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Goodbye iOS 14? Apple no longer signing security updates

Bad luck for late adopters of iOS 15. If you’ve held back on upgrading for any reason, your time with iOS 14 may soon be up. If you value security, that is.

That’s because, according to 9to5Mac, Apple has recently stopped signing security updates for iOS 14.

Previously, users were able to choose whether to move to iOS 15 for all the latest features, or stick with iOS 14 but still receive important security updates. Some users like to stick with older, stabler versions for various reasons. For example, iOS 15, initially caused havoc with some Home Screen widgets, and many previously-working Shortcuts don’t run properly in iOS 15 – even now. If you rely on any of those things on a regular basis, it might make sense to delay updating your software.

But from this point onwards users will be doing so without protection against any future security threats that require a software update.

Apple hasn’t officially announced the change, nor has it given any indication why it has stopped supporting both operating systems in tandem. Cynics may argue Apple is engaging in sly trickery to encourage users to upgrade (iOS adoption rates are down vs. the same period last year) while sympathizers may point out that the latest security fixes might only be relevant to iOS 15 and things may return to normal circa the next update.

Either way, we’d like to see Apple continue to cater to those who don’t want to upgrade immediately. The way Apple supports devices with new iOS features for so long after release is a huge differentiator over Android, so it would be a shame to fall short in the security update department.