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iOS bugs and annoyances Apple desperately needs to fix in 2020

iOS has grown into a buggy hellstew, and I've lost faith in Apple's ability to fix it.
Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Contributing Writer

With every iOS update, I become increasingly convinced that the platform has outgrown Apple's ability to managed it. More and more new features get pushed back, the platform is positively riddled with bugs, and little regard is given to usability.

While I don't have the time or inclination to list all of iOS 13's bugs and annoyances, here are a selection that Apple needs to prioritize fixing over the coming months.

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#1: Text selection

I remember when text selection in iOS used to just work. OK, it was always a bit fiddly -- in part down to my big clumsy chimp paws -- but it worked. Then in iOS 13, Apple changed how this worked, and broke everything.

Now text selection is hit-and-miss at best, and at worst, just plain refuses to work. Sometimes even trying to move the cursor is a soul-sucking siege that ends in frustration and failure.

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#2: Wacky orientation issues

Sometime my iPhone or iPad seem to have no clue as to which way is up, resulting in me frantically spinning the thing around like I'm a race car driver, in an attempt to get it the screen to properly orientate itself with the world around it.

On the plus side, I'm sure I look hilarious when I'm doing this, because I've seen other people do it, and it always gives me a chuckle.

#3: Background refresh

I'm not sure what has happened in iOS 13, but following the memory bug that broke background refresh, it feels like this hasn't been properly fixed.

While the situation is nowhere as bad as it was under iOS 13.2, I'm still coming across apps that need to reload when I'm trying to multitask between two or three different apps.  And while it would be easy to point the finger of blame at the app itself, the problem is no consistent and seems to suggest an iOS bug rather than bugs with specific apps.

#4: AirDrop annoyances

When it works, AirDrop is great. When it doesn't, there seems to be precious little you can do to get it working again. It's mostly a case of randomly jabbing at the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth buttons until either it begins to work again, or I give up and just email the files I wanted to transfer to myself.

I then shun AirDrop for a few weeks until I forget how it let me down, and then the next time I try to use it, it works just fine.

#5: The Mail app

I rarely use the Mail app, but I hear all the time from people who do, and apparently, it's pretty painful to use. It's buggy, and from a usability point of view, it can't even remember what inbox you last looked at.

Given that email is at the core of what most people do these days, having such a lame excuse for a mail client is inexcusable.

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#6: HomeKit

If chaos was an app, it would be HomeKit. There's little rhyme or reason to it.  For an app that you are supposed to use to switch lights on and off and control other in-house automation devices, it's bewilderingly tedious to use, the exact opposite of what it should be.

#7: The Settings app

This has become the Windows Control Panel of iOS. It began life as a sleek, streamlined repository for important settings, but over time has become a hideously bloated mess that seems to be getting worse with every major iOS release.

Apple's decision to add a search box to the app was essentially a signal from the developers that they were waving the white flag and had given up on trying to restore order and make it usable once again.

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