Credit: Robert Triggs / Android Authority
- Updates for iOS 14.5 can be provided in a similar way to Android.
- According to the spied internal code, future iOS security and major updates will be available separately.
Apple may be looking to Android for inspiration for a key facet of iOS 14.5. According to the internal code spied on in its beta, Apple can change the way it provides security updates for its mobile operating system.
As discovered by 9to5Mac, the new iOS update settings page now lists major operating system updates and security patches as separate packages. This change would theoretically allow users to install only security updates if they so wish. Previously, iOS users would be covered by any security patches only if they installed the latest version of the operating system.
This is totally different from the traditional iOS update delivery method. The move, however, would bring iOS in line with the Android update system. Android OEMs, in addition to providing important Android updates, can also send monthly Android security updates to users’ devices. There is no need to install the latest version of Android to get the latest security updates.
Read More: 8 things that iOS does better than Android
However, it is unclear how Apple will handle security updates in major versions of the operating system. 9to5Mac notes that there is some evidence that iOS users would need to uninstall any security updates before upgrading to the next major version of the operating system. Apple is likely to simplify this process going forward.
It wouldn’t be the first time that Apple has shared its major and security updates, however. MacOS already provides its patches in a similar way.
For Apple, this would allow the company to quickly provide security patches for iOS without major trailer revisions. This should, in theory, make iOS much more secure.