Apple just released a patch for iOS 7, less than two weeks after launching their new mobile operating system. iOS 7.0.2 is a small update and worth upgrading. In addition to fixing a security issue with the lock screen, the update adds Greek keyboard support to the lock screen along with other bug fixes.
How Long Does It Take?
The update is small. The iPad and iPhone updates are both around 20MB. Given the small size of the update, the entire process takes 10-15 minutes, depending on the speed of your device and Internet connection. A brand new iPhone 5S will get the job done faster than an iPhone 4.
Fixed in iOS 7.0.2
Shortly after iOS 7 was released, another lock screen bug was reported. The bug enabled access to a user’s camera roll. With access to the camera roll, one can send out photographs via email and social media. The security breach is executed with the following steps:
- on a locked iPhone or iPad, slide up Control Center
- tap the timer button and hold down the sleep/wake button until the cancel option appears
- tap on the cancel button
- double tap the home button
- the multitasking view appears, with the camera app accessible
The vulnerability has limited impact. For one, someone must have physical access to the device. If they succeed, they can only access the camera roll. Nonetheless, this security issue could enable someone to send out incriminating photos. It’s also a huge embarrassment for Apple. This is the third major lock screen defect in the past year. One would assume, at this point, they would test the lock screen thoroughly.
The AppStore’s update process has been fixed. Although this was not mentioned officially, after I upgraded my iPhone and iPad to 7.0.2, I noticed that apps pending updates are now shown immediately. Previously, apps pending updates would take a long time to appear. After updating a few apps, if the device was locked, upon unlocking the device the user would only see updated apps. This was a very annoying bug and made it difficult to update apps.
Worth Upgrading?
It’s worth upgrading to iOS 7.0.2. Beyond the critical security fix, it appears that other issues have been solved. I’ve been running the upgrade on my iPhone for about 4 days, and I haven’t experienced any problems. It appears that there are no regressive bugs. In fact, I haven’t had one app crash after the upgrade. Battery life isn’t affected by this release. After upgrading, I ran my iPhone for 7 hours and 23 minutes with 4 days of standby time. It appears that the App Store update bug has also been fixed with this release. Other undocumented bugs may have been fixed. I haven’t experienced a single app crash since upgrading.
For those waiting to upgrade to iOS 7, the release of iOS 7.0.2 may be a compelling reason to upgrade. If your iPhone is mission critical, you may want to wait. If you have already upgraded to iOS 7, 7.0.2 is a step up and highly recommended.
Ready to upgrade? Follow this upgrade process to ensure that you don’t lose anything.