Studio Display Update Issue Fixed as Apple Addresses Code-Signing Issue

[MacRumors]

Yesterday, MacRumors reported on a growing number of Studio Display owners who were unable to update their display to iOS 15.4, and now, less than a day later, Apple has resolved the issue which originated from the software being unverified by the servers.

As highlighted on Twitter and confirmed by MacRumors, iOS 15.4, the latest software update for the Studio Display, had been unsigned by Apple as of late last week, making software updates for the display impossible. A few hours later, Apple resigned iOS 15.4 for the Studio Display, making software updates for customers once again possible.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1513339183808622599

The Studio Display does run iOS 15.4, and that's currently the latest software update for the display. While it does run iOS, updates for the Studio Display do not seem to be coordinated with typical iOS and iPadOS releases.

Apple released iOS and iPadOS 15.4.1 for iPhone and iPad users last month, but the Studio Display remains with iOS 15.4. Apple has promised an update for the Studio Display that addresses poor webcam quality but has offered no timeline on when the update would be made available.

Article Link: Studio Display Update Issue Fixed as Apple Addresses Code-Signing Issue

 

[MayaUser]

So is the webcamera better and almost on par with the 14/16" MBP ? or is this firmware update useless?

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

There we go, a simple server-side software fix.

I'm sure everyone in the initial thread who lost their minds and claimed to have foreseen Apple's impending doom will retract their comments.

 

[chucker23n1]

I still have two questions:

• isn't 15.4 the version those displays were reviewed with anyway? Did affected displays ship with an earlier release? Possibly with the one Gruber says may have had a better webcam image?
• I've seen rather conflicting info on what happens if the update fails. Does the display merely revert to the old version, or does it flat-out stop working?

 

[subjonas]

I still think it’s weird that a monitor runs iOS.
It needs the whole iOS just to control the webcam and speakers?

 

[ItchyRat2160]

So Apple forgot that the display runs iOS when they stopped signing it? Ooops.

 

[OS X Dude]

I still think it’s weird that a monitor runs iOS.
It needs the whole iOS just to control the webcam and speakers?

It has an A13, so it's far easier to port over iOS rather than write a whole new 'displayOS'. I'm guessing Centre Stage mandated iOS being used.

 

[Leon Ze Professional]

Question: How could anyone let slip an unsigned version of an update in this day and age?

Obviously the Studio Display updating mechanism was completely forgotten by Apple so soon after release.

 

[BellSystem]

There we go, a simple server-side software fix.

I'm sure everyone in the initial thread who lost their minds and claimed to have foreseen Apple's impending doom will retract their comments.

No!!!! Apple made a mistake so that means the display is trash!!!! Or at least that’s what I got out of that thread LOL.

All in all not an unreasonable turn around for an update nobody urgently needed.

 

[BellSystem]

Question: How could anyone let slip an unsigned version of an update in this day and age?

Obviously the Studio Display updating mechanism was completely forgotten by Apple so soon after release.

Standard issue in a company that large where teams are siloed. The SOP probably needs an update lol. “Step 6476: Check to see if Bob put the display items in the repo”.

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

No!!!! Apple made a mistake so that means the display is trash!!!! Or at least that’s what I got out of that thread LOL.

All in all not an unreasonable turn around for an update nobody urgently needed.

Totally! People seem to forget Apple is still run by humans, mistakes get made.

 

[mpinusa]

Not sure why reviewers say the camera is bad. Everyone that calls me on it compliments on how good it looks especially with Center Stage and portrait mode turned on. I detect a lot of user error in these complaints / bad reviews!

 

[KENPHOTO]

So is the webcamera better and almost on par with the 14/16" MBP ? or is this firmware update useless?

The 15.4 firmware update does not address the webcam issue. I can confirm having just done the update myself earlier today.

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

Standard issue in a company that large where teams are siloed. The SOP probably needs an update lol. “Step 6476: Check to see if Bob put the display items in the repo”.

This isn't actually how Apple work, teams aren't really siloed.

There aren't separate teams for product lines, rather they're for technologies. For example, they have an acoustics team who will work on HomePods, but also on MacBook and iPhone speakers.

