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iOS 8.0.2 on iPhone 6 Plus: Impressions & Performance

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One week after the iPhone 6 Plus release Apple delivered two new iOS 8 updates in rapid releases. The iOS 8.0.1 update broke cellular service on the iPhone 6 Plus and Apple soon delivered the iOS 8.0.2 release to fix connectivity and bring iOS 8 fixes back to users.

Although this is a small update it adds an important feature to iOS 8, which is only a week old. Apple pulled the feature that allowed apps to connect to the new iOS 8 Health app. iOS 8.0.2 brings this feature back, so you’ll soon see more health focused apps connecting to Apple’s one stop shop to let you track your overall health and fitness levels.

Apple also includes fixes for third-party keyboards and various other small tweaks. You can see many of the new iOS 8 features in the video below.

Even though the iOS 8.0.2 update is small compared to iOS 8 it is an important fix for many users. Small updates can break things just as much as large ones, as we saw with the iOS 8.0.1 release.

It’s understandable that many users are now wary of installing the iOS 8.0.2 update. We spent the last two days testing the update on the iPhone 6 Plus to help you decide if it is safe to update and if you should install iOS 8.0.2 or wait until Apple releases another update in October. Apple already confirmed an iPhone 6 Plus update will unlock the Apple Pay feature next month.

Overall the iOS 8.0.2 update is a stepping. The right direction, but it’s not perfect and one team member had to get a replacement is iPhone 6 Plus after the update broke his phone.

Installing iOS 8.0.2

Unlike the iOS 8.0.1 update that broke cell service on the iPhone 6 Plus, the iOS 8.0.2 installation went smoothly for me. I installed the small update over the air with WiFi in about 20 minutes including the download time.

Gotta Be Mobile team member Kevin Purcell installed iOS 8.0.2 on the iPhone 6 Plus and after it finished the touch screen was not responsive. After initial troubleshooting he spent a day at an Apple Store to get a replacement so Apple could capture the device and figure out why this happened.

iOS 8.0.2 Performance

Here's a look at the iOS 8.0.2 performance on the iPhone 6 Plus.

Here’s a look at the iOS 8.0.2 performance on the iPhone 6 Plus.

After installing iOS 8.0.2 on the iPhone 6 Plus I checked the performance of five key areas to make sure things work as expected. Even though one of our team experienced a failure there are no major show-stopping issues with iOS 8.0.2 on the iPhone 6 Plus. This update is not perfect, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Apple push out iOS 8.0.3 or a similar update in the next few weeks. Here’s what I discovered after using the iOS 8.0.2 update on the iPhone 6 Plus for several days.

Apps

There is nothing in this update to fix the fact that many apps still look blown up and grainy on the large screen. App updates are slowly adding support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but progress is slow.

Overall most of the apps I use on a regular basis; Tweetbot, Alien Blue, Netflix, Instagram and Spotify work well on iOS 8.0.2, but there are still a variety of app crashes while using this update. Occasionally apps freeze on iOS 8.0.2 and it takes a while before I can launch the multitasking menu to close the app.

I’m not sure if this is due to iOS 8.0.2 alone, or if developers need to fix some problematic apps. No matter the cause, be prepared for some overall app crashes on the iPhone 6 Plus.

iOS 8.0.2 Battery Life

The iPhone 6 Plus battery life is great right out of the box thanks to the large battery and power sipping parts. After installing iOS 8.0.2 the battery life remains great. On the first full day of use the iPhone 6 Plus battery did not last as long as normal, but after looking at what apps used the most battery life it was clear that a poor AT&T signal and a lot of hotspot usage drained the battery faster than normal.

Overall most users should not see a major change in battery life on iOS 8.0.2.

iOS 8.0.2 Connectivity

Small updates like this can fix or break connectivity issues, as many users experienced last week. The iOS 8.0.2 fixes the no service issue that took my iPhone 6 Plus offline and after two full days of use while mobile connectivity is working as expected..

