It is most probably important to understand why Apple updates its iOS devices every year and some incremental updates for critical bugs, especially if you’re an iOS user.
Apple consistently releases its major updates each year usually around September. They also provide incremental updates to ensure that their devices are appropriately patched for critical vulnerabilities to fix bugs and/or add new features based upon feedback every quarter.
There are many reasons and benefits as to why Apple patches their devices each year and how they are very protective over their customer’s security.
Does iOS Update Occur Every Year?
While it’s known that iOS was developed by Apple it has been an operating system for iPhone, iPod Touch which has seen tremendous growth and development since then. It is also important to note that macOS and iOS updates are completely different, Check here the differences between iOS and macOS.
One of the facts that we have to understand is that as Apple users we don’t tend to wait till September for an update, we just get the scary pop-up that we have to update, right? Or, we can install later but we just keep getting the pop up until it forces us to update.
It is important that you update as soon as possible because of security vulnerabilities that are out there
Updating your iPhone or Ipad:
Usually, you’ll get a notification to update your device, if you decided to update later then you can simply follow the below instructions to get this working for you.
Follow the below steps to update your iPhone & IPad
- Plug in your device and connect via Wi-FI
- Navigate to Settings > General > Software Update
- Choose the latest software update
Are there any risks involved in updating
In some older versions of iPhones such as the iPhone 6 and 6s, there were some side effects that caused battery issues for many users in the past. To rectify the issue as quickly as possible, Apple created a program to replace batteries mainly slow batteries for a small amount of fee.
Why Does iOS updating so often?
Sometimes it may feel that you get a lot of updates and sometimes can be overwhelming. Apple only provides one major update and other incremental updates to fix bugs and gaps in their security.
Some users have complained about Apple updating iOS devices frequently than ever before. With the ever-changing nature of technology where there are more apps and iOS becoming more complicated than ever before, it only makes sense that these updates are frequent.
Additionally, there has been an increase in cybercriminals releasing bugs to apple devices. It is also worth mentioning that Apple has said countless times that they are always protecting their users and products through various updates whenever they see a threat.
It is also known that updates are not necessarily always related to threats and improvement in security. An example of this can include when Apple rolled out its iOS 15 updates where it pushed out new features for facetime calls, tools to reduce distractions, and a redesign of Safari, Wheather, and Maps.
Should I update my iPhone/IPad As Soon As Possible?
It is always the recommendation to update your phone as soon as Apple releases a new feature. This is our recommendation as the majority of the updates that come from Apple are related to security vulnerabilities.
But when should you hold fire before you get a tricky happy finger? Well, it depends on the situation. If the update is heavily related to feature updates and the design of the iPhone, then we would recommend researching as much as possible before updating your phone.
As a rule of thumb, your iPhone and fundamental apps that you use should work as normal. However, sometimes if you update your device it cause some apps to not work as expected at which case you may have to update the app, or in extreme situations uninstall and reinstall the apps.
Is It Possible to go back to an older version
At this moment in time, there is no option to revert back to an older version. There are some discussions at Apple to make this possible but not likely. If you are having issues with your iPhone or battery at all then it would be wise to go to your nearest Apple store for them to take a look and support you in that.
Wrapping up
iOS updates are needed for several reasons. This blog post was able to highlight some of the reasoning behind Apple pushing out apple dates regularly. These are often related to improving security and some threats and malicious code that cybercriminals push out to these devices. Apple protects its users by consistently updating and patching their devices appropiately.
It is also important to note that though iOS devices update once every year, they also do incremental updates, and sometimes there could be a few in a given month. As mentioned before, we wanted to highlight that you should update your device straight away, however, if it is related to updates around customization and you have doubts, then it is recommended that you should