What do you do when you get a notification to update an app? Do you update it immediately or just ignore it?
People’s reasons for updating or not updating an app vary. For some, updating is a compulsion to have the latest of anything, while others update their apps for the simple reason of getting rid of the notifications. On the other hand, some people don’t update because they are not interested in the new levels or features included in the update. In yet another category of users, updates are only installed if they will fix a bug. Lastly, there’s the group that don’t do any updating because they don’t know what it actually does and invoke the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” line of reasoning. If you belong to the last category but want to know what updates are, read on.
To begin with, an update is basically something new added to the app that the developers have made. This latest version was made for one or a combination of various reasons, of which the most common are to fix bugs, add new features, and add new levels. Most of the time developers note the features included or bugs fixed in an update. These are called release notes and are generally seen in the text that appears when an update is installed. While this is the usual practice, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a standard or uniform practice.
Installing an update to get the latest version of an app is free, whether it is a paid app or a free one. However, that doesn’t mean that the app’s associated plug-ins will be free as well. You will be prompted if you are going to be charged for something before you finish with the installation. If this happens, you will have to input your credit card information.
You don’t really HAVE to update an app but as a general rule of thumb, it is better to do so more often than not. That being said, there have been some instances when a well working app was ruined after installing a bad update. A bad update could mean that the latest version turns out to be buggy or it could just be that the user doesn’t like the new features of the app’s latest version. An example of an app that has a lot of complaints when it is updated is Facebook. Users complain that the app becomes slow or crashes easily after an update. The latest complaint about the Facebook app update for the iPhone 5 is that it can’t be used in landscape mode.
So, if your personal preference is to stay on the safe side, just update an app if you really have to. You can also read the update log first, before deciding whether to proceed with the update or just ignore it. You also have the option to save the last revision of the app on an external drive before updating. This way, you can go back to the older version if the latest update crashes, has problems loading, or removed a feature that you liked.
