Not usually, unless they have “help” from Crowdstrike 
.
I agree, but things like this are inevitable. Just protecting an existing operating system must be an enormous task. Apple addressed 33 vulnerabilities in iOS/iPadOS 18.0. I imagine doing that while adding new features is even more difficult.
I would cut Apple some slack. While it looks like one upgrade, it matters what model is being upgraded, as well as what iOS version it is being upgraded from as well as what apps are installed and the configuration settings. They really cannot have enough beta testers to cover all possibilities. They’ve always said never install a x.0 software. That applies to more than just Apple’s OSes.
I’ve heard that plenty of times, but never from Apple. You and @WayneG make good points, but Apple should be making that clear when the option to update is presented to users on their devices by, say, titling x.0 versions “Early Public Releases,” saying they’re for adventurous users, and explicitly stating that they “may contain breaking bugs” and that “most users should wait for the x.1 version.”
IMO that would not be practical because most Apple updates include important security fixes. Apple downplays this by stating “For information about the security content of Apple software updates, please visit . . . “.
Even if the feature updates may be optional, the security fixes are not. Apple devices are a big target these days.
I’m only talking about the first x.0 release of a major new OS version, like the very first public releases of iOS 18 and Sequoia. Apple often releases security patches for the previous version (e.g., iOS 17 and Sonoma) at the same time, which users can install instead.
The “they” in this case are people who have experienced x.0 products over the years. Apple (or Microsoft, for that matter) will never say “don’t install x.0”.
I thought you meant Apple in the context of your preceding sentence:
Ordinary users, especially newer ones, can’t be expected to be aware of what other people out there have experienced with x.0 releases over the years.
If they’re not willing to gently warn people to be cautious about installing x.0 public releases, then they better make sure they’re not going to brick their own products.
“Apple’s public image is characterized by a reputation for quality, innovation, and premium craftsmanship”. I don’t remember them ever mentioning potential problems with non-beta software.
AFAIK they deal with problems as they occur. And they report any security vulnerabilities to organizations like CVE so that information is available to anyone who is interested.
Again, then Apple had better make sure the non-beta public releases of their own operating systems aren’t going to brick their own devices or put user data at risk.
Unlike Microsoft with Windows, Google with Android, or Linux distro devs, Apple controls it all, from the raw code to the testing to the hardware it runs on. And if they know from experience that x.0 releases can still contain bugs of that severity, the least they can do for their customers is be honest and up front about it.
I don’t see how that warning would help. Before this, the last update bricking was a minor release. There isn’t anything special about major .0.0 releases that should risk bricking.
So, should Apple warn before every release that it’s potentially flawed? I don’t think so. The harm of making users cautious about security updates outweighs the potential benefit when something does slip through the beta tests.
Plus, it’s better long term for the platforms if most users stay caught up on OSes. System and third party apps are worse when too many users hang back and must be supported.
What Apple (or any platform owner) can do: encourage more participation in the beta program. Work internally to eliminate any difference between beta and release code. Be quick to replace bricked devices. Safely increase patch release velocity.
If Apple could “make sure” without delaying the annual release of an OS, I’m pretty sure they would. But, IMO, the fact that we’re talking about it proves they cannot. And they are still the most valuable company in the world.
Going forward, this might change. They’ve already broken with tradition by dribbling out “Apple Intelligence”, arguably the main reason for upgrading. YMMV
They’re just more likely to have bugs in general. That’s why so many experienced users recommend waiting for the x.1 release, advice few hear except the sort of users who read tech sites and visit forums like this one.
The number of users who participate in betas will always be limited, because they have to be aware of them and take active steps to participate.
Calling the yearly x.0 releases “Early Public Releases” that anyone can install from settings after reading a caveat that they may contain more bugs than the x.1 releases would add a useful third (gamma?) level with a much larger number of willing participants, and probably running them on a wider range of models and configurations than even the late betas and release candidates.
As a result, the public would learn that they could be more confident about any releases that “Apple recommends everyone should install” because they’d all be x.1 or later.
What makes users cautious about installing security updates is when Apple unreservedly recommends users install updates that turn out to be buggy.
