Last summer, during Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, the company announced macOS Ventura, iPadOS 16, and iOS 16 but also mentioned adding something called “Rapid Security Response.’
It was presented as a feature meant to power faster and more regular security fixes for the company’s newest operating system. The fix focuses keenly on Webkit-related flaws that impact Safari and other apps reliant on the phone maker’s built-in browser engine.
Almost a year after that WWDC and more than seven months following the release of iOS 16 in September, the company has released a Rapid Security Response update. It will be available for iOS and iPad devices running version 16.4.1 and Macs running version 13.3.1.
What is this update going to be?
The update will add the letter (a) to the OS version you already have to show that it has been installed. Whether the company plans to tell us more about which issues the update resolves, is unclear.
The support page accompanying the update shows just an overall description of what Rapid Security Response updates are and how they work. In addition, the Apple Security Updates page has not seen any updated information added to it at the time of writing.
Updates for everyone
Before this update, Rapid Security Response updates had come for macOS and iOS beta users, including during iOS 16.4’s beta phase, but the public had not seen one until now.
The updates released to beta users might have been a test to see if the mechanism worked instead of an application of crucial security patches. The Rapid Security Response feature required much work under macOS Ventura’s hood, but Apple has managed it.
Initially, the update showed an error message for those trying to install it, but as of publishing this piece, Apple has resolved the issue.
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