The Future of Apple’s iOS

Technical IssuesOlivier Sassine

Adam Stark

Table of Contents1. Title

2. Table of Contents

3. Technical Specifications / Features

4. Battery Life Issues

5. Losing Wi-Fi Connection

6. Apple Maps Crisis (Pt.1)

7. Apple Maps Crisis (Pt.2)

8. Microsoft Exchange Overload

9. Passcode Unlock

10. Incompatible 3rd Party Apps

11. Conclusion

12. References

13. Title

Technical Specifications / Features

Battery Life Lithium Ion Battery, Standby Time = 225

Hours, Talk Time: 8 hours

Apple MapsApple has ditched Google maps in place of their own maps software – Turn – by – turn

navigation, Traffic info, and Flyover.

Wi-FiSupports 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n

2.4GHz and 5GHz)

3rd Party AppsAbility to house 3rd party applications approved by Apple via the App store.

Mail ServicesSupports Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo!, Gmail,

AOL, and Hotmail.

The specifications / features we will be focusing on only pertain to the issues mentioned in the table of contents. It’s important to understand the current state of these specifications in order to truly understand the issues surrounding them.

Battery Life Issues

Nothing unfamiliar with iOS users! First major technical issue pertains to the operating system using far too many resources, thus draining the battery and greatly shortening its life.

- Began with the introduction of iOS 5.0.

- Average user claims to get roughly “sunrise to sunset” life of a full charge.

- Apple confirms “bugs” contributing to fast-depleting battery, including a “faster processor,” “brighter-screen”, and “multiple processes” running at any given time.

- Update 5.0.1 aimed towards fixing this issue – dimmed screen occurs sooner and apps not being directly used are allocated much lower amounts of memory.

- Unfortunately, no significant positive feedback was discovered after this update (even to this day with current 6.1.2 version).

Losing Wi-Fi Connection

Shortly after the release of iOS 6.0, several thousand users claimed to be “losing” their connection to a Wi-Fi hotspot (switching from 4G to Wi-Fi), or not being able to use the hotspot at all due to an Apple Log-In page (seen on the right) popping up upon connecting to a hotspot.

Login Page Issue: Cause was Apple somewhere along the lines forgetting to add the “Success” page to completing a connection – often times a “404” error was thrown.

Losing Connection Issue: Cause was the phones ability to automatically choose the quickest data-rate possible – often times, the 4G-LTE network has faster data rates than some typical at-home networks / routers.

Apple Maps Crisis (Pt.1)

Without a doubt, Apple Maps (Apple’s new implementation of a GPS application, replacing Google Maps) has faced the most ridicule and criticism of virtually any iOS feature or update. The three primary issues are…

1) No Public Transit Directions: Provides no railroad routes or bus-routes.

2) Wrong Labels: Locates certain landmarks miles from actual location (example on following page).

3) Worst of all – Wrong Directions!: Users have claimed being given incorrect roads, turns, cities, and even states when attempting to use.

Tim Cook (Apple CEO) Issues An Apology…

Apple Maps Crisis (Pt.2)

Microsoft Exchange Overload

Users of Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 as their mail client have experienced blocking by the server, due to an excessive amount of communication on the iOS end, causing a complete inability to use the service whatsoever.

Apple coined this issue as “Excess Exchange activity after accepting an exception to recurring calendar event.”

This particular issue was considered minor, since it did not affect ALL users and was short-lived.

Solution: Apple simply stated to “Update to iOS 6.1.2”.

Passcode Unlock

The ability for anyone to access your contacts, voicemails, and call-log list was considered to be the first security issue involved with iOS. Typically, a 4-digit passcode is required to access an individuals phone.

Issue: opening emergency call, press any three digits, quickly end the call, go back to lock screen, hold down power button and tap the emergency call button, then you end up in the Phone app (and access to all its information).

Solution: Again, Apple states updating to 6.1.2 to solve this issue. Minor fix for a minor problem.

Incompatible 3rd Party AppsApple’s success relies HEAVILY on the use of Apps, notably 3rd party apps that users can purchase via the App Store. A major technical issue Apple has been facing recently is the inability for iOS users to use these particular apps due to “an incompatibility” with the most recent iOS update, or simply experiencing the apps “crashing”.

Cause: Believed to be with recent update to allocate memory resources more efficiently – 3rd party apps not accustomed to this new specification.

Solution: As of now, no solution has been put forward, although there is speculation that the next iOS update will handle this issue.

ConclusionDespite all the success that Apple has achieved with the iOS, there of course were (and still exist) some shortcomings in regards to its technical specifications. Again, these included:

- Battery Life Issues- Wi-Fi Connectivity Issues- Apple Maps - Excessive Exchange communication with mail client- Incompatible 3rd party apps

The important takeaway here is Apple has continually strived towards excellence with their iOS. Despite having the issues just reviewed, this is still a relatively low number when compared to other devices that may be experiencing technical issues.

ReferencesCellan-Jones, Roy, (2012) New Apple maps app under fire from users. BBC News & Technology Report. pp.12

Claburn, Thomas, (2013) Apple iOS 6 Maps App Flops. InformationWeek Magazine. pp.3

Donna Tam, (2013). A Brief Overview of Current iOS Ups and Downs. New York, New York: MacWorld: Apple and TV Magazine Weekly.

Smith, Josh, (2012). Bad iOS 6.1 Battery Life Other Bugs Plague iOS 6.1 and Users. Chicago, Illinois. ComputerWorld and Technology Weekly.

The Future of Apple’s iOS

Technical IssuesOlivier Sassine

Adam Stark