Yes, you’ve heard this one before.
Apple released a slew of security updates Monday along with its latest operating system iOS 15.5. While numerous and varied, broadly speaking, the fixes will prevent malicious apps or, in some cases, stop remote attackers from running arbitrary code on victims’ iPhones. Which, to be clear, you don’t want anyone doing.
Along with security updates for iOS come patches for iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, and Safari. Apple says the updates are available for the Apple Watch Series 3 and later, iPhone 6s and later, iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 4 and later, iPod touch (7th generation), macOS Big Sur, macOS Catalina, macOS Monterey 12 and later, Apple TV 4K, Apple TV 4K (2nd generation), and Apple TV HD.
The patches, which fix numerous serious vulnerabilities across essentially the entire range of the company’s software products, follow on the heels of a major security update in February, which itself followed a significant January update, which came after a notable December, 2021, security update.
In other words, this has been happening a lot lately.
To be clear, a company like Apple releasing multiple patches a year as needed is a good thing. Loudly and publicly letting its customers know they need to update is a behavior that should be rewarded. Still, the frequency at which Apple’s operating systems need serious security updates is getting kind of ridiculous.
To update your iPhone:
- While connected to internet, plug your iPhone into a power outlet and go to Settings
- Tap General
- Select Software Update
- Chose Download and Install
- Enter your passcode when prompted
Thankfully, that’s all you need to do. But you do need to do it, even if feels like you’ve already done this exact thing too many times to count.