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Apple Updates iOS 12 For the First Time Since 2023 (macworld.com) 29

Posted by BeauHD from the legacy-idevices dept.
Apple quietly released its first update to iOS 12 since 2023 to keep iMessage, FaceTime, and device activation working on older hardware through January 2027. The update applies to legacy devices like the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6/6 Plus, and 2013-era iPads. Macworld reports: The update appears to be related to a specific issue. According to Apple's "About iOS 12 Updates" page, iOS 12.5.78 "extends the certificate required by features such as iMessage, FaceTime, and device activation to continue working after January 2027." Meanwhile, the iOS 16 update says it "provides important bug fixes and is recommended for all users."

When iOS 13 arrived, it dropped compatibility for the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus, as well as the 2013 iPad Air and iPad Mini 3, so users of those phones should specifically take note. To update to the latest version, head over to the Settings app, then General and Software Update, and follow the instructions. Further reading: Apple Launches AirTag 2 With Improved Range, Louder Speaker
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Apple Updates iOS 12 For the First Time Since 2023 More

Apple Updates iOS 12 For the First Time Since 2023

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  • That they still haven't figured out how to unbundle their apps and update them independent of the OS

    • They know how, but they do not want to ... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by drnb ( 2434720 ) on Wednesday January 28, 2026 @01:02AM (#65953894)

      That they still haven't figured out how to unbundle their apps and update them independent of the OS

      Nope. You are confusing not figuring it out with not wanting to do it. They don't want their core apps unbundled. Their core apps are allowed to access undocumented APIs, as a result their code may be tied to a specific iOS version. 3rd party apps are expressly prohibited from doing so for this very reason. Updating the core apps and iOS together makes the use of undocumented APIs less of a hazard.

      • Their core apps are allowed to access undocumented APIs

        ...which was found to be a violation of antitrust law when Microsoft did it...

        How long before we find out that the public functions are just the private functions with delay loops added, like they were with Microsoft? How many iFanboys will still be defending them then? I bet it will be all of them.

      • To be fair... they want you to get a new machine (desktop/laptop or iPhone) in order for Facebook V2,000 (app) to work on it.
        Android is guilty of the same thing... my Galaxy S9 (which runs perfect, and sometimes responds faster than my laptop) isn't running a new-enough version of Android to run my bank's app, because I can't update to Android 15.

        Of course, Apple doesn't want to unbundle iCloud and iTunes and stuff or allow apps from outside the 'app store' to be installed... keeps you in the eco-system.
        If

    • What they should do is add a feature that allows one to enter a cloud storage other than iCloud. It needn't be DropBox or OneDrive: it could even be a home server cloud solution that someone has rolled out. Have that somewhere in settings

  • Speaking of Certs - iOS sucks for WPA-Enterprise (Score:3)

    by Gavino ( 560149 ) on Tuesday January 27, 2026 @11:39PM (#65953812)
    I overhauled my corporate WiFi and implemented PEAP-CHAPv2 for one SSID so that users can put their Windows Domain user/pass into WiFi, instead of a shared WiFi password. I know - PEAP-TLS would be better, but this one SSID is just for staff BYOD phones so un-managed devices - and managing per-user certs on un-managed devices is like pulling teeth. I just give them DHCP and Internet access and some Internet DNS and everyone is happy.

    So anyways for the PEAP cert I use Let's Encrypt in conjunction with my domain. On Android users can use System Certificates and validate the domain and they aren't prompted to trust the PEAP cert - Android does validation instead - the user just has to add our domain to their settings for validation. It's great!

    But iOS devices are simply horrible. You don't have that validation option. Users have to get a warning to trust the certificate. They have to view it and see that it is for our corporate domain and signed by Let's Encrypt, but that's asking a lot from non-tech users. It's horrible. But it gets worse. Every month when I refresh the cert - they have to re-trust all over again. Android phones are completely unfazed by the certificate refresh. I wish iPhones were better for WPA-Corporate, but they suck big hairy donkey balls. I love their hardware (for the most part), but their software stack is too dumb in many areas.
    • So, relative to Android, iOS is more transparent to the user and does less behind their backs? To be clear, I am not talking about actual security, I'll let others comment as to whether Apple has the better policy or not. I am only talking about transparency. If my employer wants to put their stuff on my phone, I want to know what it is going on.

      Secondly, and again I am not saying this is better, but it is consistent with Apple's security and sandboxing policy. When in doubt, ask the user if they want to

      • (not saying any of this to be pithy or anything)
        I know... the same thing happened at the start of the HTTPS push (and still occasionally crops up). There will always be outliers.
        I'm still running Win10 (on the PCs, the Mac I got from a friend is High Sierra forever (it's interesting to mess with), and the Apple TV (which may have leaped into my bag while cleaning a friend's place... not sure how that happened) is fun (the big TV is a 43' Panasonic plasma from '06)... it can't do smart TV stuff, only has 3

        • the Mac I got from a friend is High Sierra forever (it's interesting to mess with)

          I think High Sierra Macs are important, they are the last ones to run Adobe CS6, the last non-subscription versions of the Adobe suite.

          • And, even though the processor and RAM and video aren't close to on par with todays machines... it's still an interesting little machine (love the way they fit a laptop motherboard and power supply and HDD and slot-load drive in it inside a chunk of machined aluminum)... I can imagine the manufacturing and assembly side is a thing of "you have to hold it just right, with the right phase of the moon behind you at exactly 31.53.45 degrees in order to fit everything in perfectly".
            I can see why other computer m

    • Why doesn't iOS accept your letsencrypt cert?
      And, since it's corporate wifi, why don't you use MDM?

  • This is legit, signed by Carnegie Mellon, 100,000+ people have seen this agreed it's legit. See for yourself. Warren Buffet sold $133 billion in Apple seeing these designs, so listen up, this is one of the biggest stories of this Millenia: Hello,
    Steve Jobs didn't invent the Smart Phone, I did in 2000, signed by Carnegie Mellon
    If I wanted money, I would have sued em 20 years ago.
    I'm already succeeding in what I wanted to achieve because revealing these designs to Warren Buffet's lawyers
    resulted in Warre
  • Won't verify the install, says no internet connection, I do have internet connection. BS.

  • Saying Apple released an update "quietly" makes it sound like they do t want you to know they didn't. It makes the news sound somehow like a conspiracy to do something hoping that nobody notices.

    I say this not just for this story but any story where Entity A quietly does Thing B. Picky but Slashdot can do better.

    • "...don't want you to know they did it..."

      Stupid lack of proofreading. Bad poster!

    • I have an iPad Mini 4, which comes after the period in question - 2013, and updates for it had stopped for some years. So does that mean that when I next turn it on, I'll have the option of updating iOS/iPadOS?

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