Apple has started rolling out iOS 8, the latest version of their mobile operating system. While some users are going to download the new operating system the first chance that they get, it could be a better decision not to upgrade immediately.
It is undoubtedly exciting to have a new operating system for your iPhone, iPad or iPod, as downloading iOS 8 may make it feel like you have an entirely new device.
However, there are some reasons why you might want to hold off upgrading to iOS 8 for now.
1. App compatibility
While iOS 8 has been made available to developers way before the public release so that they can update their apps to work with the new operating system, there are still some apps that may not be compatible immediately after the launch of iOS 8.
Downloading updates for apps that were tweaked to work with iOS 8 may not be an option as well, as developers that upload new versions of apps for downloads at the App Store require approval from Apple. With so many apps being updated, the waiting time for approval can take days, or even weeks.
2. Launch jitters
As with any new technology being publicly released, the iOS 8 may still have a few kinks to its system that Apple needs to work out. Because testing for the operating system has previously been limited to a small group of developers and testers, there may be a few issues that could be discovered once iOS 8 has been released to an Apple user base reaching hundreds of millions.
Users upgrading to the iOS 8 upon its release may experience bugs and flaws that will be addressed by Apple over a series of updates that will stretch over a span of days or weeks.
3. No turning back
Once a device has been upgraded to iOS 8, it is very difficult (if not impossible) to downgrade back to iOS 7. Most methods of doing so will require the use of third-party apps that are not officially supported by Apple, which will put your mobile device in risk of being damaged.
Why would you want to downgrade though? Some users that upgrade to iOS 8 immediately may become frustrated by the first two reasons mentioned and might want to go back to iOS 7 in the meantime. Users of older devices such as the iPhone 4S may experience slowness in their devices, as the new operating system is designed for the faster devices that are being released now such as the iPhone 6. For both cases, users will increasingly become frustrated to know that there's no turning back once you upgrade to iOS 8.
The iOS 8 is a new piece of technology that will surely be a very valuable part of the entire Apple experience, but perhaps just not yet.
