That said, iOS is the company’s crown jewel, and the latest version got a surprise 11.2 update over the weekend, fixing several bugs discovered in version 11.1.2 and adding new features and functionality such as Apple Pay Cash and faster wireless charging for the newer iPhone X and iPhone 8 devices. But, we always ask, should you upgrade? You might want to wait—read on to find out why.
What’s New in the iOS 11.2 Update and Should You Upgrade?
The iOS 11.2 update is a massive one, coming in at 325 MBs for devices such as the iPhone 5s and later, iPad Air and later, and iPod touch 6th generation. In addition, in version 11.2, Apple jumps into the online payment service industry, with the predictably named “Apple Pay Cash.” If you picked up an iPhone 8 or X recently, you will now be able to charge your device even faster using the 7.5w charging speed. This is a little bit faster than the standard 5w plug-in charger included in the box. If you own one of the new iPhones, this will probably be a welcome feature for you if you have been contemplating getting one of the Qi-based compatible pads or own one already. Apple Pay Cash competes with similar services such as Square or Venmo. The service utilizes the built-in Messages app so you can easily make peer-to-peer payments. Of course, the rollout is limited to select countries, so I personally shouldn’t count on it reaching Jamaica in my lifetime. Nevertheless, I think Apple developing their own payment service is good since this only helps to increase competition resulting in better quality services and more value for customers. There are, of course, the usual bug fixes, but strangely enough, we cannot go into the details at this time. Why? Well, Apple still has not published them on its security web page; instead, informing users details will be available soon. When they are ready, we will update this article with the details. Here are the full details of improvements and fixes in the new update. Some cosmetic changes and a better understanding of the functionality, such as the new Bluetooth and Wireless Control Center toggles. Last month we detailed the changes introduced in iOS 11, which we came to understand doesn’t actually turn them off when you think you have done so. Instead, they are passively disabled to support functionality such as Airdrop, which doesn’t support Personal Hotspot when enabled. In addition, the control Center now lets users know when Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are disabled temporarily. Apple Pay Cash (US Only) Send, request, and receive money from friends and family with Apple Pay in Messages or by asking Siri Other improvements and fixes – Adds support for faster wireless charging on iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X with compatible third-party accessories – Introduces three new Live wallpapers for iPhone X – Improves video camera stabilization – Adds support in Podcasts to automatically advance to the next episode from the same show – Adds support in HealthKit for downhill snow sports distance as a data type – Fixes an issue that could cause Mail to appear to be checking for new messages even when a download is complete – Fixes an issue that could cause cleared Mail notifications from Exchange accounts to reappear – Improves stability in Calendar – Resolves an issue where Settings could open to a blank screen – Fixes an issue that could prevent swiping to Today View or Camera from the Lock Screen – Addresses an issue that could prevent Music controls from displaying on the Lock Screen – Fixes an issue that could cause app icons to be arranged incorrectly on the Home Screen – Addresses an issue that could prevent users from deleting recent photos when iCloud storage is exceeded – Addresses an issue where Find My iPhone sometimes wouldn’t display a map – Fixes an issue in Messages where the keyboard could overlap the most recent message – Fixes an issue in Calculator where typing numbers rapidly could lead to incorrect results – Addressed an issue where the keyboard could respond slowly – Adds support for real-time text (RTT) phone calls for the deaf and hard of hearing – Improves VoiceOver stability in Messages, Settings, App Store, and Music – Resolves an issue that prevented VoiceOver from announcing incoming Notifications
A couple of other important bug fixes users will find in iOS 11.2 include a fix for the Calculator app, resulting in numbers and symbols being ignored when entered in rapidly. Part of the fix required Apple to disable animations in the calculator app to allow quicker calculations. In addition, the 11.1.2 release introduced a bug that triggered crashes after December 2. Apple says local notifications cause the problem, and the workaround, for now, is to disable Notifications then install the 11.2 updates. Users annoyed by the recent bugs discovered in iOS 11.2 should upgrade immediately for instant relief. But, with such massive changes, I wouldn’t be surprised if some new ones are ready to be found. But that’s the reality of software, especially a major release such as iOS 11. I have been monitoring social media over the weekend and several forums and haven’t come across any issues from users who have taken the plunge, but it doesn’t hurt to back up just in case. Have you updated? If so, let us know in the comments what you think of the new features and improvements. It’s either: (A) they slapped this update so quickly they didn’t have time to pull together the usual info or updates (B) the security flaws they are fixing are so egregious that they don’t want them public yet or maybe both! Makes me nervous. Comment
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