iOS 11: iPhone users report problems with new update – but they'll probably pass

Those who have downloaded iOS 11 in the early days since it was released have reported huge problems with the update. But it's going to pass.

Many report that the phones are apparently working far harder than normal: the batteries are depleting incredibly quickly and they seem to be overheating. What's more, some apps seem not to be working properly, crashing or refusing to work at all.

And while those reports are true, they will probably end up fixing all by themselves. And it's all because of the problems that blight almost every new software update.

The slowness and battery problems are probably just teething problems as iOS 11 finds its way onto new iPads and iPhones.

Each time a new update is installed, for instance, the device has to index all of its files so that they can be properly seen by the new operating system. That indexing process makes sure that the software works properly and powers features like Apple's Spotlight search – but it also takes some serious processor gruntwork, which takes its toll on both battery and performance.

Some features and apps also have to do a similar process themselves. iOS 11 needs to go through and find Live Photos in your library, for instance, because the new software has entirely new ways of dealing with them.

(You can find some of those new and hidden features to try out here.)

And the phone has to update and install updated apps for the new operating system, which is also a taxing process. That, too, will happen in the first few days, as developers push out updates and the phone works to get hold of them all.

But both of them will happen over the first few days and then resolve themselves.

The app issues are likely to do with various incompatibilities as a result of changes Apple has made to the operating system. The company has introduced some significant under-the-hood changes in the new update – including breaking every app that hasn't been updated for new processors – and any apps that either haven't been updated or have been updated badly could run into issues.

Those compatibility problems will probably also be resolved very soon, as developers receive reports of the problems and change their app to work with the operating system more smoothly.

None of this is to say that there aren't genuine problems with iOS 11 that haven't yet been discovered, or are hiding in the fact that there are problems every time. But it's not usually possible to judge either way until a few days after the software is released.