A report last week said that Apple has stopped releasing iOS 14 security updates and is forcing users to upgrade their devices to iOS 15. This was seen as a reversal of an earlier promise made by the company allowing iOS 14 users to choose not to install the iOS 15 update.
Now, Apple has told Ars Technica that it always intended the iOS 14 security update option to be temporary. The iPhone maker has also pointed to one of its support pages that states that those continuing on iOS/iPadOS 14 will continue getting important security updates for a period of time.
“If you’re using iOS or iPadOS 14.5 or later, you might now see the option to choose between two software update versions. This option allows you to choose between updating to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS 15 as soon as it’s released, or continuing on iOS or iPadOS 14 while still getting important security updates for a period of time”, the support page states.
When Apple launched iOS 15 last year, Apple said that the users will have a “choice between two software update versions.” It also said that it would offer security updates for iOS 14 until people were prepared to upgrade.
However, the option to stay on iOS 14 and receive updates was eliminated with the launch of iOS 15.2. This means iPhone users who wish to receive the latest security updates must upgrade their devices to iOS15.
A recent report on iOS installation numbers revealed that iOS 15 is installed on 72 per cent of all iPhones that were introduced in the last four years. While only 26 per cent of devices continue to use iOS 14, only two per cent run an earlier version of iOS.
