iOS 9.3.1 update released by Apple for iPhone and iPad to fix bug causing crashes

Apple has released an updated version of the iOS 9.3 in the form of iOS 9.3.1 update to fix a bug that affected most iPhones and iPads which had their OS updated. The bug fix contains a crucial improvement and addresses the widespread issue where apps (and sometimes the device) would crash or hang when tapping links after users update to the iOS 9.3 version.

The bug affecting the OS can be traced back to Apple's new Universal Links feature introduced with iOS 9 in September 2015. Universal Links was designed to allow developers to connect URLs with specific mobile apps, letting users tap a link to a website and have it open in the site's mobile app instead.

Mobile developer Ben Collier, however, detailed on his blog that if a developer accidentally includes too many URLs in the iOS file downloads to enable Universal Links, the app would crash. He also suggested an alternative method prior to the release of this update to fix the issue.

Apple has also had to re-release new builds of the iOS 9.3 update to address activation problems affecting some of the older iPhones and iPads. Besides, there was a bricking issue concerning the iPad 2, forcing the company to temporarily pull iOS 9.3 for that device. As for the freshly dispatched 9.7 inch iPad Pro and iPhone SE which ship with the iOS 9.3, users will have to immediately install the updated iOS 9.3.1 version of the OS.

Despite the iOS 9.3 bug, the numerous beta testing rounds paid off for the company as iOS 9.3 was called Apple's "most stable new release in years" by app analytics company Apteligent. The crash rate comparison of iOS 9.3 against iOS 9.2, iOS 9.1, iOS 9, iOS 8 and Android 6.0 over the course of eight days was only 2.2%. The data shows the Android 6.0 crash score at 2.6% with iOS 8, iOS 9 and iOS 9.3 crash rates at over 3.2% in the last week.