AppleEditorials

Why I’m glad iOS 6 doesn’t require a password for updates and free apps

ios61 - for some reason we don't have an alt tag here

In iOS 5 (and earlier versions of iOS), a dialogue asking for your Apple ID password would pop up every time you downloaded something from the App Store – including free apps and updates to apps you already had installed on your iDevice. But in the iOS 6 beta, that annoying dialogue is no more. According to Reddit user Varmanj, Apple has finally removed the password requirement for free apps and updates.

This is fantastic news to me, since I absolutely hated the fact that every time I wanted to update an app or download a free one, I’d have to enter my password. In my opinion, the requirement of an entered password should be applied only to paid apps: there’s no need to confirm that I want to try out a free app, nor is there a reason for re-asking me if I truly want to update an app.

This move will certainly save time, and saving time on a mobile device is of the utmost importance. I’ve become spoiled by the way that Android handles all app downloads – just hit download and let it do its thing – so whenever I go back to one of my iOS devices, it’s a bit of a shock to me. It honestly makes no sense to me, but thankfully I won’t have to think about it after iOS 6 is released this fall.

It’s a great move, and one that will most definitely make iOS easier to use and more efficient. Of course, iOS isn’t Apple’s only product that utilizes an App Store: its Mac computers also have a dedicated App Store, and this one asks for a password for everything, as well. Apple has a tendency to throw features from one product to another, and I hope that this is one of those features that makes it to all of Apple’s media stores.

Apple has been disappointing me a lot lately, so it’s nice to see that it can still pump out some nice features and products once in a while. I’m not a fanboy or hater of anything – I just like companies that can produce quality stuff, even when that stuff is as seemingly inconsequential as this.

How do you feel about this?

[Reddit]
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Calob Horton

Calob Horton is an associate editor at Pocketables. He loves all technology, no matter which company it comes from. This unbiased view of the tech world allows him to choose the products that best fit his personal needs and tastes: a Microsoft Surface Pro, a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and a third-gen iPad.Google+ | Twitter | More posts by Calob | Subscribe to Calob's posts

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