Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

What is the worst version?


  • Total voters
    262

Superhappytree

macrumors 6502a
Sep 10, 2015
938
3,159
Cumbria
Total number of votes:

iOS 1-6 = 23

iOS 7-11 = 114

I can’t say I’m surprised. And people say I just have “rose tinted glasses” when I dare bring up that iOS was far better from 1-6 in terms of UI, stability and fluidity. It naturally loses out in terms of features but of course we have more now. It speaks volumes doesn’t it when everyone just wants a stability-focused release with iOS 12 to fix the mess, which hopefully Apple gives us and actually delivers because by god does it need it.

Edit: I voted for iOS 7, was going to vote for 11 but 7 was the start of the issues which has snowballed ever since to where we are now with a design which I still think is terrible, despite the constant “mini redesigns” they’ve done. They got the UI right on day one with only tweaks to the icons and dock etc and all they’ve done from iOS 7 to now is make it worse, throwing away all the hard work of the previous 6 iterations.

If I had to pick a favourite of this flat era though (which I can only hope ends soon), I’d say iOS 9 looked and functioned pretty well, especially the Music App and App Store which actually added colour with some personality depending on the app or artist you selected, not plain blinding white with big ugly bold headers taking up screen space. The notifications were also more bareable and not as much of an eyesore like they are now. 10.3.3 is a close second as I immediately noticed how crap iOS 11 was in comparison after updating.

They still don’t hold a candle to iOS 4, 5 and 6. They were the golden years of iOS and will always have a special place in my heart. Funny isn’t it how they improved with every version from 1 to 6 and how it’s been an inconsistent mess ever since 7. It’s almost as if they had a software guy who actually knew what the heck he was doing back then rather than a hardware guy who has no clue about software.
 
Last edited:

mous94410

macrumors 6502a
Aug 12, 2015
596
447
iOS 11 by far. My 7 plus was a beast on iOS 10.3.3 but I had to upgrade because my watch was updated to watch os 4
 
  • Like
Reactions: Radon87000

-BigMac-

macrumors demi-god
Apr 15, 2011
2,478
2,805
Melbourne, Australia
Total number of votes:

iOS 1-6 = 23

iOS 7-11 = 114

I can’t say I’m surprised. And people say I just have “rose tinted glasses” when I dare bring up that iOS was far better from 1-6 in terms of UI, stability and fluidity. It naturally loses out in terms of features but of course we have more now. It speaks volumes doesn’t it when everyone just wants a stability-focused release with iOS 12 to fix the mess, which hopefully Apple gives us and actually delivers because by god does it need it.

Edit: I voted for iOS 7, was going to vote for 11 but 7 was the start of the issues which has snowballed ever since to where we are now with a design which I still think is terrible, despite the constant “mini redesigns” they’ve done. They got the UI right on day one with only tweaks to the icons and dock etc and all they’ve done from iOS 7 to now is make it worse, throwing away all the hard work of the previous 6 iterations.

If I had to pick a favourite of this flat era though (which I can only hope ends soon), I’d say iOS 9 looked and functioned pretty well, especially the Music App and App Store which actually added colour with some personality depending on the app or artist you selected, not plain blinding white with big ugly bold headers taking up screen space. The notifications were also more bareable and not as much of an eyesore like they are now. 10.3.3 is a close second as I immediately noticed how crap iOS 11 was in comparison after updating.

They still don’t hold a candle to iOS 4, 5 and 6. They were the golden years of iOS and will always have a special place in my heart. Funny isn’t it how they improved with every version from 1 to 6 and how it’s been an inconsistent mess ever since 7. It’s almost as if they had a software guy who actually knew what the heck he was doing back then rather than a hardware guy who has no clue about software.
When you're comparing like that you have to consider total amount of active users here NOW that have used 1-6 compared to 7-11... Lets get some stats on that first... :)
 
Last edited:

flyinmac

macrumors 68040
Sep 2, 2006
3,579
2,465
United States
When you're comparing like that you have to consider total amount of active users here NOW that have used 1-6 compared to 7-11... Lets get some stats on that first... :)

And don’t forget the ones who apparently dislike a version of iOS that isn’t between 1 and 11. So is that the one we had before the first iPhone??? Or are we lodging complaints against iOS 13 preemptively?

