Apple stops signing iOS 8.3 just one week after 8.4 release
On Tuesday, Apple quietly stopped signing the code for iOS 8.3, preventing people from downgrading to the release from iOS 8.4 using iTunes.
Although Apple regularly stops signing older versions of iOS as new ones become available, the company's turnaround for 8.3 is fairly rapid. iOS 8.4 was released only a week ago, whereas it took almost a month after the launch of 8.3 for 8.2 to be decommissioned.
The move may suggest a high degree of confidence in 8.4's stability. Apple may also want to make sure everyone is using the features of the update, namely Apple Music, Beats 1, and an overhauled Music app.
The company is heavily promoting Apple Music, using TV ads and indeed marketing within the Music app, which asks people if they'd like to subscribe once they open the updated player for the first time. After a three-month trial, the service costs $9.99 a month for individuals or $14.99 per month for six-user Family access.
Beats 1 is free to the public, but serves partly as a way of encouraging people to use Apple Music or the iTunes Store.
Even without Beats 1 however, the Music app has been improved with changes such as a new MiniPlayer that persists across the interface even while browsing other albums and playlists.
Although Apple regularly stops signing older versions of iOS as new ones become available, the company's turnaround for 8.3 is fairly rapid. iOS 8.4 was released only a week ago, whereas it took almost a month after the launch of 8.3 for 8.2 to be decommissioned.
The move may suggest a high degree of confidence in 8.4's stability. Apple may also want to make sure everyone is using the features of the update, namely Apple Music, Beats 1, and an overhauled Music app.
The company is heavily promoting Apple Music, using TV ads and indeed marketing within the Music app, which asks people if they'd like to subscribe once they open the updated player for the first time. After a three-month trial, the service costs $9.99 a month for individuals or $14.99 per month for six-user Family access.
Beats 1 is free to the public, but serves partly as a way of encouraging people to use Apple Music or the iTunes Store.
Even without Beats 1 however, the Music app has been improved with changes such as a new MiniPlayer that persists across the interface even while browsing other albums and playlists.
Comments
9 can't get here soon enough. 8.4 is a bit buggy.
8.4 includes security updates for a particularly nasty exploit and for the annoying Messages bug. It's probably best they not allow those to hang around.
So stupid, they should allow downgrading, even to 8 and to 7. Just pop up 2 warnings or soemthing.
The entire idea of downgrading needs to be wiped out. I like the direction Apple is going with iOS, finally bringing automatic overnight updates with iOS 9.
They really need to go further with it, and prevent any sort of opting out...updates need to be mandatory.
There is not one legitimate reason to downgrade a public Apple OS.
So stupid, they should allow downgrading, even to 8 and to 7. Just pop up 2 warnings or soemthing.
Nope, in fact they should be even more aggressive about preventing it. Its their software, not yours. Its not your choice what OS runs on your device, nor should it be.
Users are the absolute last people in the world that should be making that choice.
9 can't get here soon enough. 8.4 is a bit buggy.
Or at least 8.4.1
Par for the course, it seems.
Wow, so I paid for it but can't choose what to run on it? You know what, Apple does NOT know best. They are a company, with both smart and extremely stupid people working for them. I paid for the device, I will choose what I do with it. If I want to code/design my own ASIC and run Windows 10 on my iPhone, that is my right. Apple does not own me.
Nope, in fact they should be even more aggressive about preventing it. Its their software, not yours. Its not your choice what OS runs on your device, nor should it be.
Users are the absolute last people in the world that should be making that choice.
It's my device. That trumps everything. I don't have an issue about not allowing downgrading, but it is my device to choose when I want to upgrade, if ever. (and yes, I do upgrade -- I am talking philosophically)
It's my device. That trumps everything. I don't have an issue about not allowing downgrading, but it is my device to choose when I want to upgrade, if ever. (and yes, I do upgrade -- I am talking philosophically)
The "its my device" argument is such horse-shit. No, Apple does not have an obligation to facilitate every single thing you'd want to do in terms of modifying the software. Even with other manufacturers, there's limitations, as it should be. It's as braindead as claiming that you should be able to easily change all the icons because it's "your device", or Apple should make a one tap jailbreak, or you should be able to install other OSes on an iPhone easily, or give you can option to have 10 icons per row, etc etc. Yes, it's your device, but Apple has a right to code their software however they damn well see fit. Allowing downgrades would cause more problems and complications than anything else, and I fail to see even one legitimate reason as to why a consumer would want to downgrade, except speed, and that only applies on major version changes, not 8.4 to 8.3. And no one is putting a gun to your head to upgrade in the first place.
