A daily digest of IT news, curated from blogs, forums and news sites around the web each morning. We highlight the key commentary and demystify the real story.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has finally confessed that there are some battery-life bugs in the iPhone 4S and/or iOS 5. There's good news and bad news for iPhone 4S battery life sufferers: Apple says that there are a "a few" charge-sucking problems, but it's going to take "a few weeks" to fix. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers wonder why it took Apple three weeks to admit it.
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention: Parents go to child's school to discuss a fight; end up getting into a fight...
Jason Snell's tireless minions report:
The latest version of its mobile OS...seems to make your battery lose its juice faster than before. [Apple]...plans to release a software update to address the problem. ... "A small number of customers have reported lower than expected battery life. ... We have found a few bugs...we will release a software update...in a few weeks."
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[U]sers have been complaining that...they're needing to charge...far more frequently than they did when they were using iOS 4.
Ina Fried adds:
Apple declined to comment beyond the statement. Complaints about battery life issues...began shortly after both iOS 5 and the iPhone 4S were made publicly available last month. ... [They] appear to vary based on what network a user is on, usage patterns and other factors.
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Apple is not offering any advice on what customers should do until the software update is released.
Dave Neal expects every fanboi to do his duty:
It's taken some time for the company to acknowledge the problems, which as with antennagate were discovered by users. ... So, Iphone 4S users...can expect their device to meet their expectations in the next few weeks, as Apple expects to issue a software fix.
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[Apple said] that the fix is likely to be released in the next few weeks, so perhaps users should keep their chargers close by until around Christmas.
Reading between the lines, it seems Peter Scott doesn't quite believe Apple:
Apple claims only a small number of customers have reported it.
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[C]onsumers will have to struggle with the issue for quite some time. In the meantime users are coming up with their own solutions...[but] such minor tweaks are no real fix and it appears consumers will just have to wait for Apple to get it sorted.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes isn't sure what to think:
[S]ome iPhone 4S owners...arent seeing any problems, and others...are seeing their battery literally drain away in front of their eyes. Other people are seeing the same issue on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS with iOS 5, while others arent.
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Something is going on...but its hard to put a finger on what the issue actually is.
Meanwhile, Ian Paul previews the beta fix:
Apple has released a new beta version of iOS 5 to developers. ... Beyond battery issues [it] add[s] more multi-finger gestures to the original iPad, [and] patch[es] a security flaw for iPad 2 as well as a variety of other bug fixes.
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The gestures include a four- or five-finger pinch to return to the home screen. ... A four- or five-finger swipe up...lets you see the multitasking tray, and multi-finger swipe to the side lets you switch between running apps.
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Apple has also included a fixed for an iPad 2 security flaw...[that] allowed someone...to use your iPad 2's smart cover to bypass your passcode.
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IOS 5.0.1 also fixes a variety of other issues such as...Siri voice recognition improvements for users with Australian accents.
