iPhone problems: from one to six. The battery is draining too quickly

No one financial results Apple shows no signs of problems in Cupertino. Apple's position today looks unshakable.

But isn't that what everyone thought of the company? Nokia in the late 2000s?

The same problems have existed in Apple products for several years now. They all wander from one device to another, and the company either refuses to fix them or completely ignores them.

They need to be resolved and discussed more often. There is nothing to hush up.

Build quality gets worse every year

Previously, such problems were encountered in most smartphones and phones. I still remember how when I bought my first iPhone I was surprised to notice that the device does not crunch or play when you hold it tightly or try to twist it.

Something similar happened in the 3G/3GS models, but Cupertino made the right conclusions and subsequent devices were very strong and monolithic.

IN last years the situation has changed. On the one hand, this is due to the thickness of manufactured devices being reduced to the limit, and on the other hand, the quality of Apple products has dropped significantly. Nowadays it is very difficult to find a device without backlashes and creaks.

Almost all iPhone 6s/7/8 Plus models have a slight play when trying to twist them at opposite corners. Many devices crunch when squeezed to the right Home keys, this is not the only sin iPhone Plus, but also regular models starting with iPhone 6.

The crunching sound does not always appear; most likely, the problem depends on the temperature of the device, humidity and others external factors. It won't work to send your iPhone in for service with such nonsense, because the defect appears irregularly.

I noticed a similar crunch on the iPad. Air models ( iPad Air, iPad 2017, iPad 2018) are not affected by this, but the thinner iPad Air 2 and iPad Pro often squeak.

When compressed, the AirPods case creaks, and top cover It begins to play by fractions of a millimeter after just a week of use.

cover my MacBook Pro The 2015 also squeaks regularly and has an idle speed when closed.

All this cannot be called a serious problem, but when most Apple gadgets behave this way, and the same Galaxy S8, which I had for six months, the smartphones of friends, and ultrabooks from other manufacturers do not suffer from this, there is reason to think.

There are more marriages

We are already tired of describing all the adventures and problems that we encounter in the editorial office after the acquisition Apple technology. We do not take refurbished devices or suspicious gadgets from our hands, but new ones original smartphones, tablets, computers and accessories.

Every now and then a marriage comes across:

• new iPad for assembly workers;
• on Apple Watch;
• on the new iPhone X;
• list problems with MacBook different modifications and years of manufacture is simply pointless, we talk about new adventures of our laptops almost every week.

With so many defects, it has long been logical to refuse to buy new models. It is advisable to skip one generation, or even 2-3, until the developers remove all design flaws and shortcomings.

Previously, you could simply skip the iPhone 4 or 5 in order to buy a modified and faster 4s or 5s. Now you need to skip the iPhone 6 and 6s to settle on the sane “seven”; it’s better to refrain from iPhone purchases X and the next XS or XI, so that in a year and a half you can buy a problem-free smartphone.

There are hundreds of problems with iOS, and they are not solved

iOS is not criticized only by the lazy. Every year the system has fewer innovations and more and more bugs.

It would seem that developers should concentrate on improving performance and eliminating minor bugs, but instead, each update not only fails to fix existing problems, but also brings new ones.

Instead, they are literally cutting out of the system useful tips, for example, a landscape keyboard with additional symbols or a 3D-Touch gesture to launch multitasking (the latter has at least been returned). The promised innovations are not implemented for a long time, stretching the process for a whole year.

Where has it been seen that the chips shown in June at WWDC appeared in the system only in the spring of next year?

It seems that the code is deliberately “loaded”, making it more cumbersome and complex in order to force owners of older models to update. The battery scam has already been exposed; I would be surprised if another software “brake” of old devices pops up in the near future.

In addition, problems regularly arise that take quite a long time to resolve or are not resolved at all. Either a strange symbol causes applications to crash, or the video standard browser is interrupted and loops, then the interface . Even a banal generator random numbers.

Add to this constant problems with third-party Bluetooth headsets and car radios, stupid limit for downloading an application over 3G/LTE, non-minimizing window incoming call, Wi-Fi buttons and Bluetooth in bottom curtain, which do not disable the corresponding modules.

