Should iPhone 5s Owners Update To iOS 8.1?

Apple released the latest update to iOS on October 20 with the promise of numerous bug fixes. If you’ve already installed iOS 8 on your iPhone 5S, you can take a look at Apple’s full update log, which address a dozen different fixes, including video play issues in Safari, VoiceOver bugs, and group messaging issues. The bulk of Apple’s improvements involve the iPhone’s messaging, accessibility, and photo features.

However, updating to new versions of iOS has become a real concern for previous-generation iPhone owners, like those who currently own an iPhone 5S. While iOS 8.1’s system requirements state that it is backwards compatible with the iPhone 4S and later models, previous iOS update launches have been marred by decreased performance on older generation phones. For example, the release of iOS 7 in September 2013 was marred by numerous issues reported by iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S users, which were noted extensively by ReadWrite.

It looks like iPhone 5S owners can relax for now. Extensive performance tests conducted by GottaBeMobile demonstrate that iOS 8.1 is stable on the iPhone 5s hardware. This mobile publication used multiple criteria to reach this verdict, testing the overall performance of connectivity, battery life, and processor speeds on the iPhone 5s without noteworthy hitches.

“Of course, bugs have a habit of emerging in the weeks after a release which means that while our iPhone 5s is doing fine now, there’s a potential for trouble in the future. You’re never really in the clear when it comes to iOS problems,” cautions GottaBeMobile writer Adam Mills.

Delayed announcements regarding iOS bugs highlight the importance of making an informed decision before you proceed with an iOS update on your iPhone 5S. There is no official, Apple-sanctioned way to downgrade your iPhone 5s back to a previous iOS version, which means that you can be stuck with device issues until the next update.

iOS 8 has only been out since September 17 but it’s already had a turbulent history. Forbes documented the problematic release of HealthKit, an Apple utility that enables developers to make apps that are compatible with the new iOS 8 Health app. However, consumers had to wait for at least a week to try out these new apps due to various App Store and iOS version update delays. This lead to the release of iOS 8.0.1 and iOS 8.0.2 in rapid succession, as the company strived to fix bugs and provide HealthKit Support.

The most recent update, iOS 8.1 seems to address many user issues and has been announced stable by the testers at GottaBeMobile on the iPhone 5S. If you’re interested in getting the latest version of iOS, then either plug your iPhone 5s into your computer and launch iTunes or install it wirelessly from your Software Update menu.

[Image credit: Cropped image from Microsiervos Geek Crew Flickr]