I like their operating systems and (especially) hardware too. But I also have certain principles. This warrantless monitoring world we're heading towards is a no-go area for me.
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Apple Says Option to Stay on iOS 14 Was Always Meant to Be Temporary
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Apple now provides their iPhones 7 years of security updates and major updates (feature drops).
No slowdowns by the way (my iPhone 6S can tell).
Nobody on the market does that. Nobody.
So it was just an option to stay on the previous release, till all the bugs are fixed on the newest version.
But Apple never said they would not do it. Apple never said they were against it. Apple never said they would not do it in a silent update. In short, Apple updates are always 1GB plus. There are no release notes. There is no transparency. Apple shoves down whatever they want, whenever they want. It's time for them to be called out about it.Apple quietly pulls references to its CSAM detection tech after privacy fears
Apple quietly pulls references to its CSAM detection tech after privacy fears | TechCrunch
The feature, announced earlier this year, was delayed following fears that it could be abused by governments.techcrunch.com
The main problem is that they update the software.
The vast majority of "new features" is not useful to a user - with Mac OS, I can't think of a single useful feature since Snow Leopard. That was a very long time ago. Snow Leopard made everything faster and cleaner, and it was great. Since then - an endless stream of forgettable and never-used added features.
So a lot of this software falls into the "it's different now, without actually being better" category.
iOS as well, although iOS 15 had text detection in images, which is both super cool and very useful - other than that I get uglier notification boxes (huh??) for no reason. Why did they get uglified? What do they do better now than before?
Updates should
- Fix bugs
- Fix security holes
- Support new processor or other hardware
- Make things faster
- And very very rarely, when there is a clear advantage, update how things work. But mostly, it should not update how things work, since that is most of the time just confusing, without being better, so updating software becomes a hassle.
The main issue in iOS and Mac OS is a software team that seems to be rewarded for adding as much stuff as they can, and changing as many things as they can, in typical corporate BS world, so they can show their managers a long list of things they did as proof of their continued employment, and when the whole company does that, bad software decisions are made.
The vast majority of "new features" is not useful to a user - with Mac OS, I can't think of a single useful feature since Snow Leopard. That was a very long time ago. Snow Leopard made everything faster and cleaner, and it was great. Since then - an endless stream of forgettable and never-used added features.
So a lot of this software falls into the "it's different now, without actually being better" category.
iOS as well, although iOS 15 had text detection in images, which is both super cool and very useful - other than that I get uglier notification boxes (huh??) for no reason. Why did they get uglified? What do they do better now than before?
Updates should
- Fix bugs
- Fix security holes
- Support new processor or other hardware
- Make things faster
- And very very rarely, when there is a clear advantage, update how things work. But mostly, it should not update how things work, since that is most of the time just confusing, without being better, so updating software becomes a hassle.
The main issue in iOS and Mac OS is a software team that seems to be rewarded for adding as much stuff as they can, and changing as many things as they can, in typical corporate BS world, so they can show their managers a long list of things they did as proof of their continued employment, and when the whole company does that, bad software decisions are made.
I've been reading that iOS 15 just trashes the SE (v2..the current one). Makes it hard to want to upgrade to it for me or my parents.
Still running iOS 14 on your iPhone? Apple brings support to an end
=====
From Apple Support page as of January 20 2022 9:40PM PST [Published Date: September 23, 2021]
If you're using iOS or iPadOS 14.5 or later, you might now see the option to choose between two software update versions. This option allows you to choose between updating to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS 15 as soon as it's released, or continuing on iOS or iPadOS 14 while still getting important security updates for a period of time.
Source
=====
Software Updates
iOS may now offer a choice between two software update versions in the Settings app. You can update to the latest version of iOS 15 as soon as it’s released for the latest features and most complete set of security updates. Or continue on iOS 14 and still get important security updates.
Source
=====
From Apple Support page as of January 20 2022 9:40PM PST [Published Date: September 23, 2021]
If you're using iOS or iPadOS 14.5 or later, you might now see the option to choose between two software update versions. This option allows you to choose between updating to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS 15 as soon as it's released, or continuing on iOS or iPadOS 14 while still getting important security updates for a period of time.
Source
=====
Software Updates
iOS may now offer a choice between two software update versions in the Settings app. You can update to the latest version of iOS 15 as soon as it’s released for the latest features and most complete set of security updates. Or continue on iOS 14 and still get important security updates.
Source
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I gave up on holding out on iOS15 and upgraded my 12 Pro Max but kept another iPhone still on iOS 14 - just because…
People who just rock phones like old Blackberries and Pixel GrapheneOS phones and Pinephones and such need to know they are looked upon as “creepy” by most people and most of all by Apple customers and especially women. Just saying most people just won’t get it.
Stick with strange one off privacy platforms and you have problems with NFC payments and bank transactions. Android BlackBerry users are finding that out now.