Par for the course, it seems.
Wow, so I paid for it but can't choose what to run on it? You know what, Apple does NOT know best. They are a company, with both smart and extremely stupid people working for them. I paid for the device, I will choose what I do with it. If I want to code/design my own ASIC and run Windows 10 on my iPhone, that is my right. Apple does not own me.
Absolutely positively not. You may think you own the hardware, and that is debatable unless you've purchased it off contract, but you absolutely do not own the OS nor maintain any rights to it. If you are running the OS that shipped on the device...that belongs to Apple, and they have every right to change it, automatically, over the air, without your consent.
They choose to allow you more freedom than you're entitled, by continuing to make Automatic Updates a toggle. I would just as soon have them remove that and force all updates upon qualifying users.
It's my device. That trumps everything. I don't have an issue about not allowing downgrading, but it is my device to choose when I want to upgrade, if ever. (and yes, I do upgrade -- I am talking philosophically)
You do not own anything but the brick that you purchased. Every single function piece of software on the device belongs to Apple and is subject to their will and whim.
I blame the jailbreak community for giving the wrong impression and intentionally blurring the lines between owning the brick you bought at the store and owning the software installed on it.
If you choose to hack the device, and run whatever POS you want...that is your right.
If you choose to run Apple-sanctioned software, you have no rights to it whatsoever.
Wow...just wow...all hail our corporate overlords I guess?
They choose to allow you more freedom than you're entitled, by continuing to make Automatic Updates a toggle. I would just as soon have them remove that and force all updates upon qualifying users.
So what's your stake in my iPhone/iPad? Did you pay for it? What's your right to say what I can can't do with it? Do you make the decisions for Apple? Or just for me?
You are beyond annoying. Beyond stupid.
And beyond reason, it seems.
And 9.0 won't be? I'm more hesitant to pull the trigger on that. It's the first step in making my iPhone 6 obsolete. I assume iOS 11 or 12 will make it painfully slow to use an iPhone 6.
What's been buggy for you? I haven't noticed anything yet.
I thought iOS 9 was all about making it work better on older devices since they're supporting every device iOS 8 supported. Unless you're skeptical Apple will make it happen?
The entire idea of downgrading needs to be wiped out. I like the direction Apple is going with iOS, finally bringing automatic overnight updates with iOS 9.
They really need to go further with it, and prevent any sort of opting out...updates need to be mandatory.
There is not one legitimate reason to downgrade a public Apple OS.
Nope, in fact they should be even more aggressive about preventing it. Its their software, not yours. Its not your choice what OS runs on your device, nor should it be.
Users are the absolute last people in the world that should be making that choice.
I could maybe support not allowing downgrades, especially not people who want to downgrade just because they don't like the look of an icon or the color scheme or whatever. The fewer OS versions Apple and devs have to support the better. But automatically updating people's OS? That's ridiculous.
Par for the course, it seems.
Wow, so I paid for it but can't choose what to run on it? You know what, Apple does NOT know best. They are a company, with both smart and extremely stupid people working for them. I paid for the device, I will choose what I do with it. If I want to code/design my own ASIC and run Windows 10 on my iPhone, that is my right. Apple does not own me.
If you want to tinker with your phone OS, don't buy from Apple. It's just that simple. Those of us who do buy from Apple do so partly because Apple protects the entire platform from malware by making it a moving target for bad people. This in turn pushes some bad people do develop for other platforms instead, which is a good thing- a smaller community of bad people means less chance that one of them will stumble on a bug for the current version, and that keeps me safer.
The "its my device" argument is such horse-shit. No, Apple does not have an obligation to facilitate every single thing you'd want to do in terms of modifying the software. Even with other manufacturers, there's limitations, as it should be. It's as braindead as claiming that you should be able to easily change all the icons because it's "your device", or Apple should make a one tap jailbreak, or you should be able to install other OSes on an iPhone easily, or give you can option to have 10 icons per row, etc etc. Yes, it's your device, but Apple has a right to code their software however they damn well see fit. Allowing downgrades would cause more problems and complications than anything else, and I fail to see even one legitimate reason as to why a consumer would want to downgrade, except speed, and that only applies on major version changes, not 8.4 to 8.3. And no one is putting a gun to your head to upgrade in the first place.
Here is a hand, let me help you off your high horse.
I never said a thing about changing the software and I also said nothing against blocking downgrades.
I merely said, rightly, that the phone is mine and if I don't want to upgrade it, Apple should not be able to force me.