332 complaints extracted from 332 reviews of Apple iOS between 2019-05 and 2026-03, average rating 4.64/5, grouped into the problems users report most. Each problem links to the market it belongs to and to startup ideas built on it.
The problems Apple iOS users report
Apple ecosystem costs too high to justify — 43 complaints about Apple iOS; 45 complaints across 2 products · market pageUsers consistently complain that iOS devices, apps, repairs, and accessories cost significantly more than Android alternatives, and that many apps which are free on Android require payment on iOS. Students and budget-conscious buyers specifically call out being locked into ongoing spending — 'I feel like I am stuck with Apple since I have spent so much money on iOS software' — with no clear way to evaluate whether the premium is worth it before they're already deep in the ecosystem.
OS updates break things without warning — 32 complaints about Apple iOS; 43 complaints across 3 products · market pageUsers across platforms are caught in a loop where updates arrive too frequently, change things without clear explanation, and break workflows, compatibility, or settings they relied on. Specific complaints include firewall rules getting wiped after updates, Adobe and other work software becoming incompatible for weeks, presentations interrupted by update nags every five minutes, and bugs introduced in new versions taking two to three weeks to get patched. The core frustration isn't that updates exist — it's that users have no control over timing, no pre-warning about what will break, and no easy path back when something goes wrong.
iOS and macOS battery drain users can't diagnose — 32 complaints about Apple iOS; 34 complaints across 2 products · market pageUsers across iOS and macOS consistently report battery that dies faster than expected — sometimes dropping to empty in 5 hours, sometimes within months of owning a new device. Several complaints point directly at OS updates as the trigger ('battery bugs after the new update', 'battery life for laptop has decreased with the new OS update'), but Apple gives users almost no visibility into what changed or what's causing it. Others describe heat alongside drain ('gets hot to the touch when making phone calls', 'drains fast and heats up quickly when charging'), which points to background processes nobody can see or control.
OS updates degrading older device performance — 31 complaints about Apple iOS; 33 complaints across 3 products · market pageUsers consistently report that installing major iOS or Android updates on devices more than 2-3 years old causes noticeable slowdowns, battery drain, and in some cases renders apps unusable — with no rollback path. Complaints range from 'new iOS made my iPhone 14 slow' to 'if you update it stops working and you are forced to upgrade even if you take great care of your device.' The underlying frustration is that users feel coerced into hardware purchases because software decisions they didn't make destroyed the experience on hardware they own and maintain.
iOS locks users out of basic customization — 23 complaints about Apple iOS; 23 complaints across 1 product · market pageUsers consistently hit a wall when trying to change default apps, set custom ringtones, rearrange the App Library, install themes, or remove pre-installed Apple apps they never use. The frustration isn't one missing feature — it's a pattern: Apple controls the defaults and users have no sanctioned way around it. Complaints range from 'you can't even install a theme' to 'not being able to change the default apps makes me feel locked into the ecosystem' to 'there are native popups you can't do anything about.'
Authentication friction vs. security balance — 16 complaints about Apple iOS; 20 complaints across 2 products · market pageUsers are caught between security that breaks their flow and security that fails when they need it. Complaints range from Face ID not working with masks or in landscape mode, to being forced to enter a passcode after just one failed biometric attempt, to constantly resetting Apple passwords and being bombarded with verification questions. The frustration isn't that security exists — it's that it's rigid in the wrong places and unreliable in others.
Never enough storage, no clear way out — 13 complaints about Apple iOS; 16 complaints across 2 products · market pageUsers constantly run out of storage on iPhones, iPads, and Macs — not because they're careless, but because OS updates, app bloat, and photo libraries eat through fixed device storage faster than most people can manage. Complaints range from 'my phone freezes because of updates' to 'I can't install updates because there's no space' to 'the storage calculator recalculates every day and slows my computer down for hours.' The 5GB iCloud free tier forces a hard choice: pay Apple monthly or manually manage a system with no good tools for doing so.
iPhone to Windows/Android file transfer friction — 13 complaints about Apple iOS; 14 complaints across 2 products · market pageUsers consistently hit a wall when trying to move files, backups, or data between Apple devices and Windows PCs or Android phones. Complaints range from needing to install iTunes just to copy photos off an iPhone, to being unable to migrate a WhatsApp chat history from Android to iOS, to finding that syncing files between an iPhone and a Windows machine is far harder than doing the same with an Android device. The frustration is structural: Apple has no incentive to make cross-platform transfers easy, so users are left piecing together workarounds that half-work.
Siri is nearly useless in practice — 8 complaints about Apple iOS; 17 complaints across 3 products · market pageUsers across iOS and macOS consistently describe Siri as a disappointment that defaults to web searches instead of completing tasks, breaks workflow on the desktop, and lacks the customization or reliability to be trusted. Specific complaints include 'she can do barely nothing and almost everything you ask turns into a web search,' Siri on Mac feeling 'awkward and slow, breaking workflow rather than helping it,' and enterprise users flagging that everything spoken to Siri is stored on Apple's servers — making it a non-starter for sensitive work environments.
Apple file system too locked down to use — 8 complaints about Apple iOS; 15 complaints across 2 products · market pageUsers across iOS and macOS consistently hit the same wall: Apple's file management is either too restricted (iOS has no real filesystem access), too coarse (iCloud syncs entire Desktop/Documents or nothing), or too disconnected from third-party storage like Google Drive and Dropbox. Moving files between apps requires workarounds, iCloud pricing escalates fast for heavy users, and sensitive documents can't stay reliably local without restructuring entire folder trees.
In their words
“If I don't have a MacBook but have an iPhone, well there are no features; it's blank.”2.5/5 · 2025-04-02
“the dislike of the ios is battery health is very poor”2.5/5 · 2024-02-12 · iOS and macOS battery drain users can't diagnose
“Not enough storage with all the updates Apple requires”2.5/5 · 2019-11-16 · Never enough storage, no clear way out
“apple maps still not up to the level of google maps”2.5/5 · 2019-10-22 · Siri is nearly useless in practice
“They take up a lot of storage with all their updates and my phone doesn’t always handle it all, sometimes causing it to freeze.”3/5 · 2026-01-20 · Never enough storage, no clear way out
“Many small features present in other iOS devices are missing in the Apple iOS.”3/5 · 2025-09-19