I think we can safely assume that if we check back at iOS 99, that the crowd will say iOS 99 is the worst version ever. But, then we’ll have to assume that none of them ever used iPhone OS or iOS 11 (or anything in between).
 
  • Like
Reactions: -BigMac-

Radon87000

macrumors 604
Nov 29, 2013
7,775
6,251
Total number of votes:

iOS 1-6 = 23

iOS 7-11 = 114

I can’t say I’m surprised. And people say I just have “rose tinted glasses” when I dare bring up that iOS was far better from 1-6 in terms of UI, stability and fluidity. It naturally loses out in terms of features but of course we have more now. It speaks volumes doesn’t it when everyone just wants a stability-focused release with iOS 12 to fix the mess, which hopefully Apple gives us and actually delivers because by god does it need it.

Edit: I voted for iOS 7, was going to vote for 11 but 7 was the start of the issues which has snowballed ever since to where we are now with a design which I still think is terrible, despite the constant “mini redesigns” they’ve done. They got the UI right on day one with only tweaks to the icons and dock etc and all they’ve done from iOS 7 to now is make it worse, throwing away all the hard work of the previous 6 iterations.

If I had to pick a favourite of this flat era though (which I can only hope ends soon), I’d say iOS 9 looked and functioned pretty well, especially the Music App and App Store which actually added colour with some personality depending on the app or artist you selected, not plain blinding white with big ugly bold headers taking up screen space. The notifications were also more bareable and not as much of an eyesore like they are now. 10.3.3 is a close second as I immediately noticed how crap iOS 11 was in comparison after updating.

They still don’t hold a candle to iOS 4, 5 and 6. They were the golden years of iOS and will always have a special place in my heart. Funny isn’t it how they improved with every version from 1 to 6 and how it’s been an inconsistent mess ever since 7. It’s almost as if they had a software guy who actually knew what the heck he was doing back then rather than a hardware guy who has no clue about software.

I think its mainly because Jobs always strived for perfection in software unlike Cook who only cares about profits.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cashville2400

bmac89

macrumors 65816
Aug 3, 2014
1,388
467
I really like the features in iOS 11 on the iPad Pro but it has been the most painful and buggy iOS that I have experienced. I know others have varying experience but mine has been non-stop bugs on multiple devices.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Altis and souko

Radon87000

macrumors 604
Nov 29, 2013
7,775
6,251
My iPad Air 2 consistently heats up on iOS 11 even in normal operation like it's being strained. Hence why I am afraid to upgrade my 12.9 to iOS 11.
 

oldmacs

macrumors 601
Sep 14, 2010
4,924
7,122
Australia
iOS 9 for somehow slowing down almost every device that it ran on even though it added nothing. iOS 11 for being amongst the least stable and somehow slowing down very fast devices. iOS 8 would come up there as well for being slow and buggy.
 

bluecoast

macrumors 68020
Nov 7, 2017
2,221
2,641
I really liked 7!

  • Admittedly it was buggy until the first major point release
  • But the skeuomorphism (remember that word?) was feeling tired by 6. Remember the podcasts ‘tape deck’ app on the iPad?
  • It was really exciting seeing my iPhone 4s start to change to a more modern look when it started to install. One of my best iPhone moments.
  • The reset with the layers and level of hierarchy was long overdue. As was the bright minimal and modern looking colour palette.
8 wasn’t too bad as it added ‘power user’ features to 7.

I think though with 9, 10 and 11, feature after feature started to bring in near Microsoft levels of visual inconsistency & now we have the thin iOS 7 style fonts and layout of calendar app contrasting with the thick heavy fonts of music and news etc.

