If you have an iPhone that’s a little long in the tooth, you may want to check today to see if your iOS software is fully up to date. That’s because Apple has released a vital update that fixes a worrying iPhone vulnerability.
Apple says it has fixed an issue where it was possible for someone to gain access to your phone if they got their hands on it. What’s more concerning is that it appears to have already been used by cyber criminals to target devices. “Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS before iOS 16.6,” the US firm states in its release notes.
You should always update iOS to protect yourself, so if you have an iPhone 8 or newer it’s best to head to the Settings app now and tap on General and then Software Update to see if there’s an update waiting to be installed – it’s called iOS 16.7.1.
We’ve recently been impressed with the iPhone 15, the newest Apple smartphone that can run the latest iOS 17. Many other iPhones from recent years can also update to iOS 17 – in fact, every iPhone released from 2018 onwards can.
But if you have an iPhone 8 or iPhone X from 2017, or a newer iPhone that is still running a version of iOS 16, it’s vital that you install this new iOS 16.7.1 update to keep your iPhone fully secure.
It’s great to see Apple continue to issue security updates for older iPhones, and long software support remains one of the best reasons to pick an iPhone over an equivalent Android device. Although the iPhone 8 and iPhone X won’t ever get new software features in iOS 17 and beyond, Apple will continue to make sure important security issues are fixed. That’s impressive for phones that are six years old.
Apple said the iOS 16.7.1 update also applies to all iPad Pro models, iPad Air third generation and later, iPad fifth generation and later, and iPad mini fifth generation and later.
