Apple iOS 10.2 Has Three Nasty Surprises

iOS 10 is only three months old but with iOS 10.2 Apple is already onto its fifth update (sixth if you include iOS 10.0.1 which Apple quickly bolted into the original release) and iOS 10.2.1 is already in testing. Why? Because ladies and gents, while iOS 10.2 does contain a fun surprise, it doesn’t bring the crucial fixes many users crave and instead carries something else you might not have been expecting… ‘Great Features’ and ‘Nasty Surprises’ are my regular columns investigating operating system updates for the best features / biggest problems hidden behind the headlines. Apple iOS 10.2. Image credit: Gordon Kelly Nasty Surprise #1: ‘30% Bug’ Made Even Worse Remember the ‘30% Bug’ I brought attention to in November? It is a problem which causes many models of iPhone to die when their battery reaches about 30% of charge remaining. The problem was subsequently referenced by the Chinese Government’s watchdog the China Consumers’ Association in a warning to Apple as it was failing to “meet basic consumer needs for normal wireless communication.” Well iOS 10.2 brings no fixes for this issue. Given Apple continues to deny any model other than the iPhone 6S is affected (though it has widened the range of affected 6S model numbers entitled to free battery replacements), this is probably no surprise. That said this also won’t do much to pacify affected users, notably on Apple’s official Support Communities forum where the 11 page thread I previously reported on has now ballooned to 50 pages. Moreover some users are reporting iOS 10.2 makes the problem even worse on their devices. Recommended by Forbes Apple iOS 10.2 Has A Great Secret Tribute Apple Warned iPhones Have A Serious Problem Apple Leak Reveals Massive New iPhone Apple iOS 10 Has 25 Great Secret Features MOST POPULAR Photos: The World's Most Powerful People 2016 MOST POPULAR Photos: The Best And Worst College Towns In The U.S. MOST POPULAR Super Mario Run Is Coming To Ios On December 15 “Same here, iOS 10.2 actually made the problem worse,” says Apple Support Communities poster ricardo jb in response this growing theme on thread. “The battery percentage seems to get stuck at some level for a while, even with battery draining apps such as pokemon go running, then it drops different percentages at different moments, it's really random.” Many users claim the issue began with iOS 10.1.1 and it can affect all iOS 10 compatible iPhones (the iPhone 5 and above). So perhaps a fix can indeed be made in software without the need for a battery replacement, but if so then iOS 10.2 isn’t it. Read more - Apple iOS 10.2: Should You Upgrade? Nasty Surprise #2: New Tracking Telemetry Is On Your Device The plus side to the 30% Bug is Apple has promised to look into it and said it would release a software update this week which would track the battery consumption on iPhones to help the company get to the bottom of the problem. That’s all well and good but - surprise - it turns out the tracking software is baked into iOS 10.2 and no mention of this was made in the release notes. Apple exclusively confirmed the integration of the telemetry tool with iOS 10.2 to me today and that it is installed on every compatible device, regardless of whether they are affected by the bug. Concept render of the 2017 10th anniversary iPhone alongside current models - what Apple should be focusing on but for ongoing battery issues. Concept image credit: Veniamin Geskin Needless to say that’s good news for some, but there’s no transparency here. Many would have expected the tool to be its own separate update and some users do not want new forms of tracking software on their phone - whether through personal preference or professional need. Especially when no specifics have been officially disclosed as to how it works, exactly how it tracks, where the information it gathers is sent, if it is anonymised or how long the data will be kept. There’s no reason to believe Apple is doing something deliber Source : Gordon Kelly Ventures on Forbes