Apple gives iOS users a choice: With iOS 17.7, they can stay on the proven system without taking any security risks. iOS 18 brings a lot of new features, but an immediate update is not absolutely necessary.
Apple plans to release iOS 18 on September 16, but users don’t have to rush to upgrade to the new version. As the company confirms, iOS 17.7 will be released in parallel, which contains important security updates without introducing new features.
This strategy is not new for Apple. A similar approach was chosen last year when switching from iOS 16 to iOS 17. Users can then decide for themselves whether they want to use the latest features immediately or stick with the tried and tested version for the time being.
iOS 17.7 focuses exclusively on bug fixes and security improvements. Apple recommends the update to all users who do not want to switch to iOS 18 (yet). The exact details of the security updates will be published on Apple’s support website when the new version is available. iOS 17.7 allows these users to keep their devices secure and up to date without having to perform a major update.
Further updates will also follow. The release candidate of iOS 17.7 is already available for developers and beta testers. The build number is 21H16. There are various reasons why users may not want to update to iOS 18 immediately:
Although Apple supports both iOS versions for now, parallel development for iOS 17 is expected to stop after a few months.
This is because all devices that support iOS 17 are also compatible with iOS 18. However, security updates will continue to be available. However, the following changes and functions could be reason enough for many users to carry out the update soon. iOS 18 comes with a number of interesting new features, including:
