

Should I download iOS6 for my iPhone4? - wodlander
http://glipho.com/weatherill-hunt/to-upgrade-or-not-to-upgrade-that-is-the-question

======
asparagui
Honestly, and this applies to all updates on any system: wait a month.
Developers will move over their apps. Any major bugs will be found and shook
out. Stackoverflow/blogs will be populated with answers on "how do I do
$thing_that_has_changed"?

And B, upgrade a non-essential machine first. The only thing you gain by
upgrading willy-nilly is Internet e-peen points, and after a while you realize
those aren't worth losing a day or week or month or year's worth of work
(hello rsync -E) to being the first mouse. Yes, this isn't as exciting. As for
me, I like my systems very very boring.

~~~
juriga
I agree, being an early adopter always means that you should prepare yourself
for issues. However:

> Developers will move over their apps. Any major bugs will be found and shook
> out.

Wasn't this why the iOS6 beta versions were released months before the final
release? Now that iOS6 is officially released, Apple is encouraging all users
to update and there are quite many average Joes and Janes who don't read the
tech press and these warnings. These users are the ones that face the most
confusion if something is missing or changed (YouTube, Maps).

Since I installed the update as soon it was available, I don't have first-hand
experience of when users are prompted to update. Based on previous experience
and some update guides[1], the prompt will appear automatically when
connecting to iTunes.

[1] [http://ipad.about.com/od/iPad_Guide/ss/How-To-Upgrade-To-
iOS...](http://ipad.about.com/od/iPad_Guide/ss/How-To-Upgrade-To-iOS-5.htm)

~~~
stretchwithme
I have not been prompted to update, as, like many users, I no longer need to
connect to iTunes.

~~~
mikeash
You'll get a prompt to update directly eventually. Not sure how long it takes
or what triggers it. iTunes is now a purely optional part of the process.

------
MBCook
I did, and I'm glad. The maps thing is unfortunate, but I'm sure it will get
better. In the mean time you can still use maps.google.com and I'm sure Google
will release their own app some day.

Bits of the system feel faster, but I can say that Music got a __massive
__speed improvement. I have a playlist of over 5k songs that I like to listen
to shuffled. On iOS 5.1, opening that playlist for the first time would take
two or three seconds and hitting the "Shuffle all" button at the top of the
list to start playing would take take another few seconds.

In iOS 6, they're both extremely fast. Combine that with the ability to use
iCloud tabs and I'm quite happy.

~~~
mindstab
> the maps thing is unfortunate, but I'm sure it will get better

Based on what? The problem in the first place is that this is an insanely hard
problem that is in the centre of Google's core competencies (data gathering,
search, data munching; all on a ridiculously massive scale). Apple makes
hardware and an operating system and some apps for it. Where in that set of
core competencies does it indicate they have what it takes to tackle this and
yield the quality google has (who have poured a rather large fortune into it
(they bought the satellites for google maps so they could reshoot to avoid
clouds), the have paid for high tech trucks to run down every road in an
increasingly large collection of cities. And then massive human QA teams)

This isn't what apple does and it was massive hubris on their part to think
they could tackle this and come anywhere near the level of google maps, or
their usual standard of excellence. I remain extremely dubious that there is
any "quick" fix to their problem. It's not like the screwed up an algorithm
and this is a bug, this is a massive problem that they've barely started to
tackle.

If Apple does realize what it's going to take to compete at this and doubles
down on it, it's still going to take a year or two for them to catch up. And
that's an if. So Apple Maps/iOS5 combo is a write off. Probably iOS6 too. You
want good mapping the next few years, stick with google. Maybe after that
Apple will have something worth looking at, just as likely maybe not.

~~~
MBCook
I think it will get better for two reasons:

1) It's been a black eye for Apple and users are complaining

2) Apple has a _lot_ of money to throw at the problem

~~~
snogglethorpe
Of course it will get better.

The real question is whether it will get better _enough_ , fast enough.

There's certainly a limit to how much Apple will throw (they're not going to
empty out their nest-egg to fix this), and throwing money at a problem doesn't
always work so well.

In particular, public-transit and in general any "non-car" data is something
their maps simply don't seem to even start addressing. This isn't entirely
surprising as their data provider, tomtom, is a _car-nav company_ , but it's a
huge hole, and one Apple seems to have completely missed.

One of the reasons Google's public-transit directions took so many years to
get good is because teasing the necessary data out of the many different
regional agencies/companies that have it is a pain-staking and slow process.

The very poor coverage in many countries is presumably because Apple's
existing data providers do not have good coverage of them, so Apple probably
needs to contract with region-specific providers, integrate their data (which
may not be simple) with the Apple maps infrastructure etc.

All of this is doable, but it takes time, maybe years. They really needed to
do a lot of this, or at least a convincing chunk of it, _before_ the big
release, not "sometime in the future."

Certainly Apple has reasons to make their own maps, but by releasing such core
functionality in a form that's very clearly not ready for prime time, they've
damaged their ( _extremely valuable_ ) reputation as "the company that does
things right."

------
Tooluka
My 3GS works identically on v5 and v6. No performance or battery life
degradation, no new lags. My friends with 4 and 4S tell that battery life
actually improved, especially for 4S. Neither of us use jailbreaks of any
kind.

PS: and as for iPad 2 I'm not sure about battery life, I rarely discharge it
from 100 to 0 in one session.

------
juriga
tl;dr: iOS6 makes YouTube disappear, no solution for iPad yet

I updated my 3rd gen iPad to iOS6 immediately when the update came out since I
wanted to check out if the increase in JavaScript performance is noticeable
(it is).

However, here's why I regret updating: I've been using the iPad as a second
screen on my desk to watch YouTube. After the update, I find that the YouTube
icon is missing from its usual place on the home screen. After a quick app
store and Google search I find out the truth: Not only there isn't an official
iPad-optimized YouTube app anymore, but also that it has the disappointing
release date of "in the coming months" [1].

I know the actual reason for the missing YouTube app has something to do with
the licensing deals between Google and Apple, but as a generally happy Apple
customer my perception is that this "update" makes my life harder.

[1] [http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2012/09/introducing-
new-y...](http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2012/09/introducing-new-youtube-
app-for-your.html)

~~~
arrrg
Why don't you use the web version? Works like a charm for me (better than the
app ever did), no performance or stability issues, more functionality than the
app had, better load times and more choice about video formats. I see no
reason for an app, the web version is excellent.

~~~
siglesias
The huge drawback for me is that the web version doesn't even go fullscreen.
Seems kind of like pointless design decision.

~~~
Someone
What URL are you using on what device?

On my iPod touch <http://YouTube.com> redirects to <http://m.YouTube.com> goes
full screen.

It also features a link to a YouTube app 'free in the App Store" :-)

~~~
siglesias
Mobile YouTube on iPad.

------
iamdann
I haven't really had any problems with iOS 6 on my iPhone 4S. Then again, I
live in a big city within the United States, so the map change was an
adjustment rather than a disaster. But I can understand the negative feedback.

This is also the first time (in recent history) that hardcore Apple fans are
finding themselves responding to critics by saying, "Yes, that's a valid
point, but..." rather than "No, you're wrong because..." Chink in the armor.

------
mambodog
I'm guessing the Google Maps app will be out in a month or two. Apple probably
won't approve it right away, as a good quality Maps app would really make
Google look like the hero, swooping in to save us from Apple's lesser service.
Once the response to iOS6 has blown over it'll turn up in the App Store, lots
of people will download it, and things will be more or less back to normal
(apart from the bruising to Apple's reputation).

~~~
cma
Apple already rejected Google Maps in the past in the form of Latitude.

~~~
jonknee
Apple did eventually reverse themselves on this, but here's the original blog
post from Google about it (they originally supported iOS through Mobile Safari
because of Apple's rejection).

[http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-latitude-
now...](http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-latitude-now-for-
iphone.html)

> We worked closely with Apple to bring Latitude to the iPhone in a way Apple
> thought would be best for iPhone users. After we developed a Latitude
> application for the iPhone, Apple requested we release Latitude as a web
> application in order to avoid confusion with Maps on the iPhone, which uses
> Google to serve maps tiles.

It took almost two years for Apple to cave.

------
m_eiman
My iPhone 4 feels faster (no benchmarks, maybe it's just the reboot) with
iOS6, and I like the shared photo streams. Battery life seems to be largely
the same.

~~~
ajanuary
Yeah, my 4 feels snappier, but I'm having a hard time working out if it's
largely a psychological thing.

~~~
dangero
I don't believe it is completely psychological. The big area on iOS 5 where I
saw lag was the keyboard. A lot of times it would lag a few keys behind and
then catch up in a burst. iOS 6 seems to have fixed that, or at least I
haven't seen it do that yet.

------
glenra
If you live in NYC, hold off. The integration between apple maps and third-
party transit apps is anything but seamless. The new Apple map doesn't show
the names of the train lines so you can't pan around the map and see "oh,
there's the nearest 4/5 stop". Launching a transit app takes too many taps and
you have to exit and relaunch maps to get back to it - no longer is it
convenient to switch _between_ views of "how long would this take via transit"
and "how long would this take in a cab".

On the flip side, there's one GOOD feature in nyc rarely remarked on: Having
switched to vector-based maps means you can now pretty reliably pan and zoom
the map even when you have no signal because you're in the subway.

------
Splines
The problem for me with the Maps app isn't that it isn't accurate for the few
things I tried (turn-by-turn for navigating to/from work & my daughter's
preschool), it's for the other things that I might try in the future.

It's an issue of trust. What problems might I run into in the future, when I
am in a position where I cannot fall-back on the Safari version of Google
Maps? Low/no signal conditions where I am trying to navigate unknown areas are
times when I can't have something that is good enough, most of the time.
That's why I downgraded to 5.1.1. Google Maps hasn't let me down yet, and
there's no reason why I need to upgrade to iOS 6. The new features are only
nice-to-haves.

------
FranProgrammer
Not in in 3 months or so. Like any other software in the current trend of fast
develop/launch. After that, it will be a way more bug-free and performance-
tuned that in there initial launch. I do always the same with programs, apps
and games and it always save me a lot of problems.

------
rangibaby
I haven't found any show-stopping or even new bugs yet with normal usage since
the update came out. The new iPod app looks and feels quite nice.

Just go ahead and upgrade; you'll end up wanting some iOS6 feature / app
eventually, might as well get it out of the way now.

~~~
jonknee
Unless you rely on an obscure feature like transit directions that is.

~~~
rangibaby
I seriously doubt that after all the publicity the new maps have gotten since
the release of iOS 6, that someone who A) _needed_ a feature not present in
Apple maps and B) wouldn't be mostly content with maps.google.com would be
asking if they should upgrade or not.

~~~
jonknee
I think you overestimate how close the average smartphone user pays attention.
The phone pops up and says there's a new version of the OS available for free,
maybe along with something about all these new features. Most people don't
read tech news and Apple doesn't normally remove features that tens of
millions of people rely on every day.

~~~
rangibaby
Sorry I didn't reply to this earlier, the button was not showing up. (is there
a "cool down" on HN?)

I agree with the spirit of your post, but while it's not another antennagate,
the "iOS6 maps suck" meme is definitely in the mainstream media
consciousness[1]

[1]Google news search "ios6"

------
kmfrk
Well, what features do people here think are worth the upgrade?

I for one like the new privacy settings.

Passbook could be really interesting, but I think it'll be well over a year,
before people in my country consider taking advantage of it.

~~~
mikeash
Oddly enough, the one thing that I really love is a much greater willingness
to hop off of a weak WiFi network and onto cellular data. With iOS 5, my
iPhone would stay on my home network _long_ after I'd moved out of range,
often forcing me to manually disable WiFi in order to e.g. get driving
directions or listen to music in my car. With iOS 6, this problem is basically
gone. It will struggle with WiFi for a few seconds, then give up and
disconnect.

~~~
richbradshaw
I only had that in the betas, then in the GM I don't have the option any more
– I assumed they'd taken it out… Maybe I need to reinstall.

~~~
mikeash
I can't find the option to explicitly use cellular when WiFi sucks, but it
still seems much more willing to give up on WiFi connections. If the WiFi is
strong but not connected to the internet, however, it still won't drop back to
cellular, as I understand that prerelease option did.

------
magoon
I'm sure there are still people running Windows 2000 because they are stubborn
about upgrades.

