Re: iOS 18 and RCS

Dave Royal wrote on Sat, 21 Sep 2024 12:17:23 +0100 (GMT+01:00) :

Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> Wrote in message:
 

As far as I know iPhones all upgrade to the latest iOS as soon as it's released.
 So should they all have v18 now, and be capable of RCS chats (minus encryption)?  None of my contacts who I know use Apple are showing up as   RCS capable in Google Messages ...

 My wife has an iphone 14 which is 'up to date' on ios 17.7
She could opt for ios 18, if she knew and cared, but it's not
 automatic - yet. My iphone 8 runs ios 16.7.10. It probably won't
 get 17.

The main reason iOS always has far more zero-day holes than Android and why iOS is the most exploited mobile operating system on the planet is that Apple only fully supports one release & one release only. Just one release.
 <https://screenrant.com/apple-product-security-update-lifespan/>
 <https://hothardware.com/news/apple-admits-only-fully-patches-security-flaws-in-latest-os-releases>
 <https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/10/apple-clarifies-security-update-policy-only-the-latest-oses-are-fully-patched/>
So anyone who is stuck with a phone older than the iPhone XS may as well throw it over the next bridge because it's already jam packed with bugs.
Bugs which Apple will never fix.
 *Which iPhone models will get iOS 18*
 <https://www.zdnet.com/article/every-iphone-model-that-can-be-updated-to-apples-new-ios-18-public-beta-and-which-ones-cant/>
 iPhone 15
 iPhone 15 Plus
 iPhone 15 Pro
 iPhone 15 Pro Max
 iPhone 14
 iPhone 14 Plus
 iPhone 14 Pro
 iPhone 14 Pro Max
 iPhone 13
 iPhone 13 mini
 iPhone 13 Pro
 iPhone 13 Pro Max
 iPhone 12
 iPhone 12 mini
 iPhone 12 Pro
 iPhone 12 Pro Max
 iPhone 11
 iPhone 11 Pro
 iPhone 11 Pro Max
 iPhone XS
 iPhone XS Max
 iPhone XR
 iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)
But even for the few iPhones that are fully supported with iOS 18, there is some bad news because of how nasty Apple is to their own customer base.
In addition, because Apple mocks the EU by waiting until the very last moment to implement customer-focused interoperability, the EU finally got fed up & started mandating that Apple begin to care about their customers.
 <https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-eu-gives-apple-six-months-to-make-cross-device-interoperability-easier-140030456.html>
This is because Apple has purposefully withheld new features from European users, including Apple Intelligence, iPhone Mirroring on the Mac and
SharePlay Screen Sharing.
As a result of Apple's anti-consumer stance, the European Commission will
tell Apple the measures it has to take for cross-device interoperability
and the EU says that Apple is expected to follow their rules this time.
 <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-19/apple-faces-eu-warning-to-open-up-iphone-operating-system>