to “an issue.”

  12. Viktor Elefant:

    http://www.cnbc.com/id/102029606

    Apple pulls back iOS after widespread reports of disabled phones

  13. hugorand:

    The original IOS 8.0 seems to be okay so far, it's the new update IOS 8.0.1 that was released earlier today that is the problem from what I've read.