iOS 17.2—2 New Reasons To Upgrade, 2 Reasons To Wait
Apple has released iOS 17.2, the long-awaited update to its iPhone software that includes some brilliant new features. Apple’s iOS 17.2 also comes with some important security fixes, making it an important update for iPhone users. However, the release of iOS 17.2 comes alongside another update, iOS 16.7.3—a security-only upgrade for those reluctant to move to iOS 17.
Reasons To Update To iOS 17
iOS 17.2 Includes Amazing New Features: iOS 17.2 is long-awaited partly because it includes the Journal app, which you can ensure is safe and secure by protecting your data with Face ID or Touch ID.
Another brilliant new feature in iOS 17.2 is iMessage Contact Key Verification, which allows you to keep your communications safe and protect you from spyware.
That’s in addition to more enhancements to iMessage, a Favorites update to Apple Music, new Weather app features, Messages in iCloud syncing and a new “Local Alerts” option in Emergency Alerts.
iOS 17.2 Is More Secure Than iOS 16 And Fixes Bugs
I get it—iOS 17 has been quite buggy, including the Wi-Fi bug that’s been plaguing many iPhone users. I don’t want to speak too soon, but this issue appears to be fixed in iOS 17.2, for me, anyway. Meanwhile, in the iOS 17.2 release notes, Apple has confirmed a fix for a bug that was preventing some iPhones from wirelessly charging in some vehicles.
In addition—and this is a big one—iOS 17.2 is much more secure than iOS 16, despite Apple updating its older operating system with security fixes. This is because the iPhone maker only issues important updates to iOS 16, which come later than the iOS 17 releases.
Security researcher Josh Long points out that Apple patched over 70 vulnerabilities between iOS 17 and iOS 17.1. “Meanwhile, iOS 16.7 has gotten half as many patches,” he says.
Reasons To Stay on iOS 16
You Have An Older Device: If you are using an older iPhone, you don’t have a choice but to run iOS 16. That’s fine and you are still as secure as possible. Following the release of iOS 17, the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X can’t run the latest software. That’s in addition to the iPhone 6 and 7 series, which still run iOS 15. If you own the latter and need a secure device—and it's an affordable option—perhaps consider getting a new iPhone at some point soon.
You Can’t Stand Bugs: While the latest version of iOS 17, iOS 17.2, seems fairly stable, many people can’t stand the bugs that come with new software releases. It could be that you’re a business user, or you get too annoyed to wait for Apple to come up with fixes. If that’s the case, stick with iOS 16, but be aware that Apple will only support the older software with security updates for a short while. It’s likely this time is coming to an end soon.
