I was out with a few friends the other day making future plans to meet, when I opened the calendar on my iPhone to find that I was really, incredibly busy. "I was busy," as in I had something to do every day of the week for the next century.
This was the first time that I had opened my calendar since updating my iPhone to the new iOS 6, Apple's latest software upgrade that was released last week, and I came to find out that one of its nifty new tricks is to add all of your Facebook friends' birthdays into your calendar. This may seem like a good idea, but do you really want reminders for all of your 700 "friends?" But that's not all I was busy doing. Additionally, the new system tentatively adds in every Facebook invitation you receive, so that you are reminded to RSVP for all of the 100s of Facebook invites you do your darndest to pretend you hadn't received.
I was unable to hide my horror and when I relayed this information to the group, one of my companions mentioned that she was refusing to update her software. She is the fourth person I have spoken to this past week that has told me this, and, apparently, she is not alone.
According to a report that came out yesterday on Fox News roughly two-thirds of eligible iPhone and iPad users have yet to upgrade. Surely some of this is due to pure laziness or lack of knowledge, but some of it can also be attributed to the barrage of bad press the new software is getting.
According to Fox News:
More than 100 million users have upgraded to the new iOS 6, the software powering the company's iGizmos, Apple said last week. But according to analysts at data research firm Strategy Analytics 173 million iPhone users, 85 million iPad users, and 25 million iPod touch users are eligible for the upgrade -- -- 283 million in all.Which means 183 million have said "no thanks."
On Friday, Apple's CEO Tim Cook apologized to users for the aggravation being expressed over the new map function. Apple took away Google maps and replaced it with its own crappier version. It's confusing, sloppy and unattractive. It's as if someone took your Playstation 3 away and said, "Here, play with this ColecoVision instead."
There has to be something good about the new iOS, right? Well, it is certainly faster. The interface changes, such as the phone's dial pad, are cleaner looking and there are these nice orange accents that show up in the music app. They have also added in a "Do Not Disturb" function that allows you to set certain times when you do not wish your phone to annoy you.
So while there are some pluses, there are enough drawbacks to the phone to warrant not wanting to make the switch, right now. Many people may just love the seamless Facebook integration, but I feel it's like every annoying part of Facebook is being shoved down your throat. Now you've got all of your Facebook friends' phony Facebook email addresses in your contacts. Who needs that?
Also, Words With Friends has taken away the function that tells you which words are fake when you are making multiple words at a time. This has has nothing to do with the iOS update but it is still really annoying and there must be someone to blame for it.
Now that Apple has acknowledged their errors, will they fix the problem? They haven't reinstated the Google map function, nor have they said that they will. Saying sorry doesn't help you navigate your way through the third ward.
I have only one question to ask: WWSJD?