When my wife's iphone recently stopped paying attention to the headphone remote, we had a bit of a schizophrenic experience. We made an appointment at the genius bar and the instructions told us to back up the phone.
So when we went in, they very quickly diagnosed the problem and handed over a replacement phone, which was a huge cut above what you would typically be used to in customer service. However, when I restored it from backups, I find that the music (from itunes match) and the apps were all gone.
Now I realise that technically the backup must mean the app data, and the settings etc. So it was a bit of a relief as when we redownloaded the apps nothing appeared to be lost. And there is perhaps a very good reason why a backup wouldn't include the apps you had, their arrangement, and the music you had downloaded etc. But there's got to be a better reason to actually do it, or cater for that situation in a better way.
The whole process felt like it had fallen down. The semantics of 'backup' was changed. If I backup something, and then I restore it, I would expect it to be the same as when I had originally backed it up. Instead she had to go through all the apps, and the music etc that she wanted and redownload them. First world problem agreed, but a waste of time and a flaw where I was expecting something to work.
Whenever I've restored from a backup, it's included all the device music, playlists, contacts, all apps, all app data, icon positions, etc. Basically everything, just the way I left it.
This has even held when restoring an old backup to a new phone the one time I upgraded and the one time I got a replacement device due a defect.
This has also been my experience with my iPads. The only time I had a problem with restore, was with my out-of-the-box 'new iPad' not restoring properly, which turned out to be due a failure of the unit. When that was replaced at the Apple store, the new device restored from the old backup flawlessly. Apps, music, movies, layouts - everything.
This is why I can't imagine what was going though the author's mind during the whole digression about his trouble with "Other" space in the article. Backing up is the default. Restoring is a straightforward process clearly marked and almost-uncomfortably up-front and accessible.
So why didn't he even try that before declaring all his wasted time Apple's fault?
A normal user would try the wipe-and-restore. Clearly, I'm not saying backup/restore never fails. But unless the author had it fail, it makes no logical sense to use his experience in paranoia as a 'point' about usability.
So when we went in, they very quickly diagnosed the problem and handed over a replacement phone, which was a huge cut above what you would typically be used to in customer service. However, when I restored it from backups, I find that the music (from itunes match) and the apps were all gone.
Now I realise that technically the backup must mean the app data, and the settings etc. So it was a bit of a relief as when we redownloaded the apps nothing appeared to be lost. And there is perhaps a very good reason why a backup wouldn't include the apps you had, their arrangement, and the music you had downloaded etc. But there's got to be a better reason to actually do it, or cater for that situation in a better way.
The whole process felt like it had fallen down. The semantics of 'backup' was changed. If I backup something, and then I restore it, I would expect it to be the same as when I had originally backed it up. Instead she had to go through all the apps, and the music etc that she wanted and redownload them. First world problem agreed, but a waste of time and a flaw where I was expecting something to work.