In macOS the situation is better, but not by much. The system generally looks stable and works quite well. old Macs, but instead of a major annual update, we see a modest update with a couple of minor innovations.

New functions are abandoned and not developed

Many useful features that are shown at presentations with a bunch of “amazing” stop developing in the same year. Still not working properly AirDrop, iCloud never became a full-fledged cloud, the landscape mode in the iPhone Plus was not drawn even for everyone standard applications. 3D-Touch never received logical development.

Siri From a wow feature that you can use to surprise your friends for the first week, it never turned into an adequate assistant. Presented voice assistant back in 2011 with the iPhone 4S, after which other manufacturers showed much more useful assistants.

On CarPlay With a scant set of applications and the inability to install a third-party navigator, you can’t look at it without tears. Something similar is happening with augmented reality and VR capabilities.

Third-party keyboards, extensions for Safari, add-ons for iMessage - all of this has died out. The process stopped due to no fault third party developers, suitable applications that expand iOS capabilities a lot, it's all about poor optimization.

Apple simply did not make sure that the built-in keyboards started up without a noticeable delay, so that the native buttons did not periodically fall out, so that all this did not eat up a lot of system resources.

Many Apple features are not available outside the US

Many Apple services is in no hurry to provide in most countries. If, for example, Apple Pay requires a number of agreements, approvals and certain procedures, but launching a news application or mapping service should be much simpler.

It's still a mystery why domestic users all kinds of hints are not available, more thoughtful Siri, Russian voice assistant on Apple TV and Home Pod.

We buy iPhones almost all over the world, but at the same time we do not receive a number of software features and services that have been working in other countries for many years.

With the release of each new iPhone model comes a wave of new problems with the iOS system.

In 2010 the most known issue iPhone 4 is called Antennagate - technical problem, due to which the iPhone 4 smartphone received a significant decrease in radio signal reception if it was held in a certain way. When the iOS 6 operating system was introduced last year, users were terribly upset by the new Maps application (either an ocean or a trailer park appeared in the middle of the desert).

A month ago, the iPhone 5S smartphone based on iOS systems 7, and with it a whole series of difficulties that will have to be dealt with. Users face the following 6 main problems. If we missed anything, please let us know in the comments.

iPhone 5S sensors are not calibrated correctly

If you plan to use your new smartphone as a level, compass, or using its gyroscope or accelerometer, you may notice that they are a little... lying. This is because on some devices these sensors do not work correctly.

It is not yet clear whether this is a software glitch or a hardware issue. In addition, the specific problems seem to be different for everyone. If they are connected to the equipment, Apple you will have to work hard to create a software patch. Some owners of such phones are already handing them over to Apple Store in exchange for new ones. So far it seems the only way solving the problem. But even in new devices, the gyroscope, accelerometer and compass do not always work properly.

The battery is draining too quickly

I can’t remember now last update iOS OS, which was not accompanied by at least a couple of complaints about excessive energy consumption. And version 7 was no exception. Let the iPhone 5S smartphone cope relatively well, but at least, according to some, its battery still runs out quite quickly. It doesn't seem like the problem is universal, some even report improvements.

If you feel like your iPhone is draining faster than usual, try the following:

* Disable app updates in background. To do this, go to Settings > General > Content Update. You can disable it completely, or individual applications. You can also turn off data updates: Settings > iTunes and App Store, then scroll to the section “ Automatic downloads» and turn off the necessary items.

* Disable Parallax effect, this process will be described below.

* Prevent location detection in apps you don't need this function: Settings > Privacy > Location Services.

* Disable automatic setup brightness, to do this, go to Settings > Wallpaper and brightness, there disable automatic brightness adjustment.

Trouble with iMessage

iMessage rarely works well even on its best days. But after the release of iOS 7, an increasing number of users are unable to send messages through this program. If you encounter such a problem, the first thing to try is to restart your device. And hope it works. If not, disable iMessage and send all SMS as usual text messages. To do this, go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset network settings.

