2014-09-22

Aquafadas, Magzter release iOS 8 compliant apps, ESPN does not while users complain of crashes

It’s not like we all didn’t know that iOS 8 would be released this month, Apple had been releasing beta versions on a regular basis, and past history showed that Apple would release the latest version of their mobile operating system about a week after their iPhone event introducing new models and a couple of days before their actual release.

Most major media companies were prepared, releasing updates either just before or just after the release of iOS 8. But ESPN has been asleep at the switch and the result is that it main app, ESPN SportsCenter> is a crashing mess.

“Great app until I ran it with iOS 8,” wrote one user in iTunes. “Now it consistently crashes and has multiple bugs. But with that said, once fixed I would give it 5 stars.”

One assumes the ESPN developer team is working on an update at this point.

Most of the major digital publishing platforms have issued updates to their platforms, and their preview apps if they use them.

Today, Aquafadas issued an update to Aquafadas Viewer for iOS which states it is “optimized for iOS 8.” The update also has a long list of improvements and bug fixes, as well.

Another platform that is also a digital newsstand, Magzter, today issued an iOS 8 related update. Other platforms releasing updates include PressPad which updated its Digital Publishing Guide app.

Update: Late Monday afternoon another of the platform (and digital newsstand) companies, PressReader, issued an iOS 8 related update. PressReader’s app appears under the developer account of the company’s former name, NewspaperDirect Inc.

The first app update from Tribune Publishing is for RedEye for iPad, which just also happens to be the one app still using the Mag+ platform. The daily newspaper apps remain untouched. The apps, such as Los Angeles Times App for iPad, were solely in need of updates before the release of iOS 8 – now those updates are over due.

Other publishing updates related to the release of iOS 8 include the app for Rolling Stone and New Internationalist Magazine Australia.

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