Yesterday Apple quietly released iOS 12.4.7 for the following devices which are not supported by iOS 13:
- iPhone 5s
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPad Air
- iPad mini 2
- iPad mini 3
- iPod touch 6th generation
While the Apple Security Updates page displays device support information for iOS 12.4.7 the “Name and info link” description merely states “details available soon”. Though this description is quite ambiguous, a few eagle-eyed updaters noticed that many of the security updates present in iOS 13.5 have been made available to older devices supported by supplemental versions of iOS 12. These security fixes and optimizations are listed as follows:
- Fixes Mail daemon vulnerability in the native Mail app which enabled hackers to install malicious software on an iOS devices via a uniquely crafted email
- Eliminates “effective power” bug which caused iOS devices to crash upon receiving a unique set of characters followed by the virus emoji. Devices impacted by this bug required a hard reset in order to remedy the issue.Â
It is nice to see that Apple, unlike its Android competitors, values the privacy, stability, and security of its customers enough to issue these updates to devices that may not be supported by the latest features included in iOS 13.Â
iOS 12.4.7 comes in at a small 49.4 MB and it is available for free via an OTA (over-the-air) software update that can be accessed via the Settings app by navigating to General > Software Update.
