iOS 16.4.1 (a)—Why You Should Apply The Latest iPhone Update Now

Apple has released iOS 16.4.1 (a)—a first-of-its-kind security update that you need to apply to your iPhone now. That’s because iOS 16.4.1 (a) is a security-only upgrade containing important fixes for serious iPhone vulnerabilities.

Apple hasn’t provided any details about what was fixed in iOS 16.4.1 (a)—even its support page remains empty of the basic descriptions the iPhone maker usually supplies when it issues a patch. This could be because Apple hasn’t put the details up yet, or the fixes might be too sensitive to share.

The release of iOS 16.4.1 (a) comes just weeks after Apple issued iOS 16.4.1, fixing two security issues already being used in real-life attacks. The iPhone maker usually issues important fixes as separate updates—ie iOS 16.4.2—but this new upgrade signals Apple changing its strategy.

The iOS 16.4.1 (a) update is what is known as a Rapid Security Response, a new iOS 16 feature announced last Fall. So far, the iPhone maker has trialled Rapid Security Responses in its iOS 16 Betas. Now, iOS 16.4.1 (a) sees the first one issued to all iPhone and iPad users.

Apple describes Rapid Security Response on its support page:

“Rapid Security Responses are a new type of software release for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. They deliver important security improvements between software updates — for example, improvements to the Safari web browser, the WebKit framework stack, or other critical system libraries. They may also be used to mitigate some security issues more quickly, such as issues that might have been exploited or reported to exist “in the wild.”

iPhones targeted with spyware

It comes at a time when criminals and nation state adversaries are targeting iPhones with spyware. This type of malware can be brutal, and it makes its way onto iPhones and other devices often via “zero-click” cyber-attacks that require no interaction from the user.

It makes sense that Apple wants to patch any holes that would allow attackers to plant spyware as quickly as possible. The Rapid Security Response in iOS 16.4.1 (a) allows the iPhone maker to do just that, ideally more quickly than if it had stuck to the previous security update method.

Of course, iOS 16.4.1 (a) did have some teething problems, with several reports that the upgrade was failing to install. However, it could have been over-loaded—hours later the process seems to be working more smoothly, so it’s a good idea to update your iPhone as soon as you can.

Why you should apply the iOS 16.4.1 (a) update

Although there were teething problems, this should not put people off from sticking with rapid security updates, says Jake Moore, global cybersecurity advisor at ESET. “As more threat actors take aim with increasingly intrusive spyware, Apple is battling with its only real weapon—updates. Such patches are too important to wait for fuller iOS updates so this rapid response is the antidote people need to keep their devices secure.”

This is a good move by Apple, helping ensure users get security updates in a more timely manner, agrees independent security researcher Sean Wright. For the most part, the updates should happen in the background without you noticing, he points out. “In my opinion this is better for security since updates can often be intrusive.”

He also questions how quickly these updates will roll out to iPhones. “As we’ve seen with the ordinary automatic updates, these can sometimes take days to automatically install on user devices,” Wright points out.

Personally, I am keen to update my iPhone to keep it secure and I suggest you do the same as I did with iOS 16.4.1 (a) as it did not automatically download straight away. Go to your Settings > General > Software Update and download and install the iOS 16.4.1 (a) Rapid Security Response as soon as you can.

Meanwhile, to help insure Rapid Security Responses are applied automatically, Go to Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates and make sure that “Security Responses & System Files” is turned on.