What you need to know
- Apple has a major new security feature for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
- It's called Rapid Security Response.
- It can push important security updates to your devices without needing a software update.
Apple has this week unveiled a brand new security feature that will see rapid security updates issued to your most important devices without the need to update the software.
The new feature is called Rapid Security Response and comes as part of iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura, as announced at WWDC 22 this week. From Apple:
macOS security gets even stronger with new tools that make the Mac more resistant to attack, including Rapid Security Response that works in between normal updates to easily keep security up to date without a reboot.
As noted, the feature can issue important software updates to your device without the need for either a software update or even a reboot, and the feature is also coming to Apple's best iPhones and iPads through their respective new operating systems:
Now your iPad will get important security improvements between normal software updates, so you automatically stay up to date and protected against security issues.
The news will be extremely welcome to customers of these devices, as it should allow people to stay ahead of any security threats on these platforms without having to worry about upgrading to the latest version of their software or even restarting their devices. It means users will be protected even if they haven't managed to get the latest version of iOS or macOS. The setting can be found on iOS as a new 'Install System and Data' files setting and can be toggled on or off. Apple notes that some updates will only take effect once a user restarts their device, but on the whole, this is a big shift in keeping users ahead of the latest security threats across Apple's major platforms.
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