Why doesn't iPhone's auto-update feature install new versions of iOS when they are released?

[Cal Jeffrey]

Learn something new every day: Have you ever noticed that you often read about Apple releasing a new iOS version before your phone has installed it, even though you have auto-update enabled? Recently, somebody wondered why that was and asked Craig Federighi himself to explain. It turns out it's not by accident or software error.

Apple's Software Engineering Senior Vice President Craig Federighi told a Redditor via email that Apple intentionally delays auto-update on new iOS releases so that it can gather feedback from early adopters first. The Apple boss said that the delay between initial rollout and enabling auto-update could range between one and four weeks.

Although Federighi (or whomever answers his emails) did not elaborate any further, it stands to reason this approach allows developers to tweak things before those who auto-update receive the patch. It's like having an additional informal beta with early adopters being the testing pool. It might also help keep Apple's update servers from getting overwhelmed on release day.

The bottom line is that Apple has control over when auto-updaters get the new version. It may decide to push a patch right away if it includes a critical security fix, or for general feature releases, it can and will wait up to a month before pushing it out to the entire user base.

Image credit: Dmitriy Nyashkin

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https://www.techspot.com/news/93992-why-doesnt-iphone-auto-update-feature-install-new.html

 

[QuantumPhysics]

I typically update my iPhone overnight as I sleep automatically. So long as you have enough storage (I'm happy to have 1TB), you never need to worry about not having enough space like the old days of the < 128GB models.

 

[m4a4]

...Is this not a standard behaviour in the industry by now? A slow rollout for non-critical updates?

 

[Aceseven]

I typically update my iPhone overnight as I sleep automatically. So long as you have enough storage (I'm happy to have 1TB), you never need to worry about not having enough space like the old days of the < 128GB models.

Geez, what are you keeping on your phone?

 

[yRaz]

Geez, what are you keeping on your phone?

All of his 3090s

 

[torchyear]

The ability to _downgrade_ the OS would be nice. We have a few old iPhones (4s, 6, and SE) that could be useful offline if they weren't choked by the latest iOS versions.

 

[ZackL04]

The ability to _downgrade_ the OS would be nice. We have a few old iPhones (4s, 6, and SE) that could be useful offline if they weren't choked by the latest iOS versions.

4’s make great bottle openers and MP3 players…

 

[ZackL04]

I typically update my iPhone overnight as I sleep automatically. So long as you have enough storage (I'm happy to have 1TB), you never need to worry about not having enough space like the old days of the < 128GB models.

Jesus, I love my 12 mini. Its a 64gb and I have two small kids, 6k photos, 1k videos…

 

[Dimitrios]

All of his 3090s

I haven't been on this site for a while good to see Quantum post and the folks busting his ballz about his two 3090s again.Great site get to learn a lot and have a laugh or two with some running jokes and the one that my best friend (like a brother) that past away on his street bike about Nvidia's leather jacket joke CEO we started 2013-2015.

 

[Aaron Fox]

The ability to _downgrade_ the OS would be nice. We have a few old iPhones (4s, 6, and SE) that could be useful offline if they weren't choked by the latest iOS versions.

These companies use their so-called upgrades to upgrade their profits by forcing people to replace adequate hardware to obtain things like decent performance and security support. A great example is a 15" MacBook Pro with 16 GB of RAM and an SSD. There are machines like that that can't be 'upgraded' to the current versions of macOS, rendering them insecure on the Internet. It's not because the hardware isn't objectively good enough. It's because Apple wants people to waste useful machines and part with more cash. (Microsoft is copying Apple with its Windows 11 hardware requirements.)

Apple used, for example, the APFS file system (formerly it was HFS+) to murder machines running mechanical hard disks, machines that couldn't be easily opened and upgraded with SSDs. APFS, sold as 'Wow... it's new so it must be better!' is glacially slow with mechanical hard disks and a lot slower with SSDs than HFS+. What do users get for this wonderful new filesystem? Mostly better spyware, like nanosecond timestamps on the incredible amount of metadata and similar Apple gathers and phones home (and embeds within the machine's storage).

The companies work for their shareholders and the governments that make their massive wealth consolidation possible, not you.

 

[torchyear]

4’s make great bottle openers and MP3 players…

I was so disappointed when iOS 10 removed the bottle opening feature

 

[Beerfloat]

I disable auto update on Apple devices as I don't trust them not to put in new restrictions or undesirable functionality. Better to update after tech journalists have had a chance to do some analysis.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Lmao. Your tin foil hat slipped mate..

He's not wrong, there are plenty of macs that are fully capable of running the newest mac OS 12, and can do wso with cracked versions, but are not allowed to officially by apple for....reasons.

Opposite thing with old I devices, the iOS 9 update ruined a lot of perfectly good iphone 4s and ipad 2s.

 

[wiyosaya]

Hmmm. Planned obsolescence from crApple? Who would have thunk it?

 

[wiyosaya]

Geez, what are you keeping on your phone?

Its probably mostly empty. The 1TB figure is designed to impress people.

 

[Guberian]

Its probably mostly empty. The 1TB figure is designed to impress people.

Bathroom habits wink