Seriously, you have to have multiple phones. I would say one iPhone with the latest updates to use for common day to day uses. I would also get a privacy phone for private use. That takes the creepy stuff out of there and even makes you sort of cool. The only phone for that is the Pinephone and the only distro that works is unfortunately Ubuntu Touch.
The only other option is one I also have and that is commercial security which I have installed on my iPhones and Androids. Commercial security is the best private individuals can get but it is expensive. It’s also cool to have this on the latest smartphones. Personally I think de-Googled phones are living on borrowed time anyway so Linux may be the only way to go for an alternative.
Bottom line for this thread: Apple and Google are in your iPhone and know what you are up to anyway, CSAM just brought the issue into the light again. Stay on old versions and stuff you take for granted like contactless payments will go by by and you will have to upgrade anyway. So go and upgrade to iOS 15, with the exception of a very small number you have CSAM already installed even on iOS 14. If they do bring on-device scanning CSAM again sell the phone - and now you won’t be looked at as some tin foil hat creep as you were right all along. However Apple hasn’t gone there yet…
People who just rock phones like old Blackberries and Pixel GrapheneOS phones and Pinephones and such need to know they are looked upon as “creepy” by most people and most of all by Apple customers and especially women. Just saying most people just won’t get it.
Stick with strange one off privacy platforms and you have problems with NFC payments and bank transactions. Android BlackBerry users are finding that out now.
Seriously, you have to have multiple phones. I would say one iPhone with the latest updates to use for common day to day uses. I would also get a privacy phone for private use. That takes the creepy stuff out of there and even makes you sort of cool. The only phone for that is the Pinephone and the only distro that works is unfortunately Ubuntu Touch.
The only other option is one I also have and that is commercial security which I have installed on my iPhones and Androids. Commercial security is the best private individuals can get but it is expensive. It’s also cool to have this on the latest smartphones. Personally I think de-Googled phones are living on borrowed time anyway so Linux may be the only way to go for an alternative.
Bottom line for this thread: Apple and Google are in your iPhone and know what you are up to anyway, CSAM just brought the issue into the light again. Stay on old versions and stuff you take for granted like contactless payments will go by by and you will have to upgrade anyway. So go and upgrade to iOS 15, with the exception of a very small number you have CSAM already installed even on iOS 14. If they do bring on-device scanning CSAM again sell the phone - and now you won’t be looked at as some tin foil hat creep as you were right all along. However Apple hasn’t gone there yet…
The problem is where can you go? And I know exactly what will happen to the de-googled phones as the same thing happened with BlackBerry 10 years ago. That OS supported 4.3 runtime and I could actually get a hack that installed the Google Play Store on the device. You could install stuff but some apps had it in for you like SnapChat that shut me down after a couple of days. Once the use of deGoogled phones gets large enough Android/Google will act to shut it down. They can do this several ways but in the end you are left with no alternative.
The only alternative is Linux and that can be the third or fourth option as Harmony OS seems to be a thing now. I would support that development and keep using your iPhone and keep it updated but know the privacy limits of the phone and use the other phone for privacy. Years of fighting the BlackBerry war beats you down as apps stop working and things not being supported. I like communicating with iMessage and all the other apps all the people I know use so you have to use big tech phones - for now. The BlackBerry KeyOne Android phones had contactless payments stopped just a couple of days ago and for no real reason at this point
in time. Big tech in all its forms can do whatever it wants if they know you have nowhere to go. If you have no alternative big tech will walk all over you! So Linux, and if big tech knows people have a viable alternative, this keeps them in check from really doing whatever they want.
Apple has me considering simply walking away from it all. Or at the very least reducing my use of smartphones to the bare minimum. When all is said and done, the smartphone is a convenience, not a necessity. I often wonder if it is also a burden that sometimes doesn’t justify the convenience.
I can replace it with other tools. I may be inconvenienced a bit but the inconvenience to me pales compared to the implications of the surveillance dystopia Apple is championing. I want no part of that.
Fair enough, but I think smart phones are here to stay and soon you won’t be able to function properly in society without one. You will need it for work and all sorts of things.
That is why this issue of updating from iOS 14 to iOS 15 is just a stop gap to flesh out iOS 15 till the bugs are worked out, forcing everyone to upgrade isn’t that big a deal and keeps things simple and able to support devices longer. CSAM and surveillance is different as apart from one person on these forums on her jail broken phone, everyone here can have on-device scanning turned on at Apple’s whim. So not upgrading won’t prevent on-device scanning.
Turning away from new tech may not be an option unless you want to go totally Luddite. Even dumb phones will need to go VoLTE or 5G this year to work in the States. You have to lobby Apple to stay the course of privacy or support a platform like open source Linux. For a guy like you that would seem to be the best course of action. New tech and society can work for you but you will have to work for it to keep options open. Going the “fight fire with fire” route to keep privacy alive may end up making you more tech savvy that the other direction of withdrawing from society. The tech world needs more people like you to keep them honest and withdrawing from the fight makes it easier for them to become more invasive.
