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Senior Help Desk Bloggers Shams and Marko present the results of the survey they conducted comparing iOS 6 to iOS 7. 

Marko                                        Shams            Class of 2014                            Class of 2014

Shams:
Marko and I were assigned the special task of creating and pushing out a wonderful survey on iOS 7 to the students and faculty at BHS, as well as local public schools. Our study yielded responses from 156 people, who completed a brief, six part questionnaire about their thoughts and comments regarding Apple’s new iOS 7. Questions ranged from their initial thoughts after updating to whether or not, if given the option, they would revert (yeah I said that word Apple) back to the now ancient iOS 6.

After experimenting with a couple of surveys-creating sites with weird names (looking at you surveymonkey.com), Ms. Scheffer recommended that we try out a new and upcoming website called TwtPoll. As the nifty name suggests, TwtPoll allowed us to link our twitter accounts to our survey and share it with the world-wide web over social networking. We compressed the link using the “Google URL Compressor” tool, and then had Ms. Scheffer tweet the link to people like Mr. Villano, our Director of Technology Integration, Mr. Sullivan, our principal here at BHS, and Mr. Larkin, our Assistant Superintendent of Schools. Seeing as they all have thousands more followers than the three of us combined, it was definitely the right move.

Scroll down a bit to read Marko’s piece, commenting on the results of our survey.

Our results concluded that 44% of users who updated to iOS 7 would actually revert back to iOS 6 if given the choice. Usually, Apple’s iOS updates bring about changes that improve everyone’s use of iDevices and bring about a general sense of satisfaction after updating. iOS 7, however, almost had iDevice users split half and half between the old and new updates.

Supporters of iOS 7 commented on the update’s sleek new look and user interface revamp. Transparency and the flowing background were nice touches, and most people mentioned that the new Calendar app was excellent. Those in favor of iOS 6, however, complained that iOS 7 drained more battery life, was laggy, and was overall glitchy and buggy. Although it usually takes a while to fix bugs and glitches, iOS 7 seemed to bring a whole host of new bugs that were more serious than the usual initial update ones. In terms of satisfaction with iOS 7 compared to iOS 6, 51% of voters were happy or very happy with iOS 7, 26% were neutral, and 23% were unhappy or very unhappy.

Moving on, regarding usage and productivity with the new OS, most voters claimed that iOS 7 did not change how much they used their iDevice and that their efficiency had not gone up because of the update. 18% of people said that they used their iDevices more, 65% said their usage remained the same, and 17% said that iOS 7 actually decreased how often they used their iDevices.

Voters were then asked to record which apps they enjoyed using more with iOS7 than with previous OS versions. Many enjoyed how much more accessible the Calendar app had become and how reminders could now be accessed with the swipe of a finger. Others commented on the new Music app and the ability to use iTunes radio to test out new music prior to purchasing it. Some other apps that were highlighted included Evernote, Notability, the Camera app, and Twitter.

Overall, many people were unhappy with the iOS 7 update. I personally think that the sudden change in appearance of the interface and the revamp of certain functions in the new OS caused people to dislike it. After all, we all dislike change, right? After another month or two passes by, people will settle into iOS 7 and everything will return to normal.

Until, of course, iOS 8 comes out.

What do you think of the new iOS 7? We here in Help Desk would love to hear your comments and keep the discussion going!