iOS 9 Jailbreak Release Looking Grim

While we’re still waiting for an iOS 8.3 jailbreak (or maybe even an iOS 8.4 jailbreak), details about iOS 9 keep rolling in, and things aren’t looking to good for an iOS 9 jailbreak.

According to 9to5Mac, Apple is doing some serious stepping up when it comes to the security of iOS 9. The company is said to be undergoing a “major new initiative” called “Rootless.”

Essentially, the new measures will be there to prevent malware from being installed and increase the security of extensions, as well as keep sensitive data on lockdown. However, sources say that “Rootless will be a heavy blow to the jailbreak community.”

Further details weren’t provided but it’s safe to say that jailbreaking will become even more difficult than ever before once iOS 9 releases. These new security enhancements will essentially mean that even administrative-level users won’t be able to access certain protected files on iOS devices, and this includes files that jailbreak developers need access to in order to exploit iOS and create a jailbreak.

Of course, jailbreak developers have always found a way around Apple’s new security enhancements when they introduce a new version of iOS, but this could be the biggest road block yet.

The latest version of iOS (iOS 8.3) released back in early April, making it almost two months since the update arrived, but we have yet to see an iOS 8.3 jailbreak so far. There’s no official word on when an iOS 8.3 jailbreak will release, but it may not be any time soon, as Apple has apparently patched up even more security exploits in iOS 8.3.

Jailbreak developer MuscleNerd tweeted that Apple’s 39 security bugs that were fixed in iOS 8.3 rivals the update from iOS 7.x to iOS 8 last year, making it one of the biggest updates as far as security fixes are concerned. Some of those fixes were exploits that were used by the TaiG jailbreak team, so this is certainly a big blow for the jailbreaking community.

Of course, iOS 8 was jailbroken fairly quickly, but that’s mostly because there was a jailbreak already available for iOS 8 before it was even released. iOS 8.3 is a much different story, as there’s currently no jailbreak in sight.

Whereas an iOS 8.2 jailbreak was right around the corner, an iOS 8.3 jailbreak may take a lot longer to hit the airwaves because of the new security fixes, and iOS 9 could be in the same boat.

Surprisingly enough, though, there is already a working jailbreak for the latest version of iOS, which means it will most likely work with iOS 8.3.

Well-known jailbreak developer Stefan Esser (also known as i0n1c) uploaded a video to YouTube that shows off a working jailbreak that appears to be running on iOS 8.4 beta 1. Esser says that this is merely just a “proof of concept” and like his past jailbreak teases, he most likely won’t release it anytime soon.

While iOS 8.4 has yet to release to the public, chances are jailbreak developers who have a working jailbreak aren’t going to release it until iOS 8.4 releases, mostly so that Apple won’t have the chance to patch it up until it releases iOS 9.

That’s probably the main reason why developers may stay away from iOS 8.3 and shoot for iOS 8.4 instead, because once they release a jailbreak for iOS 8.3, Apple will most likely go ahead and patch up the exploits in iOS 8.4, rendering an iOS 8.3 jailbreak useless after only a couple of months of being out in the public.

If jailbreak developers wait until iOS 8.4 is released, an iOS 8.4 jailbreak would last longer since iOS 8.4 will most likely be the last big update that iOS 8 receives up until the launch of iOS 9, which will most likely hit later this year in September.