Apple Releases iOS 13.2.2 To Fix Crippling Multitasking Bug That Drove Users Insane
The latest issue that Apple has addressed is a multitasking bug that became exacerbated by the release of iOS 13.2 on October 26th. While some people had experienced some multitasking oddities with all iOS 13.x releases, iOS 13.2 truly brought the problem to the masses.
In a nutshell, multitasking -- as iPhone and iPad users have come to know it over the years -- was practically non-existent. Users could be working on an email, answer a phone call, then go back to their email program to find that everything they had typed was gone (since the app was flushed from memory and reloaded). Likewise, entering data into a form in Safari could be wiped out by the simple action of answering an iMessage or Skype message.
Not only were third-party apps affected by this multitasking bug, but it also affected Apple's own first-party apps. The problem was so pervasive that even staunch Apple supporters and bloggers were crying foul over the problem and Apple's slipping quality control.
"This bug where apps are getting killed soon after they’re backgrounded is driving me nuts," wrote Jon Gruber of Daring Fireball. "Start a YouTube video in Safari, switch to another app, go back to Safari — and the video loads from scratch and starts from the beginning."
Marco Arment was even more blunt, writing:
I’m sure Apple has good excuses about why their software quality is so sh*tty again. I hear the same thing over and over from people inside: they aren’t given enough time to fix bugs. Your software quality is broken, Apple. Deeply, systemically broken. Get your sh*t together.
Thankfully... or rather, hopefully, iOS 13.2.2 fixes this problem once and for all. Apple's full release notes for the iPhone release are as follows:
- Fixes an issue that could cause apps to quit unexpectedly when running in the background
- Resolves an issue where iPhone may temporarily lose cellular service after a call
- Addresses an issue where cellular data may temporarily not be available
- Fixes an issue that caused replies to S/MIME encrypted email messages between Exchange accounts to be unreadable
- Addresses an issue where using Kerberos single sign-on service in Safari may present an authentication prompt
- Resolves an issue where charging may be interrupted on YubiKey Lightning-powered accessories
It seems as though Apple is in a constant maintenance mode with iOS 13.x, and it really needs to get a handle on all of these bugs. In fact, iOS 13.x is beginning to seem a lot like Windows 10 1903 (May 2019 Update), where each new update seems to break something else; then the problems just compound from there.
Apple used to pride itself on the "It Just Works" mantra while poking fun at buggy Windows operating systems and apps. Perhaps it’s time for a little bit of self-reflection on the part of Apple on what it means to put out quality software releases.
You can grab iOS 13.2.2 by going to Settings --> General --> Software Update.
