At the launch of the iOS 15 system, Apple provided the option to stay in iOS 14. At the time, the company promised to continue to provide iOS 14 security updates and fixes for customers who do not want to upgrade the iOS 15 system. However, things took a turn last week. Many iOS 14 users found that the iOS 14.8.1 update released by Apple in October last year was no longer available. Instead, when they search for an update, what they find is iOS 15.2.1. This means that the company is no longer working on the iOS 14 system. If there is any problem with the system, the only fix will be to upgrade to iOS 15.
In response, Apple said that its decision to allow users to stay in iOS 14 was only temporary. The company claims that the period is now over and users have to move ahead. Frankly speaking, Apple seems to have some superficial and behind-the-scenes ideas. This is because, at the launch of iOS 15, Apple never mentioned that the option of staying in iOS 14 is only temporary.
After the launch of the system, Apple’s support page for updating iPhone/iPad devices, says “you can choose whether to upgrade to the latest version immediately after the release of iOS or iPadOS 15 or continue to use iOS or iPadOS 14 while still getting important security updates for a period of time.”. Apparently, the keyword here is “for a period of time”. Unfortunately, Apple is playing the “words” game and it is not straightforward with users.
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There is a reason for Apple’s latest action. The sudden discontinuation of iOS 14 and the strong push for users to upgrade to iOS 14 has links to the recently announced iOS 15 upgrade rate. Relative to iOS 14/13 within the same period, the installation rate of iOS 15 is behind.
Apple now force users to upgrade to iOS 15
The upgrade rate of iOS 15 is not very high and this is obviously unbearable for Apple. To this end, the company is taking some drastic measures. Apple’s patience with those who shy away from iOS 15 seems to have dwindled over the past few months. The company is now pushing iOS 14 users to update their devices. On smartphones running iOS 14, iOS 15 updates are no longer a footnote at the bottom of the “Software Updates” section.
This week Apple released an update to iOS 15. Unlike the past, this time they have no option to re-launch to stay on iOS 14. In other words, they are forcing users to upgrade to iOS 15. For example, Apple released iOS 14.8.1 with security updates in October. On iPhones still running iOS 14.8, the update to iOS 14.8.1 is no longer available, and Apple only offers iOS 15.2.1 as an installation option. iOS 15 is available on all devices capable of running iOS 14, and removing the option to stay on iOS 14 may spur people to upgrade.
