In order to address the myriad of issues that iOS users were experiencing with the previous iOS updates, Apple was forced to expedite the release of its iOS 8.1.3 update. The update is compatible with the company's iPhone, iPad and iPod list of products, and compared to the previous updates, the biggest change in the latest one is the reduced amount of space required to download and install it, a feature that was not present in the previous versions.
While majority of the issues are addressed, one of the primary requirements of successfully installing the iOS 8.1.3 update is that users have sufficient amount of space present on their iPhones, iPads and iPods. The previous iOS updates chewed up ridiculous amounts of storage on iOS devices, which created a whole new issue for the 16 GB variants of the iPhones and iPads, since Apple has remained firm on not incorporating an external slot for expandable storage.
Due to the previous updates' download size, there has been a slower adoption rate of switching to Apple's latest iOS updates. When Apple released the iOS 8, it required users to have at least 4.7 GB worth of vacant storage to successfully install the update. With the iOS 8.1.3, users will no longer be running into the same problem. According to The Verge, Apple has not given a clear metric related to the reduction of storage space but the image on ZDNet shows the iOS 8.1.3 only possesses a total capacity of 247 MB.
This explains why reporters at The Verge were able to successfully update a 16 GB iPad mini which only had 445 MB of space left. Furthermore, earlier updates also required users to plug in their iPad mini to a computer with iTunes in order to complete the updating process.
The reduced storage requirements is not the only thing that Apple's newly released update is able to address. Given below are the additional fixes that Apple has introduced in to its iOS 8.1.3 update:
- Fixes issues with Apple ID logins.
- Fixes multitasking gestures on the iPad.
- Fixes bugs in Spotlight search results.
- Configuration options for educators and standardized testing have been added.
Apple's iOS 8.1.3 update can be downloaded through the device's Settings.
