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PSA: Make Sure to Update Older Devices to iOS 15.7.4 to Fix Actively Exploited Vulnerability

sw1tcher said:
…Lame that Apple keeps trying to get me to run buggy iOS 16.
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When I heard about this vulnerability back in February, it wasn’t clear (to me) that older devices were affected.

From Bleeping Computer 2/13/23:
Apple addressed CVE-2023-23529 with improved checks in iOS 16.3.1, iPadOS 16.3.1, and macOS Ventura 13.2.1.
The complete list of impacted devices is quite extensive, as the bug affects older and newer models, and it includes:
• iPhone 8 and later
• iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 5th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
• Macs running macOS Ventura
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Re-reading that now, I can see they said "includes".

Apple has a policy of not discussing CVEs until after they are patched, and they have a tendency to not mention older devices.

When these zero-days occur, how does one find out if their older device is affected?
 
bodonnell202 said:
I suspect that Apple isn't deciding what devices will continue to get iOS updates based on whether the specs can handle the update any more. It's really just about how old the device is. The 6s and 5th gen iPad both have A9 with 2GB of RAM, but the 6s was released in 2015 and the iPad 5 was released in 2017. Going forward they probably just drop support for devices based on their age. I also think they will drop a couple generations of products every other year, that way they only continue to make security updates for every other version of iOS after it has been replaced.
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Nope, iOS 16 still supports the 2015 iPad Pro, so its not that.
Using simple elimination, I know two things:
1: the wallpaper floating clock and certain functions of the new LockScreen require the neural Engine, which first appeared in the A11.
2: The iPad did not get this new LockScreen.
There's your answer.
Apple didn't want to build two separate versions of the new Lock Screen, those with A11 and later iPhones and one for those with A9 or A10 iPhones.
As the Lock Screen on the iPad is quite different from the iPhone, they mostly just left it the same, it's still not using any of the A11 requiring features.
Now, could Apple have shipped iOS16 on A9 and A10 iPhones with the old LockScreen? probably, but its not a good look when your biggest most front facing feature isn't on every device.
iOS 14 had home screen widgets and they were not restricted to newer devices, neither was iOS13 and Dark Mode.
 
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Lounge vibes 05 said:
Nope, iOS 16 still supports the 2015 iPad Pro, so its not that.
Using simple elimination, I know two things:
1: the wallpaper floating clock and certain functions of the new LockScreen require the neural Engine, which first appeared in the A11.
2: The iPad did not get this new LockScreen.
There's your answer.
Apple didn't want to build two separate versions of the new Lock Screen, those with A11 and later iPhones and one for those with A9 or A10 iPhones.
As the Lock Screen on the iPad is quite different from the iPhone, they mostly just left it the same, it's still not using any of the A11 requiring features.
Now, could Apple have shipped iOS16 on A9 and A10 iPhones with the old LockScreen? probably, but its not a good look when your biggest most front facing feature isn't on every device.
iOS 14 had home screen widgets and they were not restricted to newer devices, neither was iOS13 and Dark Mode.
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You are probably right. Thanks for your input. I wish sometimes Apple would be ok to answer this type of question. For instance Nvidia is much more open to interact with consumers for technical questions.

Sadly Apple is specialized in random corporate BS when it comes to PR.
 
bodonnell202 said:
I suspect that Apple isn't deciding what devices will continue to get iOS updates based on whether the specs can handle the update any more. It's really just about how old the device is. The 6s and 5th gen iPad both have A9 with 2GB of RAM, but the 6s was released in 2015 and the iPad 5 was released in 2017. Going forward they probably just drop support for devices based on their age. I also think they will drop a couple generations of products every other year, that way they only continue to make security updates for every other version of iOS after it has been replaced.
Click to expand...

Almost seems silly from an environmental perspective.

iPhone 6s
iPhone 7
iPhone 7 Plus (3GB RAM)

I'm pretty sure the number of iPhones sold far outnumbers the iPad (2017).
 
JPack said:
Almost seems silly from an environmental perspective.

iPhone 6s
iPhone 7
iPhone 7 Plus (3GB RAM)

I'm pretty sure the number of iPhones sold far outnumbers the iPad (2017).
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Since when Apple cares about the environment? 🤭 But at least they still get these patches.
 
