It’s not often that iPhones that are no longer supported get an iOS update. However, sometimes Apple makes an exception.
Apple currently only provides feature updates for iPhones running at least iOS 16. iPhone 6s/6s Plus, iPhone SE (1st generation) and iPhone 7/7 Plus will not receive any new updates beyond iOS 15, but will continue to receive bug fixes. In an unusual step, Apple has now released a security update for even older devices. Thus, among other things, the ten-year-old iPhone 5s gets an iOS update.
Two iOS updates for older iPhones
Specifically, Apple is providing two updates: iOS 12.5.7 and iOS 15.7.3. At first glance, it seems as if Apple has forgotten the iOS versions in between. But since all iPhones running iOS 13 and iOS 14 are updatable to iOS 15, only the latter needs to get the update.
iOS 12.5.7 plugs serious vulnerability
iPhone 5s and iPhone 6/6 Plus receive a security patch in the form of iOS 12.5.7. The patch closes a security hole in Apple’s WebKit browser engine. This allows attackers to execute arbitrary code through maliciously designed web content. According to the support site, the company is “aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited for iOS versions released prior to iOS 15.1.” The vulnerability, dubbed CVE-2022-42856, was caused by a type confusion in the code and fixed with improved status management.
In addition to the above iPhone models, iOS-based iPads – iPad Air, iPad mini 2 and 3 – and the iPod Touch 6 will also get the iOS 12.5.7 update.
iOS 15.7.3 includes many more security patches
Since the WebKit vulnerability does not affect iOS 15 and newer, the content of iOS 15.7.3 looks different. It contains security patches for the iOS kernel, Mail, Maps and Screen Time. The update is available for iPhone 6s/6s Plus, iPhone 7/7 Plus and Phone SE 1st generation. iOS-based iPads — iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4 — as well as the iPod Touch 7 get it, too.
Update for iPhones 5s a special feature
Even if it’s “only” a security update, it’s remarkable that Apple still takes a ten-year-old iPhone into account. With the iPhone 5s, the company is particularly benevolent. Since the supply of new iOS versions ended in 2019, the smartphone has received a total of 16 updates. We are only aware of one other case in which Apple still supplies security patches to iPhones that are so far back in time. This is the iPhone 4s, which received an iOS update in 2019, eight years after the market launch. So far there has only been one comparable case in the Android world. Last year, the manufacturer Samsung provided the then seven-year-old Galaxy S6 from 2015 with a security patch.
Sources