iOS 16 security updates

[oldmacs]

So where are the security updates to iOS 16?

Would it kill Apple to be consistent in iOS support? iOS 15 got updates through to July of this year, iOS 12 till early 2023 IIRC.

iOS 16 hasn't had an update since August.

Sucks when planning requires knowing when security support will finish.

 

[Reverend Benny]

So where are the security updates to iOS 16?

Would it kill Apple to be consistent in iOS support? iOS 15 got updates through to July of this year, iOS 12 till early 2023 IIRC.

iOS 16 hasn't had an update since August.

Sucks when planning requires knowing when security support will finish.

I agree. Would guess there are similar security issues with iOS 16 that iOS 17 has. And there has been two releases of iOS 17 that has contained a bunch of security fixes.

But looking at history it looks like older OS is lagging a bit behind on releases, maybe iOS 16 will get it in a few weeks or so.
If not I would say Apple has given up on supporting iOS 16 and below.

But all your idevices can run iOS/iPadOS 17, so go for 17.7.1 instead. There won't be any security releases for iOS16 that support your devices.

 

[oldmacs]

I agree. Would guess there are similar security issues with iOS 16 that iOS 17 has. And there has been two releases of iOS 17 that has contained a bunch of security fixes.

But looking at history it looks like older OS is lagging a bit behind on releases, maybe iOS 16 will get it in a few weeks or so.
If not I would say Apple has given up on supporting iOS 16 and below.

But all your idevices can run iOS/iPadOS 17, so go for 17.7.1 instead. There won't be any security releases for iOS16 that support your devices.

Oh it's not for my devices - it's in the workplace when trying to plan when a device will be EOL security support-wise, and also when advising friends/family etc when they need to plan on upgrading devices...

 

[Six0Four]

Just picked up an iPhone 8 plus on ios 16.7 for real cheap. Is it useless or unsafe?

 

[Reverend Benny]

Just picked up an iPhone 8 plus on ios 16.7 for real cheap. Is it useless or unsafe?

Hard to tell. judging by the massive load of CVE's that's listed in 17.7.1 and 18.1 I would imagine some of these security issues are to be found in earlier OS such as iOS 16 and 15.

My guess is that there will be a security update to iOS 16 and 15 released fairly soon.
If not, I would say that maybe the iPhone 8 isn't a device to recommend as a daily driver.

 

[oldmacs]

Apple is so annoying with this. The lack of consistency is insane and makes any sort of planning impossible.

 

[Reverend Benny]

Apple is so annoying with this. The lack of consistency is insane and makes any sort of planning impossible.

i'd give up on iOS 15 and 16 tbh, there might be security updates but since they haven't released any thing when iOS 17 and 18 has heaps of CVEs fixed I would consider anything lower than iOS 17 EOL and not supported.

A shame that Apple can't invest a little in keeping older devices secure.

 

[oldmacs]

i'd give up on iOS 15 and 16 tbh, there might be security updates but since they haven't released any thing when iOS 17 and 18 has heaps of CVEs fixed I would consider anything lower than iOS 17 EOL and not supported.

A shame that Apple can't invest a little in keeping older devices secure.

Just some consistency would be nice - why did iOS 15 get a nine months of support over 16. Why did 12 get such extended support?

IMHO the last major version before a device is dropped should continue getting security updates for a while. That would demonstrate care for the environment.

They need to publish a support cycle policy so that those of us who need to know so we can plan in our jobs.

 

[Reverend Benny]

Just some consistency would be nice - why did iOS 15 get a nine months of support over 16. Why did 12 get such extended support?

IMHO the last major version before a device is dropped should continue getting security updates for a while. That would demonstrate care for the environment.

They need to publish a support cycle policy so that those of us who need to know so we can plan in our jobs.

I agree, it would be nice if they could be more open what consumer can expect in terms of updates.
In this case their lack of updating older OS speaks for itself, noone should use devices older than iOS 17 in a company environment (general assumtion). My take on that is that the management software generally focus on later updates and to be able to manage devices they should be on the same OS level.

We have turned to renting devices for 30 months and can rely on that they can run the latest OS.
But even at that, devices that were released 6 years ago can run iOS 18. Can't imagine there are many companies out there using older phones than that.