The choice is yours and personally I should tell you I was one of those advocates that helped keep internet governance under the multi-stakeholder model back in 2015. You can keep things from sliding irreversibly down a bad path but you have to fight for it.
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Looks like I'm staying on iOS/iPadOS 14. Apple's updates have been less than stellar lately, and I can't believe they would drop updates after 90 days when they led everyone to believe that you could stay on 14 if you wanted to. To only offer the update for 90 days and not document when this was going to be dropped, and so quickly, is very misleading. Considering that iOS/iPadOS updates can never be reverted to a previous version once installed, there should be more flexibility pertaining to this matter.
My belief was that they were going to offer updates for 14 at least until iOS 16/iPadsOS 16 shipped. Dropping 14 at that time would have seemed very reasonable since it would have now been 2 versions behind. Apparently they'd rather have people on old versions of 14 rather than at least offering the final 14.8.1 update.
The update strategy between Apple devices is very inconsistent. They support iPhone 6s for 6 years (so far), and Mac operating systems for 3 years. They then tell everyone they can stay on 14 and get updates, with no support timeline, and then pull the rug out from under us.
So, I'm keeping my devices on 14.
My belief was that they were going to offer updates for 14 at least until iOS 16/iPadsOS 16 shipped. Dropping 14 at that time would have seemed very reasonable since it would have now been 2 versions behind. Apparently they'd rather have people on old versions of 14 rather than at least offering the final 14.8.1 update.
The update strategy between Apple devices is very inconsistent. They support iPhone 6s for 6 years (so far), and Mac operating systems for 3 years. They then tell everyone they can stay on 14 and get updates, with no support timeline, and then pull the rug out from under us.
So, I'm keeping my devices on 14.
If we had the ability to upgrade, and the option to downgrade, if there were issues, I wouldn’t be so hesitant to upgrade to the latest versions. If it worked perfectly, we stay. If it doesn’t we downgrade until the issues are fixed. When they give you no way to downgrade, it makes it more risky.
Wasn’t Apple sued for slowing down iPhones? Wasn’t there just a huge security bug that leaked data in Safari 15 (also part of iOS/iPadOS 15)?? Why would I jump to new unproven software? That’s not how my company runs.
It would probably help Apple’s iOS/iPadOS fragmentation too.
Attachments
Are the Safari security issues a problem on 14.8.1? Or should I upgrade to 15.3.1 only if I have iOS 15?
It does not affect iOS14/iPadOS 14. It affect iOS 15 > 15.3 and was fixed in 15.3. The issue is that it leaked data until Apple fixed the issue. Many users have also noted that 15 runs slower than 14, so that's where I'm keeping my iPad Air 2. Once you upgrade you can't go back!
Safari 15 bug leaks your iPhone and Mac browsing activity as you work
Here's the thing: if the option to stay on iOS 14 was "always" meant to be temporary, than they should have come out and said that when they made the announcement at WWDC.
Now, I understand why they didn't. One, adding a caveat to an obvious crowd-pleaser would spoil the sunshine-and-rainbows press that Apple is always trying to control around their big events; and two, they were probably hoping initial adoption of iOS 15 would be higher than it's been.
Doesn't matter. Either way, if the stay was "always" meant to be temporary, then Apple chose to lie for corporate expediency. Of course, this doesn't surprise me in the least - Apple does it, everybody does it - but the fact that it's become so commonplace as to be passé is the real problem here.
We're all (well, most of us) adults. Tell us the truth. A free market based on free and knowledgeable decisions. Instead of this, the capitalists want smoke-and-mirror games, seeing how much they can get for how little they put forward.
It needs to stop.
Now, I understand why they didn't. One, adding a caveat to an obvious crowd-pleaser would spoil the sunshine-and-rainbows press that Apple is always trying to control around their big events; and two, they were probably hoping initial adoption of iOS 15 would be higher than it's been.
Doesn't matter. Either way, if the stay was "always" meant to be temporary, then Apple chose to lie for corporate expediency. Of course, this doesn't surprise me in the least - Apple does it, everybody does it - but the fact that it's become so commonplace as to be passé is the real problem here.
We're all (well, most of us) adults. Tell us the truth. A free market based on free and knowledgeable decisions. Instead of this, the capitalists want smoke-and-mirror games, seeing how much they can get for how little they put forward.
It needs to stop.
[Necro I don't care ...]
Apple SWIFTLY turning more and more into I-don't-know-WHAT-the F.
• Make a statement re iOS 14 then "oh well just BREAK our word" PLUS try to wiggle out with lame re-wording excuse.
