Apple’s iOS 6 doesn’t appear to be doing the company any favors when it comes to user satisfaction, according to a new poll conducted by mobile customer research firm On Device. The survey of just under 16,000 iPhone owners in the U.S. found that compared to iOS 5, those with iOS 6 were slightly less satisfied with their devices. The drop is small, but still noteworthy because On Device says this is the first time it’s seeing a drop in satisfaction.
“We have always seen an increase in device satisfaction as consumer upgrade their mobile operating system from one version to another,” On Device CEO Alistair Hill explained in an emailed statement, adding that that’s also traditionally been the case among Android OS versions. The company notes that especially compared to the jump between iOS 4 and iOS 5, which shows strong improvements, the drop from iOS 5 to iOS 6 seems especially unusual.
Consumers have not responded well to the replacement of Google Maps with Apple’s own mobile maps offering, which seems to be the primary source of a lot of frustration. That’s likely the problem that’s led to much of the dissatisfaction seen in the On Device survey, since aside from some issues with how the App Store now displays search results, I’ve seen few other complaints.
It’s also worth noting that despite a slight decrease in satisfaction vs. iOS 5, generally, satisfaction is still very high overall, and Apple still seems to have a significant lead on Android devices, according to a recent study by J.D. Power. In other words, while iOS 6 may have some disappointing features, judging by these results it looks unlikely to have a material effect on iOS device sales going forward.
If the photo above looks familiar, it’s because you’ve probably seen a similar keyboard case for the iPhone 4/4S before. The good news is that this particular model has been created for the iPhone 5 in mind and in case it wasn’t obvious enough, it adds a slideout QWERTY keyboard for those who prefer tactile feedback instead of tapping away on the onscreen keyboard.
If you weren’t quick enough to pull the trigger when it came to pre-ordering the iPhone 5, you could face delays of 3-4 weeks, at least according to Apple’s website (you could try your luck at your local carrier, they might have some in stock). So what could be causing these delays? Was the demand of the iPhone 5 much greater than Apple had anticipated? Perhaps, but according to reports, it seems that the use of the thinner displays in the iPhone 5 are to blame.
With our smartphone cameras these days being more than capable of replacing some point-and-shoot models, we’re sure that there are some who are wondering how our smartphone cameras will hold up against more professional DSLR cameras. Dustin Curtis of Svbtle decided to put Apple’s latest iPhone 5 to the test by holding an informal shoot with the Canon EOS 5D MK III, a $4,000 professional grade camera.
The other day we reported that some iPhone 5 owners had stated that their iPhone units were 
