“Easter hasn’t been a happy holiday for Apple as a bug-laden software upgrade means users will think twice before they upgrade their devices, and a move by a third party to break device security for a US law enforcement team that likes to call personal privacy a ‘marketing gimmick,'” Jonny Evans writes for Computerworld.
“The two things are major setbacks. Not only is Apple less able to claim its devices are 100 percent secure, but it now knows that any government anywhere can break into iPhones belonging to any Apple customer, thanks (some claim) to some Israeli firm,” Evans writes. “Presumably that firm will work with anyone who pays making us all less safe than we were before.”
“It’s [also] not great to find the latest iOS 9.3 update delivering major problems. Users of older devices saw their mobiles ‘bricked.’ Users of the latest iPhones are experiencing a bug in which links won’t work in Safari, Mail and other apps,” Evans writes. “It seems ironic that a company so frequently accused of being ‘too controlling’ seems to be losing control.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Attention to detail still needs much work in post-Steve Cupertino.
SEE ALSO:
With another Apple failure, it’s time to forget about hardware – March 29, 2016
Open letter to Tim Cook: Apple needs to do better – January 5, 2015
On the contrary. Time will prove that the FBI fiasco has been a marketing bonanza
@Davod
Cook’s incompetence is legendary. Many Apple consumers choose to ignore it, but it’s coming full circle. A 2GB, portless, locked down iPad with a stylus is a “Pro” device? An underpowered Macbook with one port is worth worth 2 grand? A non-upgradable Mac Pro is worth up to 10 grand? A worthless Apple Watch with two thousand dollars worth of gold is retailing for over 10 grand? A locked down buggy, stripped ATV 4 is the most expensive streaming box? A buggy music service that does less than free services is worthy of a pricey subscription? A giant iPad is worth $1300?
People… get a clue!
Constipation is a terrible thing isn’t it.
Like I said in another post. I am learning Swift and there are multiple classes and methods that do not work as advertised. One is the NSSplitView which is fundamental to Apple’s overview-detail approach to UI’s. Mail uses this methodology.
I just love how really small numbers of users have a problem with a software update and it’s the end of the world. How many android handsets are bricked every single day by bad software? Way more than the couple thousand who have an issue with iOS updates.
I’m not saying there aren’t problems, there are. But 2200 users of older iOS devices (A5 devices) and about 1000 having a problem with 64bit devices and it’s a MASSIVE problem that’s going to sink the company? Come on…. The apple bias in the press has always been a little crazy but it’s starting to get extremely annoying.
Most of those problems are probably due to some kind of configuration error with an app or something like that. I just want fair reporting. Good god.
This is how it has always been. Too many morons in the world who don’t understand the concept of context and swallow everything at face value.
Especially the main media sources who don’t understand technology at all and yet report on it as if they know what they’re talking about.
Apple put out 5 public betas and yet none of these recent issues were found. IF the “beta” public at large can’t discover them just before an official release, how in the hell does everyone expect Apple all on its own to do the same?
Expectations are what’s out of control here. It’s software development. There’s literally an unimaginable different scenarios that could exist for any given issue. It is impossible to check for and find them all.
The question is how many of the beta testers installed to a legacy device similar to the devices encountering the problems.
I was happily using 9.3, unaware of any issues. This morning my iPad prompted me to update, and I had no idea why. Now I know.
This “world on fire” BS that comes out after every hiccup Apple experiences only exists in the world of these clickbait websites. The vast majority of Apple users has no clue anything is wrong.
——RM
Enough already with this assanine compare. WE ARE NOT TALKING ANDROID. It has absolutely nothing to do with android and all to do with Apple’s inability to get their software right.
It’s called muddying the waters and it’s a tactic incorporated when one cannot defend one’s position. Rather than taking an honest look at our own and reassessing, it is sometimes more comfortable to ignore our house and visit a neighbor’s to see the flaws in his.
First, one problem with trying to disregard supposedly “small numbers” reports is that we lack the data to actually prove that the problem is actually only a small one, because we don’t have full visibility on all datapoints, so the percentage which experienced a problem but haven’t reported are being missed. YMMV as to what this percentage is, but if you look at standard rates of self-reporting, you’ll find that they’re often at only 5%, which means 95% had the problem but didn’t report (in other words, that ~3,200 who did report suggests that there’s ~64,000 which also experienced the problem but simply didn’t report it).
> Most of those problems are probably due to some kind of configuration error …
True, but let’s also be frank and note that it isn’t like Apple has the QA nightmare of Windows with a gazillion hardware permutations – – by my count for the iPad & iPad Mini, its effectively just (7-1)*3 + 4*3 = 30 variants to have to run through QA testing.
I’m not saying disregard it, I’m just saying the reports lack context. I have 4 android handsets for testing and when I updated all of them to 6.0, 3 of them had issues, one bricked and two with random rebooting. One was fine. (They were Samsung Galaxy devices, and one nexus. The nexus was fine) . I have 14 iOS devices going back to A5 hardware and experienced no issues on anything that wasn’t running the Facebook app or google drive. So what should I blame?
And when I go through threads it seems like even if the reporting was at 5% and let’s say it is 64000 people with some kind of issue, then it would be blown out of even more proportion. To give some context, android 6.0 caused problems for ~1.0% of devices that upgraded… Of you figure 9% of all android devices can run that software, that’s ~100,000,000 devices… That means almost 1,000,000 devices could’ve had issues. So even if it is 64,000? That’s not nearly in direct proportion.
I want apple to get its software right, we expect that as customers. But the simple fact is that small problems are blown out of proportion. Like bendgate… Or antenna gate… Or any number of ridiculous things levied against iOS devices over the years.
