Apple Has Released a New Security Update

Look, I love software updates and I’m not alone – some of us love to see what new features developers come up with. But even though they’re less exciting, I’m an even bigger fan of security updates…and Apple is introducing a new type of security update for iPhones, iPads, and Macs. This is called Rapid Security Response.

What is Apple’s Rapid Security Response?

Rapid Security Responses is Apple’s latest update for their updates. Instead of providing any new features or major software changes, Rapid Security Responses fixes security vulnerabilities that appear between regular updates. If Apple or a third party discovers a security issue in Safari, the WebKit framework stack, or critical system libraries on Apple devices, Apple will be able to fix the issue and deliver it to users as soon as possible.

The first patch was released on Monday May 1st for iOS 16.4.1, iPadOS 16.4.1 and macOS 13.3.1. Faced with an issue that caused the patch to fail to install , the first Rapid Security Response installs fine, although Apple doesn’t specify what exactly it contains.

While Apple is focused on security, its previous patching approach wasn’t the best. Other operating systems such as Android have separated their software updates from their security updates. This way, whenever Google fixed a critical security vulnerability, they could quickly release it through their security update channel. Apple, on the other hand, usually waited until there was enough reason to update all iPhones, unless the problem was so severe that they needed to release an update that would then change the entire OS version. (That’s why we sometimes see weird versions of Apple software like iOS 16.4.1. It’s the version of iOS 16.4 that should have included security patches before iOS 16.5 was ready.) The only caveat was Safari, which at least on Mac, Apple will release security updates separately as needed.

To be clear, Rapid Security Responses is not for every Apple device. Rather, they are available starting with iOS 16.4.1, iPadOS 16.4.1, and macOS 13.3.1. If your iPhone, iPad or Mac does not have the latest software installed, you will not be able to install the latest version of Rapid Security Response and will have to wait for the next major update to enjoy the security benefits. However, if the security vulnerability actively threatens Apple users, it is likely that the company will speed up the release of the new update.

You can even uninstall security updates if something goes wrong. You don’t want to do this unless the update breaks your device, as you risk exposing yourself to the security vulnerabilities that the update fixes.

How to install Rapid Security Responses on iPhone, iPad or Mac

By default, Apple grants your iPhone, iPad, or Mac permission to automatically install Rapid Security Responses. This is certainly good, but not reliable: like Apple’s traditional automatic updates , Rapid Security Responses may not update immediately, even if this setting is enabled. If you want to keep your iPhone, iPad, or Mac up to date, you need to check for patches regularly.

This is easy to do as Security Quick Answers appear on your device’s software updates page. On iOS and iPadOS, it’s under Settings > General > Software Update , and on a Mac, it’s under System Preferences > Software Update . You can install it like any other software update.

Rapid Security Response appears with the same version number as the latest iOS, iPadOS, or macOS update, but with an (a) appended to distinguish itself. For example, this latest update appears as iOS 16.4.1(a) on iPhone.