Why software updates are not always a good thing

In tech, we always advise people to strive and run the very latest version of  given software. Be it, Android, be it Windows, Antivirus, apps, everything. It is a healthy habit with its own set of perks including; bug fixes that could possibly be loopholes that would compromise the integrity of your system, new features, and functionality among many more reasons.

However, running the very latest version of software may not exactly be a good thing. There are certain circumstances where you might want to hold off from updating to the very latest version of a software. In this post, we shall take a look at some of the reasons you might not want to update your software.

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New software can be buggy

If history is anything to go by, Windows falls squarely into this bracket. Of course, Google and Microsoft have elaborate software development cycles, from the nightly builds to developer previews all the way to public betas and official roll out. Some persistent bugs however find their way into the official releases. Updating to the very latest version of this software means you’ll have to deal with all this misbehavior until engineers can come up with patches.

New software with new design could throw off existing users

At one point or another, an update to an app we use frequently brought changes. Developers do this in order to change the look and feel of the app or to add more functionality. Humans are creatures of habit and such changes throw off such users who now have to learn how to use the new version of the software.

Older hardware

New versions of software often come with higher minimum system requirements. For instance, on Android, updating an app on your four-year-old flagship running Android Jellybean could very well mean your device just hit obsolence and you can nolonger use that app. Older version of the app however should still support your device.

Also, the performance of this new software on older hardware will no doubt take a hit. You are much better off sticking to the version of software you’re running if it still works well.

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