At long last, Apple on Monday came out with the latest and greatest version of its operating system: iOS 10.3. To get the low down on the update, we turned to Russ Ernst, vice president of product management for Blancco Technology Group.
Here’s what he told us:
Should iOS users hold off on updating due to potential issues, or should they always update as soon as it’s available? What are the repercussions of doing so?
“In my experience, it’s better to wait for at least two to three days after the update has been launched before installing it on your device. There are inevitably going to be some bugs at first, so it’s better to spend some time reading users forums and news articles following the update’s launch to see what problems are being reported. Weigh the pros and cons of installing the update and if the features are appealing enough, then install it.”
How will the 10.3 update improve the iOS user experience?
“For one, the new update gives a complete breakdown of their iCloud Storage so users can see a visual representation of what types of data are taking up their iCloud storage space and any apps that are using iCloud. This will surely help users manage their storage better and optimize their devices, essentially reminding them to erase documents, photos, videos, and other information on a regular basis. Given how much users rely on their smartphones to do everything these days – from taking photos, posting messages on social media accounts, send personal and work emails, shop online, and pay bills – this feature will be very welcomed by users.
The new iOS 10.3 update has also added new capabilities to Siri, whereby users can use Siri to pay bills, check on the status on payments, and even schedule future car rides from Uber and Lyft. When you think about how popular Uber and Lyft have become in recent years, I would imagine users will gladly take advantage of this feature. But it could also lead to some uncertainty or concerns about users’ privacy if Siri is linking to financial accounts or bill pay services.
One of the more unique features in the iOS 10.3 update is that Apple has switched to its own file systems (Apple File System, or APFS). For a few weeks, users were running the beta on their phones and their experience was reported as being positive. Specifically, they reported getting a good amount of storage back, as much as 5 GB. I expect users will rejoice at this new feature because it lets them add even more ‘stuff’ into their phones – be it ‘selfies,’ videos, games, apps, or something else.”
What implications will this update have for users?
“Any time a manufacturer pushes a major OS update there is an opportunity for users to lose their data, and that risk only rises with an update of the scale of what’s included in the iOS 10.3 update. A major file system change is akin to the difference between Windows and Mac, so there could be major compatibility problems in the update from older iOS versions to iOS 10.3 with their new Apple File System, moving off of a tried and true file system that Apple has been using for 29 years.
The impact to the user is really two-fold, and this is good for the industry in general since it raises awareness of the importance of these topics. First, an update of this magnitude should force users to consider what data they have on their devices that is truly important to them. Many of us tend to keep a lot of unnecessary data on our devices. If we can identify what’s most critical to us, then that will help us define a secure and useful data backup strategy. That could be a general iCloud sync or a more targeted approach to backup all documents with DropBox, photos with Google Photos, and music with Amazon Music.
Secondly, this increases the awareness of the impact of recent changes to physical storage media on the software and files that are stored there. SSD and other flash-based storage media are relatively new technologies, with SSD only recently introduced in 2007. The mass adoption of SSD is pushing large software providers to rethink how data is stored, even to the point of making Apple move on from their 29 year old file system. This should also raise awareness with consumers that the way we protect data also has to evolve. Everything from how data is encrypted to how data is erased.”