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Apple Goes Bug Hunting With iOS 8.1.3

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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Heads up, iPhone and iPad users. Apple has rolled out an iOS update, which squashes a number of bugs affecting the mobile operating system.

Launched Tuesday evening, iOS 8.1.3 also offers some stability and performance improvements, including a better updating experience. On a sour note, however, the update does not fix the slow Wi-Fi and battery-drain issues that have been plaguing older iPhone and iPads since the release of iOS 8 back in September.

As Forbes notes, iPhone and iPad users have taken to the Apple Support Communities forum to complain that Cupertino has chosen to ignore these issues, along with other problems affecting the calendar and Bluetooth. One user on the iOS Wi-Fi Problems thread wrote that they installed iOS 8.1.3, but it "made no difference on the WiFi issue. I still loose [sic] connection."

There's no word as to whether Apple plans to address these issues in the future.

For now, iOS 8.1.3 most notably reduces the amount of storage required to perform a software update. This should be music to the ears of anyone who has ever been forced to go on a deleting spree just to clear enough space to upgrade in the past.

According to Apple's release notes, the update also fixes an issue that prevented some users from entering their Apple ID password for Messages and FaceTime. Besides that, it corrects issues that caused Spotlight to stop displaying app results and that prevented multitasking gestures from working on iPads.

Finally, the update adds some new configuration options for standardized education testing, though Apple did not elaborate on this.

For more, see PCMag's review of Apple iOS 8 and our roundup of iOS 8 tips.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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