According to the observation of several American users, Apple would no longer update iOS 14 in terms of security patches. It is also a way of pushing the last reluctant to switch to iOS 15.
iOS 14.7 is the last minor update to Apple’s mobile operating system // Source: Frandroid
Whereas iOS 15.2.1 update is being rolled out to all iPhones, users who haven’t yet taken the latest OS are starting to find that iOS 14 is out of date.
AlthoughiOS 15 is offered to a very wide range of iPhones (from iPhone 6s to iPhone 13), Apple had left the possibility to those who wished to stay under the old system by taking advantage of security patches. Obviously, the situation seems to have changed.
iOS 15 or nothing
The site Mac4Ever spotted on forums US messages noting that the latest security fixes for iOS 14 were in October. In December, the deployment of iOS 15.2, with the arrival of the Apple Music Voice subscription in particular, was not accompanied by security improvements for the previous version, nor was the deployment of iOS 15.1.1 in November which fixed bugs for iPhone 12.
The iOS 15 presentation page. // Source: Apple
If you were still under iOS 14 not long ago, you had a message indicating possible updates for this OS (iOS 14.8.1), but also the fairly explicit proposal to switch to iOS 15. Now it’s the only update to iOS 15.2.1 that is offered, as iOS 15.2 is now the last major fix in the server pipes, the previous ones being obsolete. Perhaps this is a temporary display bug (our update to iOS 15.2.1 initially offered on our iPhone 13 Pro did not display any description last Monday…). Or a way to force users’ hands.
A lower adoption rate of iOS 15 than for iOS 14
Apple knows that the adoption rate of iOS 15, although a large update for iPhones and iPads in its iPadOS 15 version, is not as fast as for iOS 14. Apple has published the first figures of use and only 72% of iPhone Xs to iPhone 13 have switched to the latest update when, a year earlier, the Apple brand was pleased to see 81% of iPhones released in the previous four years already running iOS 14 .
The adoption of iOS 15 on iPhone is less good than for iOS 14 // Source: Mixpanel
On all compatible iPhones, adoption is even only 63% once morest 72% a year earlier. For iPads, it’s even worse. Only 57% of touchscreen tablets that can have iOS 15 installed and 39% are still running iPadOS 14 (4% on a previous system, which also includes still-working iPads that cannot migrate). Less than one in two iPads uses iOS 15 (49%) while 14% are still running iOS 13 or older (61% running iPadOS 14 at the end of 2020, 21% running iPadOS 13, but 18% running iPadOS 12 or earlier) .
The time has therefore come to convert the last recalcitrant for Apple, which no longer wants to disperse when it comes to the security of its devices. The first steps of iOS 15 were not free of bugs of all kinds, whether for the bluetooth connectivity, the operation of AirTags or restore in Finder. What to curb the most cautious to change version. But for the common good, Apple seems to want to switch to forceps.
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