iPhone Users Won’t be Forced to Upgrade to iOS 15; Apple Will Release iOS 14 Security Updates

BY Sanuj Bhatia

Published 7 Jun 2021

iOS 14.5 on iPhone 12

Today at its WWDC 2021 conference, Apple unveiled the new iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 operating systems. Even though iOS 15 is supported by six years old iPhone 6s, Apple plans to allow users to remain on iOS 14 and receive only the security update part of the iOS 15.

The new iOS 15 update brings a lot of features like redesigned notification systems, FaceTime improvements, and a new Safari. Despite the update available for older generation iPhones, many people think that their iPhone might not work well with the latest software.

For the folks who don’t want to update their iPhone to iOS 15, Apple is giving an option that allows iPhone users running iOS 14 to install only the security update part of the iOS 15 update. According to new details on the software pages for the new updates,

“iOS now offers a choice between two software update versions in the Settings app. You can update to the latest version of iOS 15 as soon as it’s released for the latest features and most complete set of security updates. Or continue on ‌iOS 14‌ and still get important security updates until you’re ready to upgrade to the next major version.”

This was first spotted in March 2021 when the iOS 14.5 Beta 4 update shipped with the code of installing only security updates. Apple generally stops signing the older software versions as soon as it releases the new software update to keep its users secure.  However, it seems like Apple is relaxing that policy with iOS 15.

This feature will come in handy for users that have an older generation iPhone like the iPhone 6s or when their iPhone has restrictions or requirements implemented by work organizations or schools.