 

[KENPHOTO]

Not sure why reviewers say the camera is bad. Everyone that calls me on it compliments on how good it looks especially with Center Stage and portrait mode turned on. I detect a lot of user error in these complaints / bad reviews!

I am super supportive of the Studio Display, and I was aware of the camera issues before I bought it, but I can confirm that it really does look like crap, at least from my view. Is the view better on the other end? couldn't say. but looking at on the Studio Display looks really bad, as in super noisy.

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

Not sure why reviewers say the camera is bad. Everyone that calls me on it compliments on how good it looks especially with Center Stage and portrait mode turned on. I detect a lot of user error in these complaints / bad reviews!

The webcam quality is still a moot point I think, and has been for years. Certainly using Microsoft Teams, video quality is degraded so much that even if it was being captured by an ARRI Alexa, it wouldn't matter.

That's just my take / expectations, obviously others have their own.

 

[steve217]

Standard issue in a company that large where teams are siloed. The SOP probably needs an update lol. “Step 6476: Check to see if Bob put the display items in the repo”.

StudioOS coming soon?

 

[izzle22]

I still have two questions:

• isn't 15.4 the version those displays were reviewed with anyway? Did affected displays ship with an earlier release? Possibly with the one Gruber says may have had a better webcam image?
• I've seen rather conflicting info on what happens if the update fails. Does the display merely revert to the old version, or does it flat-out stop working?

* The display shipped with firmware version 15.3 and that is what it was originally reviewed with.

* When the update failed it just didn’t finish downloading. That’s all. 15.3 remained on the display.

 

[chucker23n1]

Question: How could anyone let slip an unsigned version of an update in this day and age?

Obviously the Studio Display updating mechanism was completely forgotten by Apple so soon after release.

The build was identical to the iPhone iOS 15.4 build.

Then iOS 15.4.1 for iPhones came out, but didn't come out for the Studio Display. Then Apple decided to stop signing per-device requests to install 15.4.0, to prevent iPhone users from downgrading. But, oops, that's the same build as on the Studio Display, and it's also the only build available at all for the Studio Display.

 

[chucker23n1]

* The display shipped with firmware version 15.3 and that is what it was originally reviewed with.

Hmmmm. So did 15.4 for the display came out later than it did for phones?

* When the update failed it just didn’t finish downloading. That’s all. 15.3 remained on the display.

Yeah, that's what I would've expected, but I read about people who worried they needed to bring it to a store, and… why? Just try the update again a week later?

 

[xyz369]

More rigorous software testing would not create this problem.

 

[falkon-engine]

Weren’t there security vulnerabilities in 15.4, prompting the update to 15.4.1?

From the 15.4.1 release notes:

AppleAVD:
An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.

You sure you want a device connected via thunderbolt to your machine running an OS with known security vulnerabilities?

 

[falkon-engine]

I am super supportive of the Studio Display, and I was aware of the camera issues before I bought it, but I can confirm that it really does look like crap, at least from my view. Is the view better on the other end? couldn't say. but looking at on the Studio Display looks really bad, as in super noisy.

How does that make you feel? Are you still okay with your purchase? Given the other qualities like build quality and so forth?

 

[BellSystem]

This isn't actually how Apple work, teams aren't really siloed.

There aren't separate teams for product lines, rather they're for technologies. For example, they have an acoustics team who will work on HomePods, but also on MacBook and iPhone speakers.

I’m sure you have an org chart to back your claim/theory? When I worked for them
departments were separated by individual technologies but there were also teams that worked on products. During a prerelease only that product team holds all the pieces. So if the display was any secret at all then a special group would be working on the iOS fork or components specific to the display. The general iOS team would not have any idea until it was released. Which would cause this issue. Communication breakdown due to only being included in the loop at the last second.

 

[alexe]

Thank god MacRumors forum users immediately went completely ape **** when this issue was first reported on, lamenting over how nothing Apple makes ever works anymore, how Steve Jobs would turn in his grave if he were to witness Apple's current state, and how the twenty five Apple products they reluctantly already own are all terrible. That was really important.