Seasickness

iOS 7 uses very good 3D effects and animation. Unfortunately for some, all the zooming in and out of the image makes them feel nauseous. While you can't turn off the animation unless you close your eyes every time you open the app, you can turn off the Parallax effect. Just go to Settings > General > Universal access and click Reduce Motion.

As additional bonus, it will also help you reduce your power consumption.

Users are faced with another problem - some applications constantly ask for authorization. The most common complaints are about the email agent and the photo sharing program Snapchat. The problem has not yet been officially solved, but the developers mail application told The Verge reporters that, in their opinion, the problem is in background update data. They prepared new version and this seemed to solve the problem.

Slow keyboard input

People also complain about keyboard input lag in iPhone smartphones And iPad tablets after updating to OS version 7. If you also encounter this, try resetting your phone: go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset all settings.

AND . Unfortunately, the iPhone 5 is no exception.

In the time that has passed since the new smartphone, relatively many shortcomings have appeared, which I have collected in one large article.

Scratches and dents

To reduce the weight of the device, Apple abandoned the steel frame in the design of the iPhone 5 in favor of anodized aluminum. Also, this metal was used for the back cover, since the glass on the iPhone 4/4S is quite light.

However, the problem remained - buyers of the new smartphone from the very first days noticed that anodized aluminum scratches no worse than glass. A bunch of keys or, say, a couple of coins left inadvertently in a pocket can leave deep grooves on a phone and scars in the soul of its owner.

Almost all flat surfaces on the phone and edges are susceptible to this “disease”:

Perhaps the best demonstration of the problem can be found in this short video from iFixit:

Together with dents, which could also remain on the edge of the gadget if handled not very carefully (after all, aluminum is a very soft metal), this is the main problem iPhone 5 today.

Why did I highlight the word “problem”? Because there are a few things that should not be overlooked. First, this is a letter from Phil Schiller in response to numerous questions from users for whom physics and chemistry were the most terrible subjects in school or college. The senior vice president of global marketing said something like this:

Any aluminum product can scratch with use, revealing its natural color. This is fine.

Secondly, most generations of iPhone and iPod are susceptible to scratches; if handled carelessly, unibody cases behave similarly Mac computers, There is nothing surprising.

Although it is also possible to understand the dissatisfaction of users. Especially those who took the iPhone 5 out of the box already scratched. Yes, yes, there was such a party. But you still need to treat things with care, and not throw them against the wall or purposefully scratch them with a coin.

By the way, I almost forgot to mention: in the crash test new iPhone its main competitor - plastic Samsung Galaxy S3. Even after so many falls from different heights, its screen remained intact, unharmed and fully functional, while the S3's screen was cracked in several places, and the back cover of the phone flew off in an unknown direction.

Wi-Fi problems

After the release of almost every generation of iPhone or the release of updated firmware, users complain about poor performance Wi-Fi module- unstable connection with wireless networks And low speed data transmission. IN in this case The problem occurred when connecting to networks at 2.4 and 5 GHz frequencies with WPA2 encryption (when using WEP or open network everything returned to its place). One of the users in an impressive topic on the forum Apple Support Communities wrote that AppleCare is aware of this, but a solution has not yet been found.

A little later it turned out that the reason slow work wireless module may lie in software, since we encountered similar problems iPhone owners 4S/iPad 3, which have iOS 6 installed on their gadgets. this moment in another topic on the forum Apple support almost 2000 answers, and no solution found either. Among the “folk recipes” are complete reinstallation mobile OS, reset network settings, downgrade to iOS 5.1. And some simply turned to the Geniuses at the nearest one and changed defective gadgets for new ones.

Slight yellowness of the screen

Another “classic” problem of every new generation of iPhone, and certain Mac models is a slight yellowing of the screen that accompanies the device for some time after purchase (from a couple of days to a couple of weeks). And its reason, as usual, lies in the glue, which is not dry enough.

Don't despair - the problem will disappear by itself as soon as the glue is completely dry. And even now buyers are unlikely to encounter it.

Assembly defects

Much more interesting are the small gaps between the glass and the frame, which allow light from the screen to pass through (this is especially noticeable in the dark). According to users, this marriage exists only among some whites iPhone models 5, and no patches or updates can fix it, so such a device simply needs to be replaced under warranty.

