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One bad software update after another: Apple’s recent lack of quality control is disappointing

By Abdullah Asim

Published: Oct 03, 2024, 3:34 AM

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Apple has been on a bit of a bad streak lately when it comes to software updates. This is especially worth bringing up because 2024 was the year for which the company, and its user base, had really high hopes. All major Apple products were supposed to outshine the competition, so what went wrong?

Apple Unintelligence

Sounds very promising, when can we use it? | Video credit — Apple

Apple Intelligence was announced to a pretty mixed reception. While some, like me, looked forward to AI on iPhone, many others immediately wondered how they could opt out of it. Privacy concerns were also raised, especially because of Apple’s partnership with OpenAI for its GPT AI models.

But perhaps the biggest talking point was the fact that the new iPhone 16 models would not be launching alongside Apple Intelligence. In fact, Apple’s AI features won’t even finish rolling out completely until some undetermined time next year. This, coupled with Apple Intelligence being available on iPhone 15 Pro, meant that the iPhone 16 was a very unconvincing upgrade.

And I haven’t even mentioned that Apple Intelligence isn’t coming to the EU or China, making this a very fragmented launch. The camera control button is nice, though.

iOS 18 causes problems

Image credit — PhoneArena

Apple’s long-awaited iOS 18 finally became publicly available a few days ago, and it’s been causing some problems. For example, lots of iPhone users noticed a sharp decline in battery life after updating. Apple says this should go away in a few days after background processes settle down. iOS 18 is, after all, one of the biggest iOS updates ever released (customizable home screens!).

But iOS 18 has brought alongside it a host of other issues as well. Users report poor cell coverage, dropped calls and freezing apps. Of course, not everyone is facing these problems, but a lot of people are, and that’s just unacceptable for Apple’s flagship phones.

iPadOS 18 bricks iPads

Image credit — PhoneArena

Right alongside iOS 18 came out iPadOS 18, another major software update bringing lots of new features to your iPad. But that wasn’t all: iPadOS 18 immediately began to brick some M4 iPad models. Permanently.

This serious issue became widespread enough that Apple had to issue a public statement acknowledging the problem. The company also paused the rollout of iPadOS 18 as it worked on trying to solve the problem. Users with bricked iPads had to be given replacement units because their tablets had become completely unresponsive.

Apple Vision Pro delays the best features

The future…coming soon. | Video credit — Apple

Oh, we’re not done yet. When visionOS 2 finally came out we found that some of the promised features weren’t included. A quick glance at Apple’s page on visionOS 2 showed that the company had quietly labeled some features as “coming later” without a concrete release date.

These missing features included perhaps the best one: improved Mac Virtual Display. The new and improved Mac Virtual Display allows you to supersize your virtual screen while retaining high resolution alongside a few other goodies. But, despite nine betas over the past year, Apple launched visionOS 2 incomplete.

What’s going on, Apple?

So…what’s going on? Why is the company known for its premium and expensive devices suddenly releasing half-baked software? What’s happened to the quality control? Is Apple convinced that its user base will buy anything it puts on the market? Because Vision Pro sales say otherwise. Is the company too busy brainstorming new ideas like its alleged iPad robot?

I wonder if the upcoming Mac lineup will also see similar failings. At the very least, I’d strongly advise against pre-ordering anything from Apple for the near future. Apple made a name for itself on account of its devices “just working”, can it really afford to lose that reputation?

Let’s hope the upcoming modern revamp of iPhone SE doesn’t also suffer from such disappointing lack of quality control, because it’s something people have been waiting for for years.

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Abdullah is an ardent believer in the future of VR, and can't wait to see what more it brings to the table as technology improves. He enjoys covering new software releases in the XR industry, as well as major news about hardware and companies focused on VR.