DEVOPSdigest

Developers should brace for a surge in user-reported issues when Apple releases iOS 18 on September 16, 2024, according to unitQ.

unitQ's AI-driven studies of millions of App Store reviews from thousands of top mobile applications reveal a consistent trend: Major iOS updates result in significant disruptions to core app functionality, despite rigorous beta testing.

unitQ's data, drawn from the last three iOS version updates, shows a marked increase in user complaints following these updates. For example, in the wake of iOS 17's release on September 18, 2023, unitQ artificial intelligence recorded a 29% spike in user reported issues across 10 different industries. Problems ranged from generic app crashes and blank screens to industry-specific issues like missing lyrics in music apps, irrelevant search results in shopping apps and overheating and notification problems in social networking apps.

Even with Betas, iOS 18 Expected to Bring Challenges

The destructive quality-of-life or customer-churning issues identified in the unitQ studies occurred despite the advanced release and testing of beta versions — and new betas are now being tested by developers and the public before the expected September release of iOS 18.

This provides even more historical ammunition that the iOS 18 rollout could lead to challenges for end users and, by extension, developers — despite their best efforts. However, the duration these quality issues persist hinges on whether developers and their organizations actively listen to their users' feedback and promptly address the concerns raised.

"Even with betas, developers need to be aware that the rollout of iOS 18 could lead to significant challenges for end users," said Christian Wiklund, unitQ CEO and Co-Founder. "Key to mitigating these issues is active listening and prompt response to user feedback."

Incorporate User Feedback into Your Tech Stack

Companies are pouring resources into their technology stacks, integrating systems for everything from auditing and security monitoring to application performance and infrastructure management. CIOs and other corporate leaders are deploying a variety of tools to secure their organization's long-term success. However, one critical data source often remains untapped.

This overlooked data is the "Voice of the Customer." Real-time user feedback offers insights into the performance, features and capabilities of your products and services. What's more, users of applications often uncover as many, but different, issues as machine signals sent from observability platforms. This means that listening to and taking action based on customer feedback are on equal footing with observability platforms.

User reviews on platforms like the App Store and Google Play, customer service interactions in Zendesk, incident reports in Jira, and conversations on social media channels such as Discord, LinkedIn, Reddit, and X, together provide a comprehensive view of customer preferences, challenges and priorities.

Addressing the issues identified through customer feedback, no matter the language, can boost developers' key performance metrics, enhance customer satisfaction, attract new users and open up additional revenue opportunities.

Most importantly, user feedback provides an immediate guide to resolving user-facing issues associated with new software updates, like the upcoming iOS 18 release.