The second common type of assembly defect that owners of some iPhones have encountered in previous years is the volume buttons being mixed up. Of course, there is nothing fatal about this, but it looks at least unaesthetic:

Purple halo and iPhone 5 camera

AND latest problem Today, in chronological order (but the second most dissatisfied from users) is the purple glow in photos taken with the camera. It occurs when shooting objects near which there are bright light sources - the sun, lanterns, car headlights, and so on.

The result is images like this:

Moreover, in photographs taken from the same angle with iPhone help 4/4S, no glow. There is no clear opinion about the reasons for this effect among users, although most of them try to explain it, which occurs due to the new sapphire crystal that protects the camera lens.

One Gizmodo reader named Matt decided to contact Apple support and described the problem, to which he received a response that went something like this:

Dear Matt,

I just received information from our engineering team, which recommends that you point your camera away from the light source when taking photos. Violet light in the photo is normal for iPhone cameras 5.

And after this private correspondence A new “iPhone: Camera image effects” has appeared in the Apple knowledge base, in which the company describes symptoms during photo/video shooting and ways to solve them:

Most small cameras, including those installed in every iPhone generation, can exhibit certain forms of glow at the edge of the frame when taking photographs with light sources that are positioned at an angle (usually out of view) and cause reflections from surfaces within the camera module. Minimize or eliminate this effect You can, to do this you need to slightly change the position of the camera or block the lens from the light source with your hand.

My subjective opinion about this problem was recently expressed by Vitaly Vashchenko (

As is usually the case with gadgets Apple, besides large quantity advantages, journalists quickly find a lot of problems that arise for users. Similar bugs were not avoided iPhone 5, which after several days of sales they managed to examine from all sides.

Probably the most discussed problem in the iPhone 5 was susceptible to scratches. From the very first day, hundreds of users began to complain about scratches on the side panels of the smartphone. They are especially noticeable in black iPhone. Under the erased paint you can see gray aluminum, which does not quite harmoniously fit into the design of the device. White iPhone no less susceptible to scratches, but due to color range, aluminum is not so visible.

Interestingly, one of the owners of the new iPhone 5 decided to protect their consumer rights by sending a written question personally Phil Schiller Senior Vice President of Apple. The short letter had a rather meaningful question:

I found scratches on my black iPhone 5. What should I do about it? Any plans for a fix?

Phil Schiller's answer was no less brief, but no less meaningful:

Any aluminum product can be scratched and you will see its true color. This is fine.

Experts say that it's all about the body. The black paint adhered much better to the glass used in the iPhone 4/4S. Now, aluminum is used for the panels, and the paint on it scratches much more easily. At this time, it is not known whether Apple will take any steps to fix this issue. Whatever one may say, experience iPod touch with aluminum back cover is not pleasant.

Second problem which appeared a few days ago, This is the Wi-Fi reception signal. Forums Apple has already are full of messages about low data transfer speeds, although similar problems iPhone 5 shouldn't have it. According to some users, under the same loads, Wi-Fi in the new smartphone works worse than in older iPhone models.

One of the methods to solve the problem is full reset network settings. If this doesn’t help, and Wi-Fi in the iPhone 5 works terribly bad, I recommend MacRumors visit the Apple Store and get diagnostics at the Genius Bar. It is quite possible that the device has a hardware bug. In this case, you will be given a new iPhone. And lastly, these are possible problems in iOS 6, which can be fixed during the first update. Although the strange thing here is that iPhone 4S/4 users do not complain.

The final, most talked about problem with the iPhone 5 is the screen. In itself it is simply wonderful, but some users complain about gaps and yellow spot. Moreover, sometimes the screen just starts to glitch. WITH yellow spots everything is much simpler, since this is glue that simply did not have time to dry: there is no need to worry, in a week or two everything will be in place. Regarding screen glitches, all questions are related to iOS 6. Apparently, the first update will help fix many problems.

There are always heated debates. But in an attempt to compare specifications available devices, bloggers, journalists and commentators often forget about a major drawback of the iPhone.

