Apple has already confirmed that it will release iOS 18 to the public next week, on September 16. The update brings a lot of new features, but some users may not want to install it right away to avoid bugs and compatibility issues with important apps. Because of this, Apple will let users stay on iOS 17 and get security patches.

Apple to release iOS 17.7 with security patches

Along with the release of iOS 18.0 RC (Release Candidate) to the public on Monday, the company also released a new iOS 17.7 RC for developers and public beta testers. The update doesn’t seem to add any new features, but it does bring security patches and bug fixes to iOS 17.

Apple will probably release iOS 17.7 simultaneously with iOS 18.0 next week. Users will see both updates in the iPhone and iPad Settings app and will be able to choose to stay on iOS 17 with the latest security patches or upgrade to iOS 18 with new features. It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time Apple has given users a similar option.

Last year, Apple also continued to release security patches for iOS 16 for a period after iOS 17 was released. However, after a certain point, these patches were only released for devices that can’t be updated to iOS 17. Since iOS 18 works with all iPhones compatible with iOS 17, Apple will likely stop releasing iOS 17 updates in a few months.

Again, having the option to choose which version of the operating system you want to stay on is useful to avoid certain bugs, as some people rely on apps that may not yet be fully compatible with iOS 18.

Along with iOS 18, Apple will also release iPadOS 18, watchOS 11, tvOS 18, visionOS 2, and macOS Sequoia next week.

Source: 9to5mac