Is Apple's iOS 10.2 update really worth it?

Apple launched the iOS 10.2 update a couple of days back. The new software update came with several bug fixes, enhancements and exciting new features. However despite Apple’s consistent effort to fix what was reportedly flawed with the iOS 10 software, there still appears to be quite a few problems with the same.

 One of the primary fixes that Apple was to address with the iOS 10.2 software update was the issue of unexpected device shutdown. China’s Consumer Association even sent a warning to Apple as the latter due to this issue failed to “meet basic consumer needs for normal wireless communication.”

Forbes published a report which suggests that many users on Apple’s official Support Communities are still complaining about this problem. “iOS 10.2 actually made the problem worse. The battery percentage seems to get stuck at some level for a while, even with battery draining apps such as Pokemon Go running, then it drops different percentages at different monuments, it’s really random,” says Apple Support Communities poster ricardo jb in response this growing theme on thread.

This issue gave rise to Apple’s decision to add a new tracking telemetry with the latest software release. This wasn’t mentioned in the release notes and the company only officially confirmed it to Forbes. While this may not necessarily come across as a flaw but as Forbes reported, many users would have expected the new tool to be its own separate update. “Some users do not want new forms of tracking software on their phone - whether through personal preference or professional need. Especially when no specifics have been officially disclosed as to how it works, exactly it tracks, where the information it gathers is sent, if it is anonymised or how long the data will be kept,” the report said.

Another issue that was raised by many users on Apple’s official Support Communities was the problem of Earpods’ microphone malfunctioning. Apple Support only suggested that users could keep restarting their devices for now. However, this appears to be a temporary solution.