 

[oldmacs]

In this case their lack of updating older OS speaks for itself, noone should use devices older than iOS 17 in a company environment (general assumtion)

So in my case, I work in education, in a school with limited resources.

Budgeting for the next year is done by the end of August. I have a small fleet of iPad 5th gens - on the basis that at that time iOS 15 was still receiving security updates, I assumed that iOS 16 would similarly get security updates into 2025, meaning I had planned replacing those iPads in 2026.

 

[Reverend Benny]

So in my case, I work in education, in a school with limited resources.

Budgeting for the next year is done by the end of August. I have a small fleet of iPad 5th gens - on the basis that at that time iOS 15 was still receiving security updates, I assumed that iOS 16 would similarly get security updates into 2025, meaning I had planned replacing those iPads in 2026.

Even if they haven't made any official statement I think Apple has had similar time-frame when it comes to how long they will update devices for quite some time. Or even extended it on some devices (e.g. iPad Air 2).

So 5-6 years from when a device is being released is what I would use as an absolute max when considering a budget for when devices need to be life-cycled.

Aside from OS I would say that batteries are another reason for considering life-cycling.

I'm not saying iOS 15 and 16 will get some security patches in the future, but since they haven't released any for a long time (while fixing it in iOS 17 and 18) I wouldn't recommend anyone using iOS/IPadOS 15&16 devices other than in a closed environment.

 

[oldmacs]

Even if they haven't made any official statement I think Apple has had similar time-frame when it comes to how long they will update devices for quite some time. Or even extended it on some devices (e.g. iPad Air 2).

So 5-6 years from when a device is being released is what I would use as an absolute max when considering a budget for when devices need to be life-cycled.

Aside from OS I would say that batteries are another reason for considering life-cycling.

I'm not saying iOS 15 and 16 will get some security patches in the future, but since they haven't released any for a long time (while fixing it in iOS 17 and 18) I wouldn't recommend anyone using iOS/IPadOS 15&16 devices other than in a closed environment.

I disagree, it's been very inconsistent.

iOS 12 got nearly 2 years of further security support after iOS 13 was released (plus two additional updates in 2022 and 2023)
iOS 13 got no further security support once iOS 14 was released
iOS 14 got one month of security support once iOS 15 was released
iOS 15 got nearly 2 years of further security support after iOS 16 was released
iOS 16 got 1 year of further security support after iOS 17 was released

Who knows how long iOS 17 will get.

Yes in a perfect world devices would be being replaced every 5-6 years, but it's not a perfect world and in my position, the budget I am allocated is small which means using devices as long as securely possible.

Given Apple's resources, designing a software lifecycle policy is the least they could do. Leaving everyone guessing isn't fun.

 

[Reverend Benny]

I disagree, it's been very inconsistent.

iOS 12 got nearly 2 years of further security support after iOS 13 was released (plus two additional updates in 2022 and 2023)
iOS 13 got no further security support once iOS 14 was released
iOS 14 got one month of security support once iOS 15 was released
iOS 15 got nearly 2 years of further security support after iOS 16 was released
iOS 16 got 1 year of further security support after iOS 17 was released

Who knows how long iOS 17 will get.

Yes in a perfect world devices would be being replaced every 5-6 years, but it's not a perfect world and in my position, the budget I am allocated is small which means using devices as long as securely possible.

Given Apple's resources, designing a software lifecycle policy is the least they could do. Leaving everyone guessing isn't fun.

I don't agree, but I look at it from a device perspective and not just OS versions.

There is good reasons why they didn't support iOS 13 and 14 with more updates. The reason is that all devices that could run iOS/iPadOS13 could run 14, and all devices that could 14 could also run 15. That means there's no reason for Apple to keep patching old OS since all devices can upgrade to a later version.

iOS 12 got 2 extended support since there were many devices that couldn't update.
Same goes for iOS/iPadOS 15.

Not sure whats going on with iOS/iPadOS 16 tho and why Apple hasn't released anything yet. But I'm guessing we will see updates fairly soon to that version.

Edit: I still don't get why they don't just reverse some decisions and let all devices that can run iOS/iPadOS 16 update to 17. Its not a massive difference and I had a better experience on iOS 17 than 16.
That way they can focus on patching 15, 17 and 18