Apple Won't Make You Upgrade to iOS 15 and Will Continue to Provide Security Updates for iOS 14

[MacRumors]

Apple plans to allow iPhone and iPad users to remain on iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 even after the launch of the iOS and iPadOS 15 updates, according to new details on the software pages for the new updates.

iOS now offers 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 until you're ready to upgrade to the next major version.

With prior updates, Apple has prompted users to update right away and has stopped signing past versions of iOS to make it impossible to downgrade, but it sounds like Apple is planning to relax that policy going forward.

This will be useful for those who are not able to update their devices because of device restrictions or requirements implemented by work organizations or schools.

Article Link: Apple Won't Make You Upgrade to iOS 15 and Will Continue to Provide Security Updates for iOS 14

 

[tivoboy]

Probably means it won’t work WELL on iPhone 7 or 8 or possibly X

 

[LFC2020]

That’s because even apple know iOS 15 is basically iOS 14. 🤦‍♂️😂😂😂

 

[JohnApples]

This is the perfect solution for those who are worried about bogging down their older devices- having the choice is something this forum has been requesting for years.

And still getting security updates makes it a win-win.

 

[GenesisST]

Might be buggy as hell... :-D

 

[contacos]

Thank god. I will not let my mother update for Safari alone 😅 she will call me asking who deleted the internet cuz she can’t search for any sites anymore (too used to the look and feel of an address bar on top)

 

[Macintosh IIvx]

I'm sure they'll eventually push people. Can't stay on the old version forever. After a set period after the iOS 15 release it makes sense to move users over to the new version, rather than let them stay on the old.

 

[Populus]

This is just GREAT!!!

A pity they didn’t talk about it on the conference
TBH, it is not as surprising, because it got leaked on a beta update, so I was kinda expecting something like this at some point... But very happy to read it officialy.

Now I am wondering if I’ll be able to get those security updates from iOS 14.4.2, or I will have to update to iOS 14.6 or 14.7 to get those

 

[Paddle1]

With 15 support going all the way back to the iPhone 6s and iPad Air 2, finally letting people have a choice sounds like a great option.

 

[_Spinn_]

Interesting. At some point they will probably move users over. This is more than likely just a grace period before that happens.

 

[Marshall73]

That was unexpected. But I’m sure it will be welcomed.

 

[JPack]

Probably because of those 32GB devices.

Look what happened with Watch S3 and watchOS 7.5.

 

[jezbd1997]

This is great news. I held out for iOS 14 all the way until 14.5 on my 11 Pro as it worked so well on the final 13.7 release.
Most new releases have been pretty buggy in the past 6-7 years with iOS 12 being the odd one out being pretty perfect at launch

 

[LotusLord]

This is huge for us as we want to keep our devices up to date but our busiest time of year is right after the major OS versions drop. Keeping on 14.x for security fixes until early in 2022 will be huge for us, if we can set some sort of MDM flag to allow them to continue on 14.x and not have to restrict updating completely.

 

[dukebound85]

how it should have always been

the ability to do a fresh restore to previous iOS is great

 

[Rogifan]

That’s because even apple know iOS 15 is basically iOS 14. 🤦‍♂️😂😂😂

Well if that was the case there would be no reason not to update.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

A pity they didn’t talk about it on the conference
TBH, it is not as surprising, because it got leaked on a beta update, so I was kinda expecting something like this at some point... But very happy to read it officialy.

The conference is not over, though. It’s still ongoing AFTER the keynote. I’d imagine that, before the end of the week, this will be discussed.

 

[zorinlynx]

This is awesome, and brings iOS more in line with how MacOS updates are done. You've always had the choice to stay on a given MacOS release for as long as you like, with security updates available for the previous version.

It's about time Apple recognizes some people want to do this!

 

[LFC2020]

Well if that was the case there would be no reason not to update.

Going off most people reaction on here, a lot of people won’t be rocking the betas, me included, it’s like apple didn’t even bother rocking up today 🤦‍♂️

 

[Solver]

So if your workplace says everyone has to be running iOS 13 you're still kind of out of luck. 🤪

 

[schlitzz]

Could somebody read this aloud, real slowly for the people that attended Ohio State?

 

[zorinlynx]

So if your workplace says everyone has to be running iOS 13 you're still kind of out of luck. 🤪

They better be prepared to buy me a work phone if they have a policy like that.

 

[Tozovac]

Now if only we can opt out of all the blandness that came in with iOS 7!

 

[NewUsername]

Probably because of those 32GB devices.

Look what happened with Watch S3 and watchOS 7.5.

You mean 16GB devices? iPhone 6s and SE still had 16GB.

 

[randyhudson]

What they meant to say:

When we released iOS 14.0, the migration process corrupted your Health data and we couldn't figure out how to fix things until 14.2, three releases later. Users who were smart enough to wait had to decide between corrupt data or staying on an unsupported version of iOS with known security vulnerabilities.

With iOS 15.0, we are admitting it hasn't been fully tested, so we will continue to provide security fixes for iOS 14 until enough volunteers have helped us complete its development.