And experience shows that x.0 releases of a new OS version are more likely to have significant bugs and be generally more buggy than x.1 and later releases. Hence my point that they should be labeled and presented differently—not in a scary way, but one that realistically reflects the typical nature of x.0 releases.
cc @WayneG
You’re talking about something different, when feature/app updates have release issues to iron out. Brickings haven’t really followed that pattern. Apple knows about most of the non-critical bugs before they ship so a bigger test pool wouldn’t change much.
I like the early public release idea! They already stagger OS rollouts to catch disasters early. They could let people opt into being in the earlier waves.
If everybody would skip those x.0 releases hardly any bugs will be found and x.1 will still have all bugs from x.0. Applying mathematical induction this would mean that you should never install an update again…
Um, no. You’re setting up a straw man and shooting it down instead of engaging with what I actually said. By your logic, which seems based on a simplistic binary between “everybody” and “nobody,” everyone should install alpha and beta releases, too, because if no one did, bugs would never be caught before the public release.
I never said “everybody should skip x.0 releases.” I said that everyone (and not just those who read tech blogs and forums) should be made aware that x.0 releases are likely to be buggier than x.1 and later releases. I also said that x.0 releases should continue to be available in settings where anyone can easily install them, but labeled “early public releases” and recommended for adventurous users rather than for most ordinary users.
Think of it this way:
Alpha Releases should only be installed by a very small number of very technically proficient and knowledgeable users who know what they’re getting into and how to deal with it.
Beta Releases and release candidates are suitable for a significantly larger number of users than alpha releases, but only those willing to make frequent backups and risk breaking bugs, or who have separate devices to dedicate to beta testing. But all ordinary users (and even power users who need stability) should avoid them.
Early Public (x.0) Releases are suitable for a much larger number of users than beta releases. Anyone can install them as easily from settings as any other public release. But the release messaging in the settings should position and recommend them specifically for adventurous users willing to deal with a typically higher level of bugs than x.1 and later releases, while encouraging most ordinary users to wait for the x.1 release.
The goal is to ensure that when upgrading to the latest major version of an Apple operating system (e.g., from Sonoma to Sequoia, or iOS 17 to 18), the vast majority of users experience as few bugs and issues as possible, in keeping with Apple’s brand emphasis on quality and refinement.
I accept that bugs happen, and get out in releases, and then have to fixed at some point in the future.
But I can’t think of any valid excuse for a companies major software update bricking their own devices. That’s not an “oops, we’ll get that fixed for you, sorry that slipped through.” That’s a “Wow, we &$%*!@&^ that up. We’re changing our internal processes to make sure that never happens again.”
That just baffles me.
Bugs that brick devices are just a particularly severe kind of bug, aren’t they?
Google used to do (and maybe still does) staged rollouts of major Android upgrades to Google-branded devices. When you could install the upgrade depended on which group of users you were randomly assigned to.
The point was to find and fix bugs before they affected large numbers of users, but if you weren’t in an early group, you could wait months to get the latest OS.
When I owned a Google Nexus tablet, I hated that. I much prefer Apple’s approach of letting users decide, but it would be improved by ensuring that ordinary users are aware of the cons as well as the pros of installing x.0 releases vs waiting a few weeks for the x.1.
With just a rejiggering of names, we already have that. The existing “public betas” are available to anyone and are released a week after the “developers betas” and “Appleseed betas”, so are potentially safer. By time the general release occurs, anybody that wants to get a peek and goes to a little effort, already has.
Oh I’d guess that many of us know enough otherwise helpful Mac Enthusiast sites that claim to not have issues with x.0 updates. I’m not “outing” any, as their advice and free services far outweigh the Apple cheerleading, but for the less experienced users, hearing that from experts can be more convincing (and available) than a bunch of us randos on a forum. All that being said, I will wait up to an entire OS generation to upgrade on Mac, although I still get tempted. And the “keep downloaded” is awful tempting.
I’m not that cautious. I usually install the x.1 release, though if the release has been notably buggy I sometimes wait a few days beyond that to see if any issues come up.
That’s a good example of the risks of not upgrading to the current version of the OS. I consider iCloud’s failure to keep files in local storage regardless of users’ and app developers’ wishes a bug in previous versions that in some cases has led to data loss and corruption.
That issue has finally been fixed (we can only hope!), and I’m not going to wait longer than I consider prudent to upgrade to the version that fixes it.