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iOS 8.0.2 Review: iPhone 6

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A week ago, Apple pushed out its third iOS 8 update, an update that it naturally called iOS 8.0.2. Over the past week, we’ve spent quality time with iOS 8.0.2 on iPhone 6 and today, we want to take a look at how Apple’s latest iOS 8 update is holding up on the company’s brand new 4.7-inch iPhone 6.

In mid-September, after a lengthy stint in testing, Apple released the iOS 8.0 update for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. As expected, the iOS 8 update delivered a number of big time changes including improvements to the Photos app, iMessage, battery usage, accessibility, and more. It also delivered iOS 8 problems to owners of the iPhone and iPad.

We detailed many of these problems in the hours and days after the iOS 8 release date in our initial impressions and roundups and these issues ultimately forced Apple to release a couple of bug fix updates in iOS 8.0.1 and iOS 8.0.2.

The first update was iOS 8.0.1, an upgrade that rolled out on last Wednesday and one that immediately caused problems for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users. Cellular connectivity died and Touch ID stopped working for thousands of users around the world. Apple claims that about 40,000 people were affected before it pulled the plug on the update about an hour after its arrival. We downloaded it on several devices and encountered a fairly smooth update.

A day later, Apple made good on its promise to fix those iOS 8.0.1 issues. Late last Thursday, Apple pushed out iOS 8.0.2, an update similar to iOS 8.0.1 but one that came with fixes for those iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus problems. And despite the arrival of Apple’s iOS 8.1 beta, iOS 8.0.2 remains the current iOS 8 update for iPhone and iPad users.

Now that iOS 8.0.2 has been out for about a week, we want to revisit Apple’s latest update and take a look at iOS 8.0.2 on iPhone 6. Our review will detail our experiences so iPhone 6 users can make an informed decision about whether to upgrade from iOS 8.0.

iOS 8.0.2 Performance

When it comes to the performance of iOS updates like iOS 8.0.2, I like to look at five different areas in particular. Those areas are: Applications and how they’re performing post update, battery life and whether there is abnormal drain, random bugs or hiccups, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth performance, and overall speed.

After spending a week with the iOS 8.0.2 update on iPhone 6, here’s what I’ve discovered. Keep in mind, mileage is going to vary depending on usage so my experience might look different than yours.

Apps

After a week with iOS 8.0.2, I’m happy to report that most applications are working normally. Key word, most.

I’ve been using a ton of applications over the past week. To name a few, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Chrome, Netflix, Spotify, Soundcloud, Google Maps, Google Hangouts, Pandora, The Weather Channel App, and YouTube. These are all integral pieces of my overall iPhone experience and issues with these particular apps drive me nuts.

Facebook continues to be an occasional pain point. Facebook’s done a great job with its constant flow of bug fixes but I am still seeing the occasional hang up and crash. Google Chrome also continues to crash inside iOS 8.0.2. I’m also getting this weird issue where the text on a webpage will just abruptly stop, leaving me with a massive white space. This doesn’t happen on the iPhone 5 or iPhone 6 so I’m not sure what the deal is.

This issue is driving me nuts.

This issue is driving me nuts.

Now, these problems probably don’t have anything to do with iOS 8.0.2 itself. They have to do with third-party app development. So, I’m hopeful that the constant flow of iOS 8 compatibility and bug fix updates fix these issues.

For the most part though, my app experience inside iOS 8.0.2 has been extremely solid. Most apps work properly though I look forward to the day when every single app is optimized for the iPhone 6 and iOS 8.

iOS 8.0.2 Battery Life

I’ve been getting a ton of complaints about iOS 8.0.2 battery life on the iPhone 5. Same goes for the iPhone 6. While iPhone 6 users haven’t been as vocal as iPhone 5 users, I’ve heard several complaints abnormal battery drain (well, what they perceive as abnormal battery drain) inside iOS 8.0.2.

128GB iPhone 6

My battery life is about the same as it was in iOS 8.0.1 and iOS 8.0. That is to say that it’s been absolutely fantastic until I hit about 10%. Once I get down to 10%, my battery rapidly drops, even if  I switch off LTE or if the phone is off. It’s odd and it doesn’t happen on my iPhone 5 or iPads on iOS 8.0.2. It’s not my imagination either, I’ve seen it happen several times. Mostly though, iOS 8.0.2 battery life has been solid.

My experience doesn’t mean that other iPhone 6 users aren’t having issues though. If you are experiencing abnormal battery life after installing iOS 8.0.2, you’ll want to check out our iOS 8 battery life tips. These tips could help to alleviate iOS 8 battery life issues on your iPhone 6 going forward though, as is the case with any unofficial fixes, they might not solve them.

Connectivity

iOS 8.0.1 wrecked cellular connectivity for many iPhone 6 users. iOS 8.0.2 fixes those issues. My cellular connectivity over AT&T’s 4G LTE network has been both fast and stable. Both my Wi-Fi connection and my Bluetooth connections are stable as well.

I’m hearing that Bluetooth isn’t working in some cars though I haven’t had this problem in a Toyota Prius. I’ve also been able to connect to a Bose Bluetooth speaker with ease. If you’re experiencing issues, try resetting your network settings. Just make sure to back up you files before you do.

Wi-Fi issues have plagued iOS for years and I have no doubt that iOS 8 is causing some serious problems for some iPhone 6 users. If you are experiencing issues with Wi-Fi you will want to check out our potential fixes for those iOS 8 Wi-Fi issues. They aren’t a cure all but they have worked out well for iPhone owners in the past.

iOS 8.0.2 Bugs & Issues

When I first started using iOS 8.0.2 on iPhone 6, I didn’t run into any major issues. I still haven’t run into any game breaking issues but I have stumbled upon some minor annoyances.

