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8 big problems with iOS 8

Published Sep 22nd, 2014 1:15PM EDT
iOS 8 Review
Image: Zach Epstein, BGR

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Following reports of adoption that has been slower than iOS 7 last year or even iOS 6 in 2012, Apple failed to mention any iOS 8 download numbers when announcing rec0rd-breaking iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus sales on Monday morning. The omission was a bit odd considering Apple announced first-week iOS 7 download figures in 2013, and it suggests the adoption rate indeed hasn’t been terribly impressive thus far.

Why are people waiting? Is it a lack of exciting new features? After all, iOS 7 was a huge deal because it featured a completely revamped user interface. Of course, it could also be that people who have updated to iOS 8 have sometimes had some pretty substantial complaints, and they’re advising friends and family to wait.

According to one industry watcher, iOS 8 has 8 pretty big problems that Apple needs to address moving forward.

SEE ALSO: The most comprehensive collection you’ll find of iOS 8 tips and tricks

Writing at Forbes, Mark Rogowsky pinpointed eight “misses” in Apple’s new mobile software. While a couple of items on his list are subjective and certainly debatable, the majority of Rogowsky’s complaints are indeed sizable problems that iOS device users have complained about at length on social networks and in comments on blogs.

First and foremost, Rogowsky lists an issue that we have seen hundreds of users complain about: The amount of free storage needed to perform the update.

“Apple has been selling 16GB iPhones for way too long and apparently seems hell bent on continuing to do that,” Rogowsky wrote in his column. “It doesn’t seem like a problem if you only have a half dozen apps, don’t store music on your phone and are a light user, right? Well, then it’s time for your OS upgrade and suddenly your iPhone wants multiple gigabytes of free space (some reports had people needing up to 7GB of space!) to perform the upgrade. There are workaround like deleting a bunch of apps and downloading them later. You can resort to iTunes, make a backup and just install fresh. That leads to all your apps downloading again, which can be excruciating this time of year.”

Rogowsky also noted iCloud Drive, poor third-party keyboard performance and the lack of HealthKit and Continuity support at release among his iOS 8 misses.

What other issues are listed among iOS 8’s biggest problems at this point? A link to Rogowsky’s column can be found below in our source section.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.