iOS 26 Allows You To Restore Any iPhone Without a Mac or PC (macrumors.com) 22
Apple's iOS 26 introduces Recovery Assistant, a feature that allows users to restore malfunctioning iPhones without requiring a Mac or PC. The system automatically boots devices into Recovery mode when startup issues occur, displaying the message "This iPhone encountered an issue while starting."
Users can then initiate recovery through another Apple device like an iPad, which downloads and installs a newer iOS version onto the malfunctioning iPhone. Apple described Recovery Assistant as "a new way to recover your device if it doesn't start up normally" in release notes for the second iOS 26 beta.
Users can then initiate recovery through another Apple device like an iPad, which downloads and installs a newer iOS version onto the malfunctioning iPhone. Apple described Recovery Assistant as "a new way to recover your device if it doesn't start up normally" in release notes for the second iOS 26 beta.
Fixing shit headline... (Score:2)
iOS 26 allows you to restore an iPhone with an iPad. From what I can tell. TFA doesn't really say much.
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iOS 26 allows you to restore an iPhone with an iPad. From what I can tell. TFA doesn't really say much.
I was going to say something similar. Apparently an iPad isn't a Mac.
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iOS 26 allows you to restore an iPhone with an iPad. From what I can tell. TFA doesn't really say much.
I was going to say something similar. Apparently an iPad isn't a Mac.
Soon will be.
I was going to comment that they've finally reached the point Android was at what... 7 or 10 years ago. I get a new Android phone, it downloads all my backed up files automatically, re-installs my apps, adjusts my settings to the last phone I was using even if that phone is no longer working... But it appears they aren't even there yet. Just swapping one device for another.
Re: Fixing shit headline... (Score:1)
One small step towards an iPad being required to restore an iPhone.
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Read the article a little more carefully. The Restore Assistant *can* restore from another device, like an iPad, but it also includes recovery capabilities that don't require another device. Sounds like it can scan the operating system of a malfunctioning device and attempt an in-place repair.
Another feature I don't need or want (Score:2)
Is Apple going to put ANYTHING in this release that is even remotely useful to me?
Sure doesn't seem like it.
So far, its biggest feature seems to be fucking up the interface.
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iPad sales hugely outnumber iPhone sales...
Yes (Score:1)
Is Apple going to put ANYTHING in this release that is even remotely useful to me?
There is a lot of stuff under the hood in the new SDKs that will make for better apps, like better direct connection between devices even if they are not on WiFi. Also expanded app intents make widgets more and more useful, and App Data more accessible to on-device intelligence.
And speaking of that, apps being able to use the general purpose AI will lead to a lot of useful apps that don't feed your data to ChatGPT.
However the
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So....so far, the answer to my question seems to be "no".
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I really hope your phone breaks before you get your update and you eat your words. Imagine getting upset about having a potential solution to your problems baked into the system.
Let me guess, you don't have fire insurance on your house either.
will it do while roaming? (Score:1)
will it do while roaming?
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What do you mean by roaming?
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Dunno what your carrier charges you, but most that would be a painful fraction of their yearly income.
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Nobody requires you to restore your phone over a cellular connection.
Go someplace where there is WiFi.
Sigh. (Score:1)
Apple reinvents a mode present on countless millions of devices and dozens of architectures for decades and suddenly it's "news".
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Oh no this *is* news. I will forever remember this day as the day I found out that Apple released 26 versions of iOS without an integrated recovery system. I honestly didn't think this was a thing.
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*Every* version of iOS including the new one doesn't have an integrated recovery system, you STILL need another device to do a recovery on an iPhone. They have just changed it from needing a Mac or PC to needing a Mac, PC, or iPad.
So they reinvented their own Internet Revovery (Score:2)