With the impending release of the new flagship phone from Apple, the iPhone 6, comes the new operating system which powers it, iOS8. For those of you who already have Apple devices, there are a few things that we at Evidence Solutions, think you need to know before you go out and upgrade your phone to this new OS.
1. Most apps will work, but not all of them.
As app developers usually do, they have had the ability to use and test their apps in the new system for some time now. For the most part, they have made sure their apps will work on the new system. However, because Apple checks each app submitted to the app store, there is a backlog of apps that have not been approved for sale or update. This process takes time, as such, some of your favorite apps may not work for some time after your update.
2. Upgrading your Jailbreak
Not a problem for the average user but, a jailbroken phone (getting into the nuts and bolts of the OS to make changes to it) will accept the new OS, at a cost. The jailbreak, to put it in the simplest of terms, will, well, break. The fancy tweaks you have made to your system will go away, and the new system may not be jailbroken for a while (depending on how quickly hackers find a way around this).
3. Early adopters will have bugs
Bugs, hiccups, quirks, and all other manner of annoyances will be included in the update. They always are. When a new OS is developed it is given to software testers whose job it is to make the software fail. By making it fail, you know where you need to improve and fix. While that’s all well and fine, the number of people testing it is relatively small compared to the number of people it is being released to. Meaning, developers could not have found every single little problem with the new OS. These might be small things you don’t notice, or your phone may spontaneously decide that it wants to erase all your data. We have no way of knowing.
4. Have a company phone? You may have to wait…
Coming from an IT background, Evidence Solutions, knows what it is like to have updated software go through our system and not work. It’s a royal pain. It ties up time and resources which can be better spent elsewhere. Therefore, your IT department may tell you that you cannot upgrade for a while (until the spontaneous data wipe bug is fixed for instance). This is for your own good as well as theirs. Their job is to keep you working. If they cannot because of faulty software it may be a long time before you are productive again.
5. While it may install on an older device, it doesn’t mean it will work.
iOS8 is said to be compatible with iPhone 4s and later, iPad 2 and later, iPad Mini and later, and the fifth-generation iPod Touch. However, this does not mean your device will fully support the features that it claims. Newer devices will have faster hardware. This means a smoother experience, more storage, more memory. If you have an iPhone 4s and are struggling with iOS7, you won’t help yourself by getting iOS8.
6. Downgrading? Yeah right
If you upgrade and decide you don’t like the new OS, sorry, you’re stuck with it. Unless you save every single solitary file on your phone (and yes we do mean every – single - file) odds are your chances of downgrading are shot. You might find a hacker who can possibly do this for you. Unfortunately, the process is lengthy and complicated, and you may not get some of your information back.
Our recommendation: When in doubt, borrow someone’s phone or go to an Apple store to try it.
