After testing its new types of software releases on beta software over the past few months, Apple has finally released its first public Rapid Security Response update on devices running the latest versions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. This will be iOS 16.4.1, iPadOS 16.4.1 and macOS 13.3.1. These are smaller in size compared to the regular software updates that appear on these devices. Apple has never once published a release note detailing what has been fixed with a given update. However, Apple has explained what this type of update does and why it exists.
This new type of software release is currently only available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices. These are meant to deliver immediate security updates in the same way Google distributes Android security patches to Android-powered devices. Similarly, Apple’s Rapid Security Response updates are also smaller in size. The update we received on our iPhone 14 Pro review unit was 85.2MB in size, but they can be smaller, as seen in some previous betas.
Apple claims that these updates may bring several security improvements to the Safari browser, the WebKit framework stack, or other critical system libraries. However, this is mostly to take care of urgent security issues such as exploits that have either been reported or exist in the wild.
When the settings for software updates are set to default, the device will prompt for a restart to apply the update. Users can also opt out of these security updates if they wish. These updates are turned on by default after users install iOS 16.4.1, iPadOS 16.4.1, and macOS 13.3.1 on their respective devices. they have to move on Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates > And toggle off security responses and system files to turn off these small software updates. Those who opt out of these rapid response security updates will eventually receive the same security patches in the next regular software update.
Apple also noted that a device that has recently been updated with a Rapid Security Response update will have a slightly different name or version number. It can be identified by a letter that appears after the software version number, such as on an iPhone with the current update it appears as iOS 16.4.1 (a). Apple also gives users the ability to remove a security update, which may apply automatically (as it is turned on by default). can lead to a user Settings > About > iOS Version > (Settings > General > About > macOS > “i” on macOS) And tap Delete Security Feedback if they need to.
