Apple was the toast of the tech world last week, but on Wednesday iPhone users reported the company’s latest iOS software update was either failing to download or temporarily breaking their phones.

iOS 10 promised a number of exciting new features, but many users reported their phones had been “bricked” after completing the latest software download.

‘Bricking’ describes a phone that has become useless, either temporarily due to a failed update or through permanent and irreparable damage.

A representative for Apple Australia said the glitch was a “brief issue affecting a small number of users during the first hour of availability”.

Apple claimed the issue had been fixed.

Users also reported download times much lengthier than other Apple software updates.

‘Fingers crossed’

News of the potential effects spread quickly online, with many users saying they were nervous to go ahead with the download.

The Apple spokesperson played down the issue, saying it had only been temporary.

“The problem was quickly resolved and we apologise to those customers,” he said in a statement.

https://twitter.com/Roobitmonster/status/751112887461109760

“Anyone who was affected should connect to iTunes to complete the update or contact AppleCare for help.”

As news of the issues spread online, a number of articles sprung up claiming to quickly solve the issue.

iOS 10 update temporarily bricked my iPhone 6s Plus … so yeah, I'd hold off on that. pic.twitter.com/qPFU1bpqZs

— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) September 13, 2016

Technology site The Verge recommended a step-by-step recovery process which included plugging the iPhone to a Mac computer or PC, before “force restarting” the phone and putting it into recovery mode.

Tom Warren, senior editor at The Verge, conducted an online poll of 2000 participants that found almost half had their phones bricked by the update.

https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/775753647036755968

The shiny new features

Those whose iPhones did manage to download the software successfully were largely impressed with iOS 10’s updates.

Apple has done away with its traditional home screen lock function; instead of users needing to swipe their finger across the screen, they can simply press the ‘Home’ button.

The ‘Raise to Wake’ function allows users to simply pick up their phone and see their notifications, instead of having to unlock it.

This will please users of the iPhone 5, 6 and 7 who are sick of accidentally missing out on notifications when they open their phones.

Home screen notifications are also broken up into individual bubbles, which can be dealt with and responded to without opening the phone.

The iPhone 7 has been met with praise from most technology commentators.

Users also have the option of clearing all of their notifications in one fell swoop – a process that used to take tedious time on earlier versions.

iOS 10 has also introduced a water-protection measure, alerting users when the phone detects water and advising them to disconnect the charger and turn off the phone.

For those who want better protection from water, the iPhone 7 and 7s are water resistant.

It’s also much easier to quickly use the camera now – just swipe the lock screen to the right and you’re ready to make memories.

And more good news: Apple promises poor old Siri will be a lot more useful now, with the ability to perform tasks using third party apps (for example, “Send Tom a Whatsapp saying I’ll be five minutes late”) and increased voice understanding.

iOS 10 does not brick devices, it simply acts as a magical incentive to enhance the urge to preorder the revolutionary new iPhone 7.

— ᴺᴼᵀ Jony Ive (@JonyIveParody) September 13, 2016