Mobile Talk: Apple’s iOS 6 ruined my iPad 3

Apple got a lot of flack for dumping Google Maps in favour of its own bespoke Maps application inside iOS 6. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg – iOS 6 is full of bugs and should be approached with extreme caution. 

Prior to installing iOS 6 on my 'new' iPad 3 it ran like a well-oiled German vehicle. It was a solid all round reliable performer that could always be counted on. Nowadays it struggles with the most basic of tasks and can barely manage to stay alive longer than eight hours. 

With iOS 5, my iPad 3 would last for days without a charge, certainly more than 24 hours. Granted I didn’t use it for all that much – a bit of Apple TV streaming now and then, some light browsing, and maybe a bit of Bike Baron – but it still went the distance. 

This was also the case with the original iPad where battery life was, generally speaking, excellent, even more so when you consider the size of its display. With iOS 6 installed, however, this is no longer the case.  

It wasn’t immediately obvious that something was wrong. It took a while for whatever damage iOS 6 wrought inside my iPad to take affect. 

The first thing to go noticeably south was the battery. Case in point: my iPad was fully charged at 10am this morning. It’s now on 48 per cent (five hours later), and I’ve barely touched it. 

Next came Wi-Fi, a crippling blow to someone that doesn’t have a 3G-enabled device. 

Previously I’d never had any trouble with iOS-powered devices and connecting them to a wireless network. Apple products, I've always been fond of saying, just work – that’s what makes them so good. 

Nowadays my iPad won’t connect to either my home or work network. And even when it does, which has been a rarity during the past month, the connection is so weak that you can’t even browse the App Store, let alone stream media to my Apple TV. 

What's causing these issues inside iOS 6 remains to be seen. Apple, despite making plenty of official statements about iOS 6, has yet to address its carcinogenic affect on battery life and Wi-Fi connectivity. 

Reports suggest all these ‘issues’ will be solved by iOS 6.0.2, however. But this also isn't the first time something like this has happened. 

Apple faced a similar issue when it first released the iPhone 4S with users’ en masse reporting similar issues – terrible battery life, poor reception, inability to connect to Wi-Fi and mobile data networks – that were eventually acknowledged by Apple and then fixed. 

Which is great as I’m looking forward to all this being sorted so I can use my iPad like I used to. But one thing I can’t get past is why all this has been allowed to happen again? 

Has Apple streamlined its quality control department or something? 

One dodgy software update is okay, so long as you solve it. But two in as many years is not on, particularly when it’s as bad as things are with iOS 6. Then there’s the fact that Apple has, once again, flat-out refused to alter the platform’s overall UI and appearance. 

iOS 6 looks like iOS 5, and how iOS 4 did before that. 

If Apple had changed a few things around, adding a few new UI features here and there, I’d probably just pass all this off as teething issues, but it hasn’t –– iOS 6 looks identical to iOS 5. 

There are new features, granted. But nothing that could be construed as ‘innovative’ – it’s just the same old iOS you got on the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S.  

Compare iOS to what Google has done to its Android platform in the space of the last year and the gulf in innovation is even more apparent. Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean were updates in the truest sense of the word, adding tons of new features, a better UI, Google Now, software optimisations and improved stability. 

What you get with iOS 6.0.1 is a less stable version of the software you were running a year ago. And if that wasn’t bad enough Apple has also removed Google Maps and replaced it with something it ironically calls Maps. 

So yeah, if you want my advice, do not – whatever you do – update your iPad to iOS 6 until Apple has officially sorted these issues out. And, please, don’t just take my word for it. Check out this Apple forum to read a whole myriad of complaints – iOS 6’s issues are rife. 

Here's a selection of some of our favourites:

‘After updating my iPad 3 to iOS 6.0.1 I thought that bugs like Wi-Fi problem will be fixed, but I was so disappointed that its not yet fixed. After a minute of standby mode of the iPad, Wi-Fi is turning OFF.’

‘After the upgrade to 6.0.1 and the reboot, I got Wi-Fi working …  for a few hours. Another reboot, Wi-Fi worked again, for a few minutes. Now, it’s again greyed out.’

‘The 6.0 crippled the Wi-Fi on my iPod touch 4G. I couldn’t even access the app store. I know it was the update because everything was fine until right after. I tried ALL of Apple’s online recommendations but nothing worked. I got excited when I saw the 6.0.1 update but it had very little effect.’

Come on, Apple. Sort it out.