Apple says you can stick with iOS 14 if iOS 15 isn't your cup of tea

Ios 14 Home Screen Page
Ios 14 Home Screen Page (Image credit: Christine Romero-Chan / iMore)

What you need to know

  • Apple announced iOS 15 earlier today and it'll be available later this year.
  • Users who want to stay on iOS 14 will be able to and still receive security updates.

Apple's big WWDC opening keynote is over and iOS 15 was one of the biggest announcements. But as great as the new features sound some people will always want to hold off updating and prefer to stick with something more tried and tested. That's iOS 14, and according to Apple, you can stick with it just fine.

Even though Apple normally tries to push users towards updating, this year seems to be different. In fact, Apple not only says that users can stay on iOS 14 for the foreseeable, but it also says they'll receive security fixes while they do it.

iOS now offers a choice between two software update versions in the Settings app. You can update to the latest version of iOS 15 as soon as it's released for the latest features and most complete set of security updates. Or continue on iOS 14 and still get important security updates until you're ready to upgrade to the next major version.

This is the first time such an option has been put before users and it's something Apple has been testing with those who are on the iOS beta programs, too. It'll be very interesting to see how this impacts the graphs Apple like to show that highlight a huge percentage of users have updated to the latest release. Will quite so many people jump on the new hotness when they don't have to?

Apple's iOS 15 beta is now in the hands of developers and it'll be made available to public beta testers next month. Everyone else will get the release this fall when new iPhones arrive. Before they do, why not treat yourself to a new iPhone right now? These are some of the best iPhone deals on the internet today.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.