Apple preparing iOS 14.8 release as iOS 15 launch nears
Apple appears to be readying a major point release for iOS 14 ahead of an expected iOS 15 launch this fall, with references to the update recently surfacing in an Xcode beta.
Spotted by developer Brendan Shanks, the latest Xcode beta version lists iOS 14.8 as an available or soon to be available operating system version. The supposed update is accompanied by existing iOS 14 point releases, but the list does not make note of minor revisions like the most recent iOS 14.7.1.
What will be incorporated in an iOS 14.8 release is unclear. Apple has patched most known vulnerabilities, the latest round arriving in late July, and the prospect of new feature introductions is highly unlikely given iOS 15 is due this fall.
Issuing an eighth major point update would be an unprecedented move, as Apple's past mobile operating systems have capped out at seven point revisions, at most. That said, the company is for the first time modifying how it handles major iOS updates.
At the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Apple said it would continue to supply users of past operating systems with security updates following the launch of a major release.
Instead of pushing users to the next major version, in this case iOS 15, Apple will provide "important security updates" to those who elect to remain on iOS 14. Users will be able to choose from two software update versions in system settings when iOS 15 sees release, the company said in a preview of the feature.
The option will be a welcome respite for some, as Apple intends to roll out new Child Safety tools with the next iteration of iOS. The multi-pronged system, which in part "scans" user photos for child sexual abuse material, has proven controversial, with some arguing that the features reduce user privacy.
Read on AppleInsider
Spotted by developer Brendan Shanks, the latest Xcode beta version lists iOS 14.8 as an available or soon to be available operating system version. The supposed update is accompanied by existing iOS 14 point releases, but the list does not make note of minor revisions like the most recent iOS 14.7.1.
What will be incorporated in an iOS 14.8 release is unclear. Apple has patched most known vulnerabilities, the latest round arriving in late July, and the prospect of new feature introductions is highly unlikely given iOS 15 is due this fall.
Issuing an eighth major point update would be an unprecedented move, as Apple's past mobile operating systems have capped out at seven point revisions, at most. That said, the company is for the first time modifying how it handles major iOS updates.
At the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Apple said it would continue to supply users of past operating systems with security updates following the launch of a major release.
Instead of pushing users to the next major version, in this case iOS 15, Apple will provide "important security updates" to those who elect to remain on iOS 14. Users will be able to choose from two software update versions in system settings when iOS 15 sees release, the company said in a preview of the feature.
The option will be a welcome respite for some, as Apple intends to roll out new Child Safety tools with the next iteration of iOS. The multi-pronged system, which in part "scans" user photos for child sexual abuse material, has proven controversial, with some arguing that the features reduce user privacy.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
Apple has become super creepy… all in a course of one week!!!… They have turend thier mantra completely upside down, blatetantly saying FU to every person who believed them on their privacy initiatives .. invested in that initiative and paid premiums for that initiative .. ( all down the drain)
From a champion of privacy to the creepiest company who blatently say’s your next version of software will have a built in survaylance spywear.!
Photos now… what later?
Yes icloud can be turned off.. but that breaks the ecosys.. .. ecosys another selling point of Apple..
Turning off icloud .. also means less storage needs on the cloud… which means i dont need to subscribe to icloud storage space anymore… which hurts revinue and is blatently against shareholder interest.
What the F is going on at Apple!
And by the way, whether you update or not has nothing to do with it. Apple will be scanning images on iCloud, not your phone. You know that, right?
Perhaps some of this righteous indignation about privacy is not so "righteous" after all?
Numerous companies almost entirely depend on revenue of gathering and auctioning off where you went today, what you bought, and who you talked to just before you did this (among other private data points). It's chopped up in daily, weekly an historic behaviors. Fyi, Google likely has a copy or AI interpretation of most pictures you've search for. Don't believe me? Request your free copy of your data from Google. See how wrong I am for yourself.
When Apple turned off this spigot, they stirred up the hornet's nest. Would be interesting to know if Cook and company understood the blowback they'd receive for it.
With that said, I don't shut out the world either. Google knowing demographics and trends etc etc about me to target ads on that general level is, IMHO, fair game. They can make huge money from it too. Just don't continue to make smartphone not only an expensive functional tracking, watching and listening device but also a hub that spans your contacts list. This is as a slippery slope as it gets.
But small things can help reject this surveillance capitalism: leave ATT blocking on, don't enable "help us make ____ better", use a VPN, don't use an Apple or Google or Facebook account as your account and authentication across many of your websites (keychain or third party password manager!), use your smart wallet for transactions, don't use Google Chrome until at minimum they put in third party cookie blocking (at minimum). Doing these things I just mentioned is nothing, takes almost no extra time, blocks so your phone from being a tracker, and anonymizes a bunch of your private data. It's not perfect but what it does is pushes companies (including Apple) to have to dig revenue up in ways other than your smartphone (and PC) being a tracking and recording device that is constantly sending back information on you. It disincentivizes the behavior. Win for consumers and freedom.