After last Fridays much-anticipated release, a lot of opinions have emerged on social media concerning iOS 8 and the new iPhones. Usually, people’s responses towards Apple products are positive but, from what I can see people are becoming more critical due to the newly emerging faults. The issues cover areas such as bent iPhones, crashing apps, lack of space after the update, unresponsive Touch ID and loss of signal due to updating to iOS 8.

As much as it hurts me to say this, I think iOS 8 is riddled with its own small glitches. In my opinion it’s something to be expected as it is an updated operating system however, I’d like to think a company such as Apple would be able to clean up a few of the glaringly obvious mistakes. Apps crashing is more of a process that developers need to work through over time. They may have been given access to the new software beforehand but it doesn’t mean it’s any easier to adapt existing apps. I think the best thing to do is give Apple and all the other third-party developers time to take out the bugs. I expect the new update to fix any current problems we may have today and I’m sure Apple Pay will have just as many problems when it’s released too. Fortunately, I have not experienced any problems with my iPhone 6 and iOS 8 yet so I am optimistic about its future.

As for the whole iPhone bending situation it’s a matter of common sense. The phone is thin therefore it, like other slim devices, is open to the idea of bending. It’s made from aluminium which means it’s a malleable lightweight product. All you have to ask yourself is “Do you want a thinner & lighter phone?” or “Do you want a thicker and heavier phone?”. I don’t think anyone (as far as I know) is looking at this from a different angle all together. What if iPhone users are simply becoming more lenient with how they take care of their phones? Who’s to say these people didn’t intend on buying cases to protect their new phone in the first place? If it’s a case of finding someone to blame for your damaged phone, rather than pointing out actual problems, then I think you’ll find your own finger-pointing right back at you.

I don’t want anyone to think I’m defending Apple, because I’m not. I am however trying to get everyone to see the bigger picture. One person has a problem with a new product and they’ve used social media to share their problems with the whole world. As lovely and fun as it is to watch, it will not fix the problem. I’d recommend treating your iPhone well and protecting it rather than taking pictures and making videos of yourself purposely warping & damaging them (which I am sure you will find is not covered on the warranty).

All the problems aside, I think we should look at some of the positives to the new releases.

The camera

The camera app finally has a timer mode! No longer do you need to download a third-party app just to take a group picture without anyone needing to take it. It has a 3 and 10 second timer so whether its two or twenty-two people in the photo, you’ll all have enough time to strike a pose. Exposure control allows you to add a little bit of finesse to your photos. It’s not too light, or too dark. It’s just right. You can also create your own time-lapse videos which makes it simpler to capture those lovely summer sunsets and changing cloud patterns. The photos app has been improved with the addition of more editing techniques. Need the photo to be a little lighter or think the picture is bit wonky? Now you can correct it without downloading another app.

Connectivity

The iPhone 6 now has NFC connectivity which will come in handy for when Apple Pay is released in October. Apple also claims to have increased wi-fi capabilities up to 3 times faster and even more LTE bands are covered allowing for faster mobile coverage.

iOS 8

Quick reply is now here. Now we don’t have to unlock our phones to reply to a simple text. Helps when you’re busy doing something else and a short and simple ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘okay’ will do. Audio messages are great for saying exactly what you want how you want. If you’re not good at getting your point across via text then I think you’d benefit from this. The suggestive keyboard does make typing that little bit easier but I think it’s quite a while away from perfect. Many accessibility tools have been added and changing the size of your text is easier now it has it’s very own menu. Although Apple have given away a bunch of useful apps for free (Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Garageband iMovie) they’ve also added a few mandatory ones to the phone (Tips, iBooks, Health, Podcasts). I find this to be quite annoying because we (as customers) should be able to choose what we do and don’t want installed on our devices. After all, aren’t we the ones paying for them?