@Colin, I certainly understand your frustration and I'm sorry for the obvious pressure you are feeling. Some of what you're describing is a result of changes the client vendors have made that we then have to react to as we made design decisions based on the vendors then-current behavior. Our reaction to those changes takes time unfortunately and you're somewhat caught in the middle. There may be a workaround on the IOS issues, so please open a support case.
9.7 is still on track for mid-December, that's the best I can offer (without risking a contract hit on me)