Even before iOS 15 was released, 9to5Mac discovered that Apple was working on a new way to provide alternative security updates to iPhone and iPad users. The company later confirmed that it will provide iOS 14 security patches for users who aren’t ready to upgrade to iOS 15, but it appears that’s no longer the case.
For some unknown reason, the company has backed down from letting users continue with iOS 14 with security updates. Instead, it has reverted to the traditional update method, where users are forced to install the latest version of the operating system (i.e. iOS 15) for security improvements.
As we mentioned earlier today, the change (via GitHub) was implemented after the December 2021 release of iOS 15.2. For example, Apple released iOS 14.8.1 on October 26, 2021 for devices not running iOS 15, but now the update is gone.
9to5Mac was able to confirm that devices running iOS 14.8 or previous versions of the operating system can no longer be updated to iOS 14.8.1. Instead, the software update menu only shows the iOS 15.2.1 update. Previously, iOS 15 was shown as an optional update, and users only needed to install the iOS 14 security patch.
While this may just be a bug, it seems unlikely since the company hasn’t released any other security patches for iOS 14 users since October. Earlier today, Apple released its iOS 15 adoption numbers for the first time, and they were lower than usual — likely because of keeping users on iOS 14.
While the company hasn’t confirmed or denied anything, it may have reconsidered its decision to offer an alternative update for users who don’t want to upgrade to the latest version of iOS. Currently, if you want to get the latest security updates on your iPhone or iPad, you must install iOS 15.
Complete News Source : Mto5Mac