This problem concerns not only iPhones, but since the public is already accustomed to the fact that it is the company from Cupertino that is the first to supply the market with the most innovative solutions, then the expectations from Apple are appropriate. It is a pity that there is no solution to this problem in the near future.

iPhone has a terrible battery

Don’t rush to provide a link to benchmark results or write another caustic comment, we know very well that the built-in batteries in other smartphones are even worse. This just doesn't solve the problem. At active use The iPhone battery lasts for several hours, which is quite enough for the average user. However, to achieve even this result, Apple developers had to agree to a number of compromises and set a bunch of restrictions.

Why doesn't iOS have "real" multitasking? Why does the operating system tightly control the transition? third party applications in the background and use geolocation features? Why doesn’t every program have push notifications?

It's not hard to guess that all these problems are caused to some extent weak battery. Another example: Apple spent millions of dollars developing its own low-power LTE chips to save time iPhone work 5 at level.

At the moment, in all modern mobile devices lithium-ion polymer batteries are used (therefore, this disadvantage is typical for all smartphones). The problem is that the prospect of technology development lithium-ion batteries quite vague.

Battery tricks

iPhone 5 lasts about the same as the iPhone 3GS, released almost four years ago. With each new model processor frequency increases, the number random access memory, opportunities operating system, - and therefore energy consumption. It's no surprise that p Manufacturers have to come up with various tricks with the location of the battery.

Let's step away from the iPhone for a second and consider the MacBook situation. The first generations of Apple laptops had a single-piece battery in a single plastic case, which could be replaced by any user:

However, with Apple time switched to segmented batteries to save space:

This made the process of servicing and replacing batteries much more difficult, but made it possible to fit more batteries into a thinner case. In the case of the iPad, the company's engineers went even further and decided to abandon the traditional mount:

The battery is literally glued to the tablet body. Thereby iPad solution It has fantastic battery life and is ahead of any Android competitors in terms of this indicator.

Now let's go back to the iPhone:

Even a person far from technology understands that when designing more slim body engineers have to reduce the size of the battery - and the operating time of the device. However, Apple found a solution to this problem from Motorola - the reduction in battery size is compensated by an increase in voltage.

According to an independent test from Anandtech, on average, the iPhone 5 lasts just an hour longer than other smartphones. That's all.

What does it mean

Everyone is so accustomed to smartphones with weak batteries that on a subconscious level they restrain themselves from full use devices. You turn off the display while playing music instead of enjoying the album cover or lyrics. You manically lower the display brightness and turn off Bluetooth at every opportunity. You give up location-based apps because they consume too much power in the background. When the charge level approaches zero, You stop downloading email and taking photos. Disable WiFi and 3G.

Developers are faced with a huge amount restrictions when creating an application. In particular, due to a weak battery, it is not possible to fully use geolocation functions and built-in sensors. Imagine how much interesting ideas was rejected due to this issue.

Why iPhone?

Ultimately, this is one of thousands affordable smartphones, and with a relatively good battery life. Why is this article written specifically about the iPhone, and not about some model on Android or Windows Phone?

• The iPhone represents the entire ecosystem. You can argue for a long time about the reasons for the popularity of Android, but most people probably associate the word “smartphone” with the iPhone, and not with some Samsung Captivate or ZTE Warp.


• The iPhone is making an impact on the mobile application industry. Almost any successful mobile app releases first on iOS, only then on Android. Like it or not, iOS is the epicenter of new ideas and third party programs, which are developed under the influence of operating system limitations (and, in addition, a weak battery).


• Apple is capable of creating a new type of battery. We have already seen how Apple can be the first in the industry to abandon old technologies - floppy disks, DVD drives, low-definition displays. Sooner or later, an increase in the power of devices will lead to the fact that manufacturers will have to abandon lithium ion batteries. At the same time, it is not at all necessary that the Cupertino company independently develop a new type of battery.

Solution?

If you are active iPhone user, and you are tired of problems with a weak battery, you can use some special case with an additional battery. Fortunately, there are now many such accessories available to suit every taste.

For example, a few days ago the Mophie company released two new models - a compact