There is some odd behavior with the personal hotspot on iOS 8.0.2, but this likely due to the OS X Yosemite public beta, rather than the iPhone 6 Plus.

I am not experiencing major iOS 8.0.2 WiFi problems, but occasionally the network lags before loading a bag or refreshing an app. Other users report more problematic WiFi problems on iOS 8.0.2.

iOS 8.0.2 Bugs and Issues

The iOS 8.0.2 update brings a number of smart and small updates, but it doesn’t fix every iOS 8 problem. As you can tell by now in this early iOS 8.0.2 review there are WiFi bugs and some app crashes still present as Apple needs to perfect the iPhone 6 Plus experience.

Sometimes the iPhone 6 Plus is stuck in landscape mode on iOS 8.0.2.

Sometimes the iPhone 6 Plus is stuck in landscape mode on iOS 8.0.2.

One of the problem that I experience often is the iPhone 6 Plus getting stuck in landscape or portrait mode. This typically happens inside an app. When this happens I need to leave the app, open multi-tasking and close whatever app the problem took place in before things work right.

Sometimes the camera will not recognize that I am holding it in landscape and will take all my photos stuck in portrait.

Speed

The  iOS 8.0.2 performance is good on the iPhone 6 Plus. The overall speed of using the iPhone 6 Plus feels snappier after installing iOS 8.0.2, as long as it doesn’t freeze in an app.

Overall iOS 8.0.2 is fast, and it is a step closer to the iPhone 6 Plus experience users expect from Apple, but it’s not quite there yet.

Should You Install iOS 8.0.2?

Most users can install iOS 8.0.2 without worrying.

Most users can install iOS 8.0.2 without worrying.

Most iPhone 6 Plus owners should install iOS 8.0.2. There are enough fixes like better support for third-party keyboards and HealthKit fixes that pave the way for apps to connect to the new iOS 8 Health app.

Given all the fixes included in iOS 8.0.2, and the fix it brings for anyone who installed iOS 8.0.1, it makes a lot of sense to upgrade to iOS 8.0.2.

If you want to wait, it looks like Apple will need to push out a new iOS 8.0.3 or similar update in the coming weeks to address other issues and turn on Apple Pay.

What’s New in iOS 8

iOS 8 vs iOS 7 Walkthrough - Home Screen

iOS 8 vs iOS 7 Walkthrough - Home Screen

We start our iOS 8 vs iOS 7 walkthrough with the iPhone home screen, which is where you'll start your iOS 8 experience after an update this fall. 

These screens are incredibly important as you see them anytime you turn on the iPhone or need to choose an app to launch. There is no way around using them, so Apple needs to make sure they work just right. 

As you can see in the iOS 8 vs iOS 7 comparison above, there is no change between the home screen in the new iPhone software. Apple changed the status bar and some other small visual changes in iOS 7, but there are no updates for iOS 8.  

We could see Apple change the home screen slightly for iOS 8 for the iPhone 6. The new iPhone will feature a larger 4.7-inch display with a higher resolution. This is something Apple may use to add more icons to the screen. Or they could stick with the current layout, it's tough to tell.  

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. broblk

    09/29/2014 at 5:11 am

    Apple needs to perfect the iPhone 6 Plus experience. ???
    AT A $1000+ a phone I EXPECT the experience to be perfect

    • ttzero13

      09/29/2014 at 8:31 pm

      Do you expect all developers to have finished updating their apps for iOS 8 and iPhone 6 Plus in such a short time?

  2. Alex

    09/30/2014 at 1:54 pm

    I don’t know if the issue is the OS or the phone. I updated my 5S to 8.0.2 as well and it works better than my iPhone6 Plus. My 5S seems to be faster in everything, and does not crash. My 6 Plus performs like my old iPhone3G…very slow.

  3. Tarrbot

    10/10/2014 at 1:44 pm

    Can you write this without speech dictation or enunciate clearly into whatever you’re talking into before posting? Or maybe proofreading it first?

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