iOS 8.1.1 Updates

Last week, Apple released iOS 8.1.1, a much-anticipated update to iOS 8.1, which was reported to include several bug fixes and increased performance for older iOS devices. After spending a week putting iOS 8.1.1 to the test, we found that while there are still a few issues that need addressing, iOS 8.1.1 is a solid update.

The iOS 8.1 update included several bug and security fixes, performance enhancements, and new features (such as Apple Pay support for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus). However, with the release of iOS 8.1 came new bugs (and the persistence of old ones) that absolutely needed to be addressed. There were thousands of reports of apps crashing, Wi-Fi issues, iMessage problems, and Bluetooth bugs. One bug that wasn’t addressed in iOS 8.1 that many of us iOS users faced was the infamous “landscape bug,” in which the iPhone 6 would get stuck in landscape mode, only fixed by closing and re-opening the offending app (usually iMessage).
While some users are still reporting issues with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, we found that during our trial run iOS 8.1.1 addressed every issue we had concerns about. Apps opened quickly and ran with great speed and stability (we had zero crashes over the course of the last week, and zero problems with iMessage). Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity was solid across the board throughout several test runs. Perhaps most importantly, the landscape bug seems to have been eliminated. On older devices, such as the iPad 2, the update seems to have sped things up a bit – although it seems as if there is still room for improvement in this area.

The iOS 8.1.1 update is still new, and new problems are sure to arise. However, after putting it through the ringer for the past week, we’re confident in recommending anyone with an iOS device to go ahead and install this update for an improved iOS experience.