Security updates: "Silent" installation in future iOS versions?
"Background Security Improvements" will soon be available on devices without manual intervention. This is not Apple's first attempt to speed up updates.
Apple logo and a lock: Updates are only useful if you install them.
(Image: Alberto Garcia Guillen/Shutterstock.com)
Time and again, massive security vulnerabilities occur in Apple's operating systems on – So far, so normal. The problem is that users take far too long to install the often critical updates. This is because the update process is always associated with disruption: systems have to reboot, the workflow is disrupted. In addition, technical difficulties and incompatibilities can occur, which also prevent some users from updating quickly.
Apple wanted to at least speed up the slow update process with so-called RSRs, which stands for Rapid Security Response. However, these are only used very rarely and are sometimes only slightly faster. For this reason, Apple now seems to be aiming for another method for iOS 26, as code experts have discovered: the so-called Background Security Improvements (BSI)
Silent update = fast update
According to a report in Macworld, initial information on this has been discovered in the first beta of iOS 26.1. Apparently, the BSIs are the successor to the RSRs. What is apparently new is that security vulnerabilities can also be fixed in the background. Which should be able to be plugged "silently." Manual updates are no longer necessary.
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However, it is still unclear whether a restart is necessary; even though BSI has “background” in its name, this may not always be technically possible. Theoretically, RSRs also had the option of working without a reboot, but this was rarely the case.
Patching without rebooting?
According to further information from Macworld, there should be a built-in option to undo problematic patches retrospectively. How exactly this rollback works remains unclear. Embarrassingly, Apple already had to patch an RSR update in 2023. The BSIs are also expected to be released for other Apple platforms, including macOS.
Meanwhile, the Apple blog 9to5Mac reports that Apple is working on new ways to replace critical system components without rebooting. However, this requires a new security model. It is still unclear whether this is part of the BSI strategy and whether both changes will be rolled out at the same time.
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