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Apple’s iPhone Software Shakeup After Buggy iOS 13 Debut

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Re: Apple’s iPhone Software Shakeup After Buggy iOS 13 Debut

#61

Post by Razengan »

gman83 wrote: post #59
Razengan wrote: post #30

I'm one of the most staunch Apple supporters but even I must admit that since WWDC 2019, I have spent more time fighting Apple's bugs than actually using any of the new features...or the old features that used to work flawlessly (like iTunes/Music.) Not just on the user side, but the developer end as well. Perfectly valid code which used to work up till Xcode 11.1 throws errors inside the Swift runtime or toolchain o…

I guess you haven't had Joy-Con drift :)

Ohhh yes, now you made me even more depressed.

But at least the Switch OS has no oopsies (that I've seen.) :)

My [New] 3DS has also been rock solid for years, hardware and software.

Re: Apple’s iPhone Software Shakeup After Buggy iOS 13 Debut

#62

Post by stestagg »

saagarjha wrote: post #9

> The new approach calls for Apple's development teams to ensure that test versions, known as “daily builds,” of future software updates disable unfinished or buggy features by default. Testers will then have the option to selectively enable those features, via a new internal process and settings menu dubbed Flags, allowing them to isolate the impact of each individual addition on the system. Uh, I'm not very confide…

> Uh, I'm not very confident on this helping; wouldn't this mean fewer people will be using and evaluating beta components?

Probably. But the benefit gained by doing this is that every issue discovered should be directly attributable.

If everything is broken, it’s very easy to normalise broken behaviours, or to deflect responsibility.

Re: Apple’s iPhone Software Shakeup After Buggy iOS 13 Debut

#63

Post by Razengan »

machello13 wrote: post #35
Razengan wrote: post #30

I'm one of the most staunch Apple supporters but even I must admit that since WWDC 2019, I have spent more time fighting Apple's bugs than actually using any of the new features...or the old features that used to work flawlessly (like iTunes/Music.) Not just on the user side, but the developer end as well. Perfectly valid code which used to work up till Xcode 11.1 throws errors inside the Swift runtime or toolchain o…

> Perfectly valid code that used to work up till Xcode 11.1 throws errors in the Swift runtime on Xcode 11.2 (and 11.2.1) Can you link to some examples? I write Swift full time and haven't noticed anything like this.

Type metadata accessor / failed to demangle superclass from mangled name: https://forums.swift.org/t/xcode-11-2-runtime-error-type-met...

Property Wrapper initializers with #file/#function: https://forums.swift.org/t/compiler-segmentation-fault-when-...

With the disconnect between the Swift team and Apple after Swift going open-source, it's not clear if these goblins are spawned inside of Apple's APIs or the Swift runtime.

Re: Apple’s iPhone Software Shakeup After Buggy iOS 13 Debut

#64

Post by saagarjha »

travisgriggs wrote: post #52

Does anyone have more detailed information as to why the degradation? Has the balance of push push push for features just passed a tipping point of what developers could mostly keep up with? Is it a process thing (eg the review process changed or testing practices changed)? Or a developer skill level thing? Are seasoned coders being replaced by less seasoned ones? Or is there a finger to be pointed at some piece of t…

This year's releases had a lot of new things in it, and a number of projects saw significant rewrites. Presumably engineers had a hard time keeping up with bugs?

Re: Apple’s iPhone Software Shakeup After Buggy iOS 13 Debut

#65

Post by Razengan »

pushpop wrote: post #51
TheRealWatson wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've missed out on many moments with my toddler because of that You just missed taking pictures. You were still there to live them :)

So true. My parents didn’t miss out not having a camera phone and neither did my grandparents. It’s amazing how dependant we’ve become on capturing moments. Sometimes even to the detriment of actually experiencing them.

Might be related to the "Terror Management" theory. :)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21298470

We probably feel the need to preserve/hoard everything in a subconscious desire for immortality.