I occasionally get stuck in landscape mode on the iPhone 6. It’s happening on my iPhone 5 as well and I’ve heard that it’s a common problem amongst iOS 8 users. It’s an annoying bug though it’s one that comes with a simple fix: Just press the home button to get out of multitasking mode. I doubt that Apple releases a specific fix for this but I’m optimistic.

I’ve also seeing some oddities inside iMessage. For whatever reason, some messages don’t register as read when I first open them up. So when I look in the top left, it looks like I have tons of new messages when I actually don’t. To get them to register, I must reenter the conversation and they go away. It’s annoying but I’ll live.

So far, I haven’t seen any random reboots or random freezes or any of the other major issues that I’ve seen iPhone 6 users complain about in the days after the iOS 8.0 update. That doesn’t mean that I won’t see them emerge weeks from now.

Speed

iOS 8.0.2 is fast, fluid, and exactly the experience I want from new software and new hardware. I haven’t seen any abnormal slow down at all and the operating system is extremely crisp.

Should You Install iOS 8.0.2?

Overall, I’ve had a very solid iOS 8.0.2 experience. Battery life is good, connections are stable, apps are mostly working, and the iPhone 6 is still very fast. I’ve run into a few bugs but I think the fixes on board iOS 8.0.2 far outweigh the bugs. My issues are small and I expect upcoming iOS updates to fix at least a few of them.

iPhone-6-pair

Right now, I recommend iOS 8.0.2 to those that are dealing with issues inside iOS 8.0 or iOS 8.0.1. If you are having an insanely good experience with iOS 8.0 it might be worth waiting a few weeks. Most of you should install it though.

What’s Next for the iPhone 6

iOS 8.0.3 or iOS 8.1. Apple is scheduled to roll out a new update sometime this month and with Apple Pay support said to be on board iOS 8.1 beta, it could be iOS 8.1 that lands next. The iOS 8.1 release date is rumored for October 20th and it looks like we may see a very short beta period.

This is fantastic news for iPhone 6 users because we’ve discovered a laundry list of fixes on board iOS 8.1 beta. In other words, it should be a much bigger bug fixer than iOS 8.0.2.

9 Comments

9 Comments

  1. Craig

    10/03/2014 at 12:29 am

    iOS 8 is the worst OS ever made!!! Worse than Windows ME. The bugs that I have encountered just in the past few weeks since I bought my iPhone 6 plus are crazy! Ios 8 issues:
    Orientation bugs

    Weather not working in Siri

    Siri won’t stop listening to send

    Random iphone restarts

    Mail app new swipe gesture deletes way too easy.

    Apps crashing constantly

    Random notification vibrations but no notifications

    That’s just some of them! It sucks to have an iPhone right now! This is coming from an Apple fanboy. 😞

  2. Peter

    10/03/2014 at 4:16 am

    5s, iPad air with iOS 8.0.2, internet on wifi hanging or freezing very slow(safari) apps very sluggish sometimes crashing and refreshing to home page, downloaded movies lost their artwork cover after iOS 8 update, movies that are downloaded would only play in landscape mode no more portrait mode😞 not to talk of battery level draining down fast. Hope Apple would look into these issues soonest

  3. maya

    10/03/2014 at 5:00 am

    i hate iOS 8..
    my iphone is crashing all the time :(
    i want to go back to iOS 7..

  4. Craig

    10/03/2014 at 6:16 am

    Yea ios 7 was flawless!!!

  5. DAVIDSDIEGO

    10/04/2014 at 12:17 am

    Great article! I have an iPhone 6 with iOS 8.0 and it hasn’t been too bad.

    I no longer have my iOS Maps bookmarks/favorites anymore and my keyboard shortcuts as well.

    My end of page JavaScript in Safari broke, although I found another code and it works now.

    My speak selection doesn’t select words when reading and some photo album access from apps are broken. I did find some workarounds though.

    I think I’ll wait for the next iOS 8 update to be released.

    • Anson

      10/04/2014 at 1:36 am

      my wifi has a mind of it’s own after both the 8.0.1 and 8.0.2 updates. when I try to connect to my wifi I get prompted for the password after entering the password it tells me incorrect password or login failed yet the phone recognizes how many spaces long the password is before I click join. yet wont connect. the an hour later (est,) it will cnnect itself to my wifi, then in the middle of doing whatever will drop the wifi back to lte and waste massive data if I’m on say youtube for enstance.Ive been through tier 1 and tier 2 of VZW tech supportwho are sending me out a new phone (4.7″) but on backorder till Oct21st. till then I’m screwed..My wife has the same iPhone 6 as I, yet hasn’t had not 1 issue with hers…errrrr.

  6. [email protected]

    10/04/2014 at 10:16 pm

    Running 8.02 on my iPad retina. When using Google thru safari web browsing app I’m finding that the link buttons are sometimes unresponsive. Never had that problem before updating…..

  7. Peter

    10/06/2014 at 4:42 pm

    I’m getting constant missed calls since going to 8.0 then 8.0.2 which I never had on 7 😡

  8. Nastia

    10/09/2014 at 5:11 pm

    As I updated to 8.0.2 the following apps crash on startup:

    Apple Maps
    Runkeeper
    Zillow
    Redfin
    Endomondo
    Map My Fitness

    These are all apps that have mapping capabilities. It’s very frustrating. I’m ready to go back to 8.0. Oddly, Google Maps and Waze work fine.

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