Surprise ! Alongside the release of iOS 17.3, Apple has just released a security update for a version intended for older iPhones and iPads. No new function in the program, but a good example of software monitoring.
When it comes to the lifespan of digital devices, Apple has always been one of the good students. The Cupertino company has indeed set the tone for its competitors by offering smartphones and laptops with great longevity. This lifespan is only possible thanks to the iOS updates regularly offered by the company which works on models up to seven years after their release.
Aware of their delay, some of Apple’s competitors were forced to catch up. When its Pixel 8 was released last October, Google announced that its devices would be updated for seven years. More recently, Samsung, which recently presented its Galaxy S24, also revealed a follow-up of the same duration for its latest devices. With the efforts of its competitors, Apple wants to stay ahead. To do this, an update for ten-year-old devices was deployed.
iOS 15.8.1: a security update for older models
This Tuesday, January 23, Apple released the version of its operating system for iPhone and iPad. Thus, sometimes very old devices were affected by this update. This is also the case for all models of the iPhone 6s, launched in 2015, the iPhone 7, from 2016, the first generation iPhone SE (2016), but also the iPad Air 2 from 2014. But that’s not all! The iPad mini 4, launched in 2015, and the 2019 iPod Touch were also affected by the update.
These new versions of iOS and iPadOS were rolled out in an effort to fix two security vulnerabilities that were discovered by Clément Lecigne, a security researcher working at Google’s Threat Analysis Group. The specialist found two breaches (CVE_2023-42916 and CVE-2023-42917) affecting Webkit, the web engine used by Safari. Even if this patch does not bring any new functions, it is still pleasant to see that Apple has not forgotten its oldest users by protecting them again against this type of vulnerability.