• $2K extra for only basically ONE extra M1 Max in top-of-the-line Studio. WHAT??!! ?
• CAN'T user-upgrade Studio's SSD (blocked/forbidden by Apple software FFS).
• Hideously CRAPPY iPhone SE so-called "update" SMH.
• (Oh but wait we DID get those TWO oh-so-cool GREEN colors of iPhones, wow TYVM Apple. ?♂️?♂️)
This 36-years (since Mac Plus) Apple Fanboy's about DONE with their entire shenanigans-laden enterprise. MY FAULT, I shoulda bailed when Jobs died and/or when Lion KILLED the "save as" feature WHAT WERE THEY THINKING. ?♂️?♂️?♂️
?♂️
Apple SWIFTLY turning more and more into I-don't-know-WHAT-the F.
• Make a statement re iOS 14 then "oh well just BREAK our word" PLUS try to wiggle out with lame re-wording excuse.
• $2K extra for only basically ONE extra M1 Max in top-of-the-line Studio. WHAT??!! ?
• CAN'T user-upgrade Studio's SSD (blocked/forbidden by Apple software FFS).
• Hideously CRAPPY iPhone SE so-called "update" SMH.
• (Oh but wait we DID get those TWO oh-so-cool GREEN colors of iPhones, wow TYVM Apple. ?♂️?♂️)
This 36-years (since Mac Plus) Apple Fanboy's about DONE with their entire shenanigans-laden enterprise. MY FAULT, I shoulda bailed when Jobs died and/or when Lion KILLED the "save as" feature WHAT WERE THEY THINKING. ?♂️?♂️?♂️
?♂️
Yes I'm in this boat, have a spare iPhone need to restore a smashed iPhone backup, identical devices physically, but no matter the pants I have tried, it always forces an update. What an absolute crock. The user has stuck with 14.x because of CSAM and they don't want any of that code.
So I am tasked with finding a work around. It's insane that you can not restore your backup as is.
I think it may have been possible but they may have changed it, can anyone conform this slight of hand?
As I mentioned in another thread, carbon copy clone for iOS right now would be the ticket. That's all I want to do is clone the backup to a spare device to restore users phone.
Imagine not being able to do this with a HD backup of a macOS. That's how stupid this is.
Apple are clearly just one of the mega techno enabling arms of the globalist agenda. It is as simple as that. They can market all they like but that is why they are going in this direction. You have to wonder was Jobs a block to a lot of the agenda. Maybe he approved the rainbow arch, or that was added on later.
This stuff has been outlined since the 80's if not earlier with the idea of the "global village" I think espoused around the 60s - Total digitisation of life, global digital citizens, which speak of a global government. Nor is any of this a secret anymore. It's happening right now before everyones eyes.
WEF (World Economic Forum) have been shown and admitted to have infiltrated governments all over the world and also the corporates. We can see with the uniformity of re-action by governments and corporates in the Russian Ukraine invasion, we have a perfect example of the whole globliast system working lockstep in a way that has never occurs before.
Apple are only following the globalist vision of creating a total track and traced society. Yep, full on 1984.
The irony.
How many folk over the years at Apple have been to a WEF or similar globalist conference on a regular basis, if more than once. Those can be interesting questions.
This is what is really pulling string, if Apple deviated from this agenda you can be sure they would be reminded via a very sudden and sharp share price correction, to shrapnel executive minds and keep with the plan. That's how it works, up until now.
It's the Agenda pushing people onto iOS15.
This stuff has been outlined since the 80's if not earlier with the idea of the "global village" I think espoused around the 60s - Total digitisation of life, global digital citizens, which speak of a global government. Nor is any of this a secret anymore. It's happening right now before everyones eyes.
WEF (World Economic Forum) have been shown and admitted to have infiltrated governments all over the world and also the corporates. We can see with the uniformity of re-action by governments and corporates in the Russian Ukraine invasion, we have a perfect example of the whole globliast system working lockstep in a way that has never occurs before.
Apple are only following the globalist vision of creating a total track and traced society. Yep, full on 1984.
The irony.
How many folk over the years at Apple have been to a WEF or similar globalist conference on a regular basis, if more than once. Those can be interesting questions.
This is what is really pulling string, if Apple deviated from this agenda you can be sure they would be reminded via a very sudden and sharp share price correction, to shrapnel executive minds and keep with the plan. That's how it works, up until now.
It's the Agenda pushing people onto iOS15.
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The workaround is using iCloud. Make sure that your device(s) are backed up to iCloud before doing the restore (do a manual backup in Settings). Then when you reset the device, it will give you the option to restore from iCloud backup. This will download all your data, apps, text messages, etc and this does not require an OS upgrade.
Check out iMazing. They have a backup and restore feature and it may not require an iOS update. I haven’t tried it but that might be an option.