Today, Apple has set a new precedent. It’s the first time the company has released a Rapid Security Response (RSR) update to the public, not just to beta testers or developers running pre-release developer builds of its mobile operating systems.
iOS 16.4.1 and iPadOS 16.4.1 are currently getting this RSR update. The rollout will be completed within the next 48 hours. When you install RSR, your iPhone or iPad will display an “(a)” in the About section — so you’ll be on iOS 16.4.1 (a) or iPadOS 16.4.1 (a).
RSR updates are allowed to be applied automatically by default. Not all of them will require a restart, but some may, and as such you’ll be prompted when they’re done. You can choose to turn off automatic installation of RSR updates through Settings, but you may not want to.
That’s because these provide important security improvements in between regular software updates. They are used to mitigate some threats more quickly, especially those that have been exploited or reported to be in the wild. So, for the sake of protecting your device, it’s probably best to let these things happen as Apple wants them to.
Today’s RSR update takes only a few minutes to download and install, and requires a restart. Going forward, RSRs will only be available to those using the latest versions of iOS and iPadOS.
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