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Sir_Macs_A_Lot said:
6s that is. (I wish my 6 Plus could still get updates. Then I could have used it as my app development phone instead of tossing it in junk drawer.)
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Yeah since mine has new battery too. :rolleyes:
Plenty of life left especially as a phone.
 
bodonnell202 said:
I suspect that Apple isn't deciding what devices will continue to get iOS updates based on whether the specs can handle the update any more. It's really just about how old the device is. The 6s and 5th gen iPad both have A9 with 2GB of RAM, but the 6s was released in 2015 and the iPad 5 was released in 2017. Going forward they probably just drop support for devices based on their age. I also think they will drop a couple generations of products every other year, that way they only continue to make security updates for every other version of iOS after it has been replaced.
Click to expand...
They drop old devices because their financial analysts and marketers determine that this type of agressive "screw the customer" behavior will make the most profit. Period. There is no other reason.
 
klasma said:
Yeah, I'm probably going to take that risk and stay on 14 with my iPads, due to the mess they made of the home screen in 15.
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I have an iPad 6 running iPadOS 13.7 and it does not have the info button in the Photos app but it also somewhat retains the classic look with no widgets on the home screen and no App Library... There are features only available in the newest release that I am missing and some apps no longer get the updates for they require at least iPadOS 14... I would like to update for the missing features but I prefer the classic look and the signing of older releases may never happen again so I will need to stay on the last version of iPadOS 13...
 
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Lounge vibes 05 said:
Nope, iOS 16 still supports the 2015 iPad Pro, so its not that.
Using simple elimination, I know two things:
1: the wallpaper floating clock and certain functions of the new LockScreen require the neural Engine, which first appeared in the A11.
2: The iPad did not get this new LockScreen.
There's your answer.
Apple didn't want to build two separate versions of the new Lock Screen, those with A11 and later iPhones and one for those with A9 or A10 iPhones.
As the Lock Screen on the iPad is quite different from the iPhone, they mostly just left it the same, it's still not using any of the A11 requiring features.
Now, could Apple have shipped iOS16 on A9 and A10 iPhones with the old LockScreen? probably, but its not a good look when your biggest most front facing feature isn't on every device.
iOS 14 had home screen widgets and they were not restricted to newer devices, neither was iOS13 and Dark Mode.
Click to expand...
Yeah, except the depth effect on the wallpaper you are referring to isn’t actually available on A11 devices either as the “neural engine” in the A11 is really just fixed function silicon for Face ID, which is why the many ML features introduced with iOS 16 aren’t available on the iPhone 8 and X. Surely depth effect wallpaper was why the 6s and 7 didn’t get iOS 16 though 🙄
 
surfzen21 said:
I have a 6 not a 6S. I think when I upgrade my main phone, most likely this year, I will make my current 11 my work phone and use the 6 as a music devise. Although now that I have my watch that 6 is going to get even less use than I anticipated.
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My 6 served me well for 7 years before I broke down and got an iPhone 13. I held out as long as I could but when Apple stopped security support, XCode support and my Watch SE wouldn't work with it...it became time to move on. 🥲
 
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Sir_Macs_A_Lot said:
My 6 served me well for 7 years before I broke down and got an iPhone 13. I held out as long as I could but when Apple stopped security support, XCode support and my Watch SE wouldn't work with it...it became time to move on. 🥲
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Ironically the worst part about the 6 is its phone function. And that's what I use it for 90% of the time. I'm not sure why but opening the phone app, accessing voicemail is painfully slow. Rest of the phone works at an acceptable level.

My previous work phone which was a 5C was the same way so maybe a clean install as opposed to a restore would have fixed that when I switched it to the 6.
 
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I am a bit confused. How can it be that iOS 16 capable devices that are still on iOS 15 do not receive this update? Doesn't that leave a large share of users vulnerable for these attacks?

If this is sure, I am actually quite shocked with how much pressure Apple is "forcing" new iOS versions unto their user base.
 
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗 said:
P.S. I couldn't resist. I used a new stuttering emoji. Can you guys see it? The new emojis are getting to us today. Yes, I'm part of the problem.
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I thought sure, nope, I can't see it as I'm still on iOS 15 on my 6S.

Then realised I'm being dumb and has nothing to do with it as I'm reading this at work with Chrome on Windows 10 (while my phone is currently busy updating to 15.7.4). 🤣🤣🤣
 
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