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Apple’s iPhones are less reliable than Android devices with failure rates steadily increasing in a year, according to a report published by Blancco Technology.
Blancco Technology Group is a leading global provider of mobile device diagnostics and secure data erasure solutions. The data of report “State of Mobile device performance and Health” Q4 2016 were collected from millions of iOS and Android devices brought into wireless carriers and device manufacturers for diagnostics testing in North America, Europe and Asia over the course of five quarters, including Q4 2015, Q1 2016, Q2 2016, Q3 2016 and Q4 2016.
The study shows that iOS devices are less stable than Android devices with more performance issues and higher failure rates. Additionally, the data reveals that newer iPhone models such as the iPhone 6, iPhone 6S, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, are prone to frequent performance issues, including crashing apps, overheating and headphone issues.
Although iOS devices haven’t always had a higher failure rate, it has steadily increased quarter over quarter for the last year until it finally stabilized in Q4 2016.
iOS Performance Issues
- Crashing Apps According to the diagnostics testing data, crashing apps have been a constant source of performance issues and failures on iOS devices in the last year. Most recently, crashing apps came in as the top-most performance issue (32 percent) in Q4 2016.
- Temperature It was noted that when users first downloaded and installed the iOS 10 software update, it updated apps in the background. As a result, the update eats into the device’s battery power and life and may cause the device to heat up more than usual.
- Headphone Malfunctioning Another common problem that’s been reported with various iPhone models is that the Apple ear pods have been malfunctioning so users cannot hear anything during phone calls. In addition, some iOS users reported that the microphone constantly cuts in and out.
- Bluetooth connectivity was reported as cutting out and being spotty on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus devices, which have the new 3.5 mm headphone jacks.
Android Performance Issues
The most common performance issues on Android devices vary significantly from those on iOS devices. Camera, Battery Charge and USB Glitches Slow Down Performance of Android Devices. In the last year, the camera was a consistent problem for Android users.
Apps crash more than twice as much on iPhones as on Android Devices
In the last year, iOS apps have crashed significantly more often on iPhones than on Android devices. In fact, the crashing app rate on iOS devices increased from 50 percent in Q2 2016 to 65 percent in Q3 2016. Reasons are:
- Apps could crash if a user hasn’t updated the app to the latest software version.
- A user hasn’t updated the device to the latest operating system.
- Another cause could be related to the poor design of an app itself.
Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat apps crash regularly on iPhones. A key reason these three social media apps have crashed so often on iOS devices could be due to their immense popularity and usage by mobile users around the world.
On Android devices, Google Play Services and Yahoo Mail Android Apps crash frequently.
