14 DAY TRIAL // It appears that one problem with iOS 4 has persisted despite several incremental updates since the original (4.0) release earlier this year - battery drainage. Apple is on track to roll out the second major incremental update, iOS 4.2, this November. If the Mac maker does find a way to resolve this, a fix should be included in the November release, Softpedia believes.
Softpedia has reported on numerous occasions that iPhone and iPod touch users eligible for the iOS 4.0 upgrade began seeing shorter battery life after applying the software update.
Virtually all versions of iPhone and iPod touch seem to be affected, although not all users are reporting this problem. It appears that the battery drain issue is triggered by various applications that continue to use the iPhone’s processor as the user switches to another app.
Multitasking is one of the features Apple was not able to support on old-generation devices, such as the iPhone 3G. The reason? Too little RAM, slower processor.
No wonder owners of the iPhone 3G accused the most problems with the iOS 4.0 software update.
While slow performance was an issue typical to iPhone 3G handsets whose owners had upgraded to iOS 4.0, battery life seemed to be affected across all iPhone and iPod touch models which, according to Apple, were “supported” under the new software.
And we have some users here on Softpedia to confirm this (or so their comments suggest).
“I never had a problem with battery life on my 3GS until the 4.1 update two days ago,” zeewiz writes in response to our September 15 report quoting numerous Apple Discussions forum users that reported the same bad experience.
“In the past the battery life would drop 1- 2% overnight. It has dropped 30-40% the past two nights,” zeewiz claims.
A commenter identified as mariafer200 chimes in to say “I have been experiencing way lower batter life since the 0S4.1 update. My phone used to go on for two days before OS4.0. When I upgraded to THAT, it went down to 1 day.”
“Now with OS4.1, it only lasts a few hours. Like today for example, my phone had been charging all night. So when I woke up, it was to 100%. 4 hours later, it was 12%!!! I hope Apple, fixes this SOON!!”, the frustrated customer writes.
When we said all iPhone models, we did not forget Apple had a fourth-generation device on the market that came pre-installed with iOS 4.0.
However, those who bought the new handset and upgraded to iOS 4.1 as it got rolled out appear to be just as affected, if we’re to believe the following comments:
Timer writes: “Same here iPhone4 batt. Just drains since update to 4.1”
CanPsych writes: “My Iphone 4 battery is draining very quickly with 4.1. The phone is also getting very warm.”
Somu writes: “My iPhone battery sucks big time. I am really frustrated a lot with this iPhone 4. I had 3GS and upgraded the OS to 4.1, from 4.1, it started to drain the battery drastically. Then I called the customer care and they said I am out of the warranty period and cannot do anything wiht it. So, I upgraded my phone to iPhone 4 and installed the latest OS 4.1 and I started experiencing the same problem. I wish Apple soon comes out with a way to handle this problem.”
Tom writes: “My new iphone 4 had good battery life until the iOS 4.1 update. Since then I've had to recharge the phone twice during the day just to keep it running. I've already disabled the location service and have fully discharged/recharged the battery to no avail.”
Even the fourth-generation iPod touch may be affected, one Softpedia reader warns.
“I have the battery drain issue with my brand new iPod Touch 4G,” amadeu06 writes. “It looks like Apple has a major ‘battery gate’ problem here with no fix for users.”
“On Apple's Discussion Board you will see an incredible 174000 views to the subject!”, he claims, supposedly after doing some digging up.
His post sounds fairly convincing, and well informed.
“I called Apple support about this and they seemed unaware of it or plans to fix it,” the user continues to write.
“This issue should be reported on many of the Apple blogs the way AntennaGate was splashed everywhere...but sadly it's not getting the major attention it should,” he concludes.
Well amadeu06, hopefully we’ve done our bit here.
Now let’s see if Apple can fix this issue for you guys if, like Antennagate, the problem actually exists (wink).