The Page of Thoughts

Updates are a great way for a manufacturer to add functionality, fix bugs, and generally make something better. Yet most people I’ve observed do not update their iPhones or iPod touches, and here’s why.

Most people do not sync their iPhone/iPod touch with their computer all that often. And why should they? There is no precedent: no other manufacturer ties their standalone hardware product to a piece of software running on a computer. You don’t usually hear people plugging a BlackBerry into a computer. You never hear people connecting their Nokia or Samsung dumb-phones. So people have come to expect that phones shouldn’t have to be synced from time to time. And that would be OK, except for the fact that Apple doesn’t provide iOS updates over the air.

Instead, they come through iTunes. And you can imagine what a hassle that is for most people. “Damn it, where did that cable go!” “OMG iTunes is so SLOW.” That is, if they even know about the update. Apple doesn’t send out a push notification reminding users to update. While to us people-who-are-addicted-to-Google-Reader-and-Twitter do not think this is much of a problem, normal people have to incentive to update if they don’t hear about it. Currently, they have to way of knowing until somebody tells them.

In addition, Apple apparently does not believe in patches or small file sizes, because each iOS update weighs in at a hefty 200+ MB. Users on slower Internet connections must wait a long time for the update to download. Thus, people are less likely to update. “Why do I need iOS 4.0.1? I already have 4.0. Oh it makes bars bigger? It reduces bars? I don’t need that.” “Why do I need iOS 4.0.2? It fixes a bug? A PDF bug? What’s a PDF?” Clearly, something needs to be done about this.

How do you go about fixing this problem? For major iOS updates (i.e. 4.x to 5.0), Apple should send out a push notification to all users, informing them about the update and telling them how to get it. For minor updates (i.e. 4.0.x to 4.0.y), Apple could provide an over-the-air patch that will automatically be installed when the user is not using the device. This new method for updates would dramatically speed up update adoption.

I was inspired to write this when I saw an iPod touch 3rd generation running iOS 3.x. A few weeks ago I also met a person who had an iPhone 3GS running iOS 3.x but was not compelled to upgrade to 4.0. And I’ve also seen people with iOS 4.0, even though 4.0.1/4.0.2 were available and fixed issues.