iOS 8.0.1 on iPhone 5: Impressions & Performance

A week after releasing iOS 8 for iPhone and iPad, Apple’s released a brand new update dubbed iOS 8.0.1. The update is a small bug fix update aimed at fixing iOS 8 problems and here, we take a look at how the iOS 8.0.1 update for iPhone 5 is looking thus far.

Last week, after a lengthy beta process, Apple released the iOS 8 update for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. As expected, the update delivered a number of big time changes including improvements to the Photos app, iMessage, battery usage, accessibility, and more. The iOS 8 isn’t the massive overhaul that was iOS 7 but it’s an intriguing update nonetheless.

Over the past week, we’ve spent quality time with the iOS 8 update for iPhone 5, Apple’s aging former flagship that recently turned two years old. Our first impressions of iOS 8 were good though we did encounter some frustrating iOS 8 problems that hampered our initial experience with Apple’s brand new iOS update.

With iOS 8 problems mounting for iPhone and iPad users, Apple today released an iOS 8.0.1 update aimed at fixing at least some of these iOS 8 issues. The update, which rolled out about an hour and a half ago, is a small update that contains a number of fixes including fixes for iOS 8 keyboards, a fix for the Photo Library, a fix for unexpected cellular data usage when receiving SMS or MMS messages, and a ringtone fix amongst others. It’s not a massive update but it’s an iOS update nonetheless.

We’ve spent the last hour and a half poking and prodding the iOS 8.0.1 update for iPhone 5 for issues and here, we want to share our first impressions of an update that appears to have issues of its own. Here are our first impressions of iOS 8.0.1 for the iPhone 5.

(Note: It looks like Apple pulled the update, at least for now. So, those that weren’t in the process of installing may not be able to get it. Consider this review a primer for a new iOS 8.0.1 update or iOS 8.0.2.)

Installing iOS 8.0.1

While the iOS 8 installation caused me some problems, the iOS 8.0.1 installation process did not. I was able to flawlessly install the update on my iPad Air and iPhone 5 though the iPhone 5’s 64MB update took a whole lot longer than the iPad Air iOS 8.0.1 update.

The iPhone 5 iOS 8.0.1 update took about 25 minutes or so to download and install. That’s actually a little bit longer than your standard incremental iOS update. The process itself was flawless and I was able to install the update, through iTunes, in an efficient manner. Yes, I had to install through iTunes because I didn’t have enough space to install OTA.

If you run into the same issue, don’t delete your files as Apple suggests. Install through iTunes to avoid the storage problems. That goes for iOS 8.0.1 or any iOS update.

iOS 8 Performance

When it comes to the performance of iOS updates like iOS 8.0.1, 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 some quality time with the iOS 8.0.1 update for iPhone 5, here’s what I’ve found.

Apps

As I noted in my first impressions last week, I’ve been having a ton of app problems on the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4s. I’ve seen numerous crashes and general instability with Google Chrome. Spotify and Soundcloud, two apps that I use a lot, have randomly crashed without warning after the iOS 8 update. Facebook and Twitter have both crashed as well though the frequency of those crashes leveled out after the first couple of days.

In iOS 8.0.1, I haven’t seen any crashes, at least not yet. Chrome is working beautifully and so are my other key applications including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Netflix, Spotify, Soundcloud, Google Maps, Google Hangouts, Pandora, The Weather Channel App, and YouTube. I haven’t experienced any crashes or any general instability in the hours after iOS 8.0.1 and that bodes well for the future.

If you are dealing with iOS 8 crashes, try updating your applications. Developers are slowly releasing iOS 8 compatibility updates that should help to shore up issues.

iOS 8 Battery Life

iOS 8 battery life has been fantastic across all of my devices thus far and prior to the iOS 8.0.1 update, I’ve been able to get a full day of use out of my iPhone 5 when using a combination of WiFi and LTE.

While I can’t speak to the overall battery life inside iOS 8.0.1, I can tell you that I’m not experiencing any abnormal battery drain or any slow charging problems. This could change in the hours and days after the release but given how stable iOS 7 and iOS 8 have been, I’m confident that it will remain solid as we move away from the iOS 8.0.1 release date.

If you are experiencing abnormal battery life after installing iOS 8.0.1, 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 5 going forward though as is the case with any unofficial fixes, mileage will vary.

Connectivity

I own an AT&T iPhone 5 so I can’t speak for other carriers. What I can say though is that AT&T LTE is working normally after the iOS 8.0.1 update. The update apparently killed connectivity for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus but my iPhone 5 is working fine.

Same goes for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Both connections are extremely stable and I’m able to pull down fast Wi-Fi speeds and obtain a healthy Bluetooth connection with my speakers.

Bugs & Issues

Over the course of the last week, I’ve run into a series of issues with iOS 8. iOS 8 problems are prevalent amongst iPhone owners and I haven’t been immune to them.

I’ve noticed a few smaller issues including keyboard lag and crashes when using the Mail application. These issues are infrequent but they’ve been extremely annoying. FaceTime Audio continues to be a pain point as well though I am certain that it probably has to do with connection strength on Wi-Fi and LTE and not with iOS 8.

So far, the keyboard seems to be a lot better inside iOS 8.0.1 and the Mail application has yet to crash. I’ve used both extensively over the past few hours though the problems could emerge again in the future.

Again, bugs will make themselves known in the hours and days after release but thus far, I’ve yet to stumble upon any hero level bugs that need immediate attention.

Speed

In iOS 8, I’ve experienced random lock ups and freezes that have made my iPhone 5 unusable at times. I haven’t noticed these problems in iOS 8.0.1, at least not yet. The update is fluid and fast right out of the gate and I’m hopeful that it remains like this moving forward. Only time will tell.

Should You Install iOS 8?

iOS 8.0.1 comes with a number of bug fixes and I’ve yet to see any performance issues emerge in my time with it on the iPhone 5. If iOS 8.0.1 is available for your iPhone 5 (and it probably won’t be now that it has been pulled) and you’re experiencing problems in iOS 8.0, my advice is to give it a go. It may fix some of your iOS 8 problems.

If iOS 8.0 is running flawlessly on your iPhone 5, you might want to consider waiting. Apple never forces you to install and update and if you’re nervous, you could always wait a few days or a few weeks to see how the update is performing then.

Look for Apple to release a new iOS update in the coming hours or days to fix cellular and Touch ID problems plaguing non-iPhone 5 users. My guess is that the experience on the new update will be similar to the experience on this version of iOS 8.0.1.