I had no issues up reading my iPad2. But I used iTunes and know my passwords.
No Apple is hurtling madly towards the abyss, tumbling towards its own demise, bereft of friends, adrift in a sea of heartache.
5 stars if the /s is missing.
1 star if not… cause you cannot rate less than 1 star. 🙁
And NO, people should not be able to figure out your mental intentions. 🙁
Hmmm no mention of the “Apple is doomed” hordes, that’s good news. Too bad Apple hasn’t released anything new recently, a journalist could have added the latest product to the “Apple is doomed” mantra. Yes, if only Apple had released something new recently, oh that and a jouranalist noticed it.
The FBI comment, well I don’t think Apple lost control of that one. Hacking into devices has been around for a while so even the clueless like FIB will eventually figure that one out.
Where Evans has a point is with the software. It’s the software that makes the difference, it always has. It has to work harmoniously with the hardware.
Hello, I think the author is pointing out how the FBI has made some of the phandroid rubbish sound like establishment thinking, and warning Apple to wake up to what it is against. In the subtext.
I think Apple is well aware of what they are up against, at least I hope so. Evans usually writes good stuff, his links are pretty good, but that being said, Apple has released buggy software before, in fact buggy software is a bit redundant and they’ve just walked away from a clash against an nefarious entity.
Nothing new here, the operating system might be different, the nefarious entity might be different, but it’s part of the terrain. Thing is that during the same “Easter time” Apple released a new phone. Seems to me that a journalist that misses that ingredient into the “Apple is Doomed” mix isn’t assembling the major components to making a great article.
What is this guy talking about? I upgraded all my iOS devices on day one of the iOS update and did the same for my Macs with OS X and haven’t experienced anything bugs.
In regards to someone hacking in to iOS. No one other than the government seems to know if it’s real or not. Plus, technology doesn’t stand still. Advancements will be made to further improve security.
Did Apple ever claim its devices were “100 percent secure”? I never even assumed this. If anything I’m heartened that Apple is willing to go to great lengths to reject government spying. I’m confident that coming generations of iPhone will be even more secure and I’m even more committed to staying with Apple products. Surprise, surprise, Apple stock is on a mild upswing, I think things are looking good for Cupertino.
Apple has never claimed 100% security ever, period. All they have ever claimed is that they value customers privacy and security more than a lot of other tech companies. This myth is being perpetuated by the media, so that they can claim this is a huge setback for Apple and a win for the FBI. It isn’t. Apple will find out one way or another how it was done, and iPhone security will be hardened more than ever.
Security includes three parts: Software, Hardware, and the User.
If the User does not understand the importance of security, such as lazy passwords, or using the same password on every service, then the software and hardware security is meaningless.
Rumours and perceptions roundup
Because the FBI dropped out, the general public will conclude that Apple won the confrontation. If a rematch occurs, the over/under spread will have doubled because of advancing technology versus static constitutional law.
The San Bernardino MacGuffin was an iPhone 5c, which lacks TouchID, a security feature found in the 5s and every iPhone built since. Hacking the 5c doesn’t imply vulnerability for these newer devices.
Because no one I know had problems upgrading to iOS 9.3, and because of the relatively small numbers of bricked phones cited, the conflagration in the kiln appears to be more a flash in the pan.
Sources claim that Israel may be weaponising its iPhones, fearing remote wipe is insufficient protection for its Mossad operatives. Asked to comment, Apple designer Sir Jonathan Ive quipped, “Unapologetically plastique.”
My first generation iPad mini works just fine with iOS 9.3, but on my iPhone 6 Plus, t most links in Safari and Mail don’t work at all. So it doesn’t matter to me how rare the problem is, since in my case, my iPhone is not working as I need it to.
Perhaps the reason for the post update buy is unique conditions created by you. Apps, settings, preferences, etc. So maybe it is you that isn’t working as you should be,
Keep in mind that the majority of Apple’s customers are idiots. I’m not saying that lightly. Most of them want something that ‘just works’. They don’t want to (or know how, or care) to drill down the many buried menus on a iPhone to enable or disable something. Why do you think the celeb hack photos on iCloud happened? Because they were idiots, whether educated or not about having strong passwords. No, they expect Apple devices to take care of that for them. And in a way, this is Apple’s own fault with the ‘it just works’ program. Hell, I know people who don’t even have a apple ID and use iPhones. Just goes to show you.
trondude,
Are you totally up to speed on how the computers in your car work or do you just expect your car to work??
How about the computers on any plane you fly in??? Space craft fly over your head every day. Know the laws of orbital mechanics??? (ps, and yes I do. Aerospace engineer).
Just saying.
I tuned my own car for years, and repaired radios and TVs for my parents too. I didn’t consider them idiots. Maybe I loved them and was blinded by it, I don’t know. I didn’t think any the less of them or of my friends for choosing technology they could understand how to operate. I did learn to appreciate Apple in a big way, for making computers that these gentle souls could use without calling me for help they way they once did with their Gateway and Dell boxes, before I guided them toward the light.
I am. I am a computer professional. My point is most people do not care to know. Did you read it?
A professional? WOW! Very impressed.
You should be.
For some people, Tim Cook’s farts are the wrong color. Steve was not a software guy, Tim isn’t either. But Tim is a far better leader than Steve with no temper issues and an amazing ability to manage complexity.
I experienced this Safari problem so I use Dolphin waiting for the fix. Yea, the software folks may have too many millennials working there that don’t have the experience to keep looking for bugs but the value for money if my iPhone 6S Plus is still amazing.