And the bright fresh colours whilst great at the time, now are searingly bright on the high quality screens that we all have now.

I really hope that 12 sees a similar visual and UX reset to 7 with the colours toned down - and a dark mode.
 

ediks

macrumors 6502
Nov 17, 2015
425
782
iOS 11 is the worst for me. It's amazing to think that April will be the first month it has gone without an update.
it wont ;)
[doublepost=1524593720][/doublepost]
iOS 9 for somehow slowing down almost every device that it ran on even though it added nothing. iOS 11 for being amongst the least stable and somehow slowing down very fast devices. iOS 8 would come up there as well for being slow and buggy.
the worst about ios 9 was that it was meant to be stability and perfomance update but it didnt deliver
 

Attachments

  • sdadasdas.png
    sdadasdas.png
    269.6 KB · Views: 224
  • Like
Reactions: oldmacs

gigapocket1

macrumors 68020
Mar 15, 2009
2,246
1,733
It honestly just feels that iOS is starting to get to heavy.
Compare safari iOS 11 to iOS 5.. theirs no need for safari to be able to hold 99 tabs open compared to 5 back then. Then you throw in keychain..
Messages now include Do Not disturb and maps, as well as in-messaging apps.
It just feels clumped together. Trying to keep things familiar but fresh. Just not the best implementation
 
  • Like
Reactions: Feyl

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,458
It honestly just feels that iOS is starting to get to heavy.
Compare safari iOS 11 to iOS 5.. theirs no need for safari to be able to hold 99 tabs open compared to 5 back then. Then you throw in keychain..
Messages now include Do Not disturb and maps, as well as in-messaging apps.
It just feels clumped together. Trying to keep things familiar but fresh. Just not the best implementation
Why would you want to have a limitation of 5 tabs in a browser? Or not have a Do Not Disturb feature for Messaging?
 

gigapocket1

macrumors 68020
Mar 15, 2009
2,246
1,733
Why would you want to have a limitation of 5 tabs in a browser? Or not have a Do Not Disturb feature for Messaging?

I wouldn’t want that limitation.. I was just saying that it adds to the overall “weight” / feel of iOS.

Even 11.3. It’s far from smooth.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,458
I wouldn’t want that limitation.. I was just saying that it adds to the overall “weight” / feel of iOS.

Even 11.3. It’s far from smooth.
Sure, a device that does something more than make calls would be "heavier" than one that just does that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: simonsi

SoYoung

macrumors 65816
Jul 3, 2015
1,449
840
personally its iOS 10 the worst version so far. At least, iOS 11 brings some great useful things for me compared to iOS 10 that broke everything good on iOS 9 (notifications, music app)
 

Knowlege Bomb

macrumors G4
Feb 14, 2008
10,196
8,833
US
iPhone OS 1 is the worst one ever.
No App Store, No Copy & Paste, No MMS messaging, No Video Recording. No wireless backup. No home screen wallpapers (you could change the lock screen but that was it).
No multitasking (Though some will debate it still doesn't have "true" multitasking, you could only listen to music in the background in iOS 1)
Notes used that awful Marker Felt font.

Pretty much word for word what I was going to post. Good thing I read a thread before adding to it...
 

andreyush

macrumors 6502a
Oct 24, 2015
581
417
Jesus...What's up with the hate on ios 7?
I love to close multiple apps at once and so fast. Also I love the control center. What? Is flat? Ow god no.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,458
Jesus...What's up with the hate on ios 7?
I love to close multiple apps at once and so fast. Also I love the control center. What? Is flat? Ow god no.
Good part of it likely has to do with issues relating to stability and bugs that were around for a good part of iOS 7.
 

Radon87000

macrumors 604
Nov 29, 2013
7,775
6,251
Seems the poll confirms my own experience. iOS 11 is the most horrendous release in the history of Apple.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.