Re: Apple’s iPhone Software Shakeup After Buggy iOS 13 Debut

#66

Post by AgloeDreams »

LgWoodenBadger wrote: post #15
CoolGuySteve wrote: post #6

The same thing happened when we were working on Leopard under Bertrand. Because the developer toolchain switched to Objective C 2.0 with garbage collection enabled, the OS was unusable for development for months at a time. Development took twice as long as planned, the release was fairly bloated, and required 2 or 3 updates in the first month or two. When Craig took over he introduced a sprint model so that there wer…

I hate that Rich Hickey quote. Sprints are just the classic computer science "divide and conquer" strategy applied to development.

The problem with divide and conquer is that the finished product has to be back in one piece that makes sense. Often times the act of `divide` also reduces context for what conquer actually is.

Plus `divide and conquer` is used like a task you need to do with the goal of finishing, but Sprints never quite get to the end of the conquer phase, generally it's divide, and conquer...some tasks, and then divide in some more... and more... and more. You end up losing all sight of what you are actually trying to do or make.

The only way to fix sprints in a small to medium size company that exists and is shipping products is to realize that they should be tied to a set series of tasks and that every now and then you really need a stop point where you can take a week or two, define what your goals, needs, and issues are for the next 6 weeks or so, and then start anew with a clean backlog and roadmap with full buy in from the developers of what they are making. Otherwise you just turn developers into ticket pushers for tickets that they themselves do not understand, or have any context to understand why they are doing them. It's depressing and causes burnout and bad products. It's a symptom of the hustle culture bleeding into development and a lack of understanding that having long term end goals and sustainable pace is healthy to good products rather than `move fast and break things`.

Re: Apple’s iPhone Software Shakeup After Buggy iOS 13 Debut

#67

Post by benbristow »

java-man wrote: post #47
chooseaname wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I could go on. The worst part? These have all been ignored open issues that other people have submitted and for years they just sit there...open. When you hire expensive developers, they don't want to work on years old bugs. They only want to work on new features.

I don't think it's always developers' call.

Well then they leave and you have no developers to fix the old bugs

Re: Apple’s iPhone Software Shakeup After Buggy iOS 13 Debut

#68

Post by draw_down »

chmaynard wrote: post #22

When I first worked at Apple 30 years ago it was widely acknowledged that R&D had a two-tier system for software development. The rockstar engineers got to work on new stuff and the less productive/creative engineers cleaned up their mess. Bringing new features to maturity was a low-prestige activity and was not rewarded as well. The top engineers joined the hot new projects, shipped the first version, and then moved…

I believe it, because pretty much everywhere is like that in my experience

Re: Apple’s iPhone Software Shakeup After Buggy iOS 13 Debut

#69

Post by kenshi »

Razengan wrote: post #30

I'm one of the most staunch Apple supporters but even I must admit that since WWDC 2019, I have spent more time fighting Apple's bugs than actually using any of the new features...or the old features that used to work flawlessly (like iTunes/Music.) Not just on the user side, but the developer end as well. Perfectly valid code which used to work up till Xcode 11.1 throws errors inside the Swift runtime or toolchain o…

Why be a "staunch supporter" at all?

It's one thing to admire the work/output of a company, but once you identify as a "Company X" supporter you are just closing yourself off to being critical of "Company X".

I cringe at every WWDC session when people applaud for minor features (new themes in Xcode!) and long overdue bug fixes.

I am embarrassed whenever someone online talks about a problem they have with Apple hardware or software, and they are met with passive-aggressive replies along the lines of "I've never seen that problem, what are you doing wrong..."

I develop for and use Apple platforms. I really like some things they have done, but I'd never consider myself an "Apple supporter".

I'm the customer, they are the vendor. They are here to support me.

If they don't do a good job at that, I'll try to find another company to take their place.

Also companies change, as do their priorities. There was once a period in when MS were making the best internet browser (really)...

Re: Apple’s iPhone Software Shakeup After Buggy iOS 13 Debut

#70

Post by Simon_says »

hylaride wrote: post #17

There have been glaring bugs/issues lasting ages in both MacOS and iOS. For years apple mail on iOS would always show 1 unread message in "all mail" for gmail. On my iPhone 11 pro (and the 6S i had before it) the camera app will sometimes only show a black screen and a freaking reboot is needed to get it working again. I've missed out on many moments with my toddler because of that. Multi-monitor support was so good…

> I've missed out on many moments with my toddler because of that.

You were still there. You missed out because you reached for a camera.

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