5 Things to Know About the iOS 12.4 Update

Unlike iOS 12.3.1 and iOS 12.3.2 (iPhone 8 Plus only), iOS 12.4 is a milestone release which means it brings more than just bug fixes and security patches. It has some new features on board as well.

If your device is currently running iOS 12.3.1 or iOS 12.3.2, you get the shortest change log. If you’re running an older version of iOS 12, your iOS 12.4 update will be much bigger because the features and fixes from the updates you skipped are baked into your upgrade.

With that in mind, we want to take you through everything you need to know about Apple’s newest, and perhaps final, version of iOS 12.

In this guide we’ll take you through iOS 12.4’s known changes, iOS 12.4 problems, some places to look for feedback about the software’s performance, and our impressions of the update thus far.

iOS 12.4 Reviews

The iOS 12.4 requires a pretty large download.

If you’re upgrading from iOS 12.3.1 or iOS 12.3.2, your download will probably check in around 350-400MB. The iPhone X’s iOS 12.4 update is a 385MB file and it’s around the same for other models.

If you’re currently on an older version of iOS 12, you’ll see a larger download size because, again, you’ll get the features and fixes from any iOS updates you skipped.

If you’re currently running iOS 12.3.1 or iOS 12.3.2, the iOS 12.4 installation should take less than 10 minutes. It took right around seven minutes on the iPhone X.

For more on the iOS 12.4 download and installation, take a look at our guide.

We’ve been using the iOS 12.4 update on our iPhones and iPads for several weeks now and here’s how it’s performing as we push into September:

Connectivity

• Battery life is currently stable.
• Wi-Fi connectivity is fast and reliable.
• Bluetooth is working normally.
• GPS and cellular data are both stable.

Apps

• Third-party apps including Netflix, Dark Sky, Twitter, Slack, Asana, Gmail, Chrome, and Spotify are all working normally at the moment.
• First party apps like Safari, Podcasts, and Calendar are also working fine.

Speed

• iOS 12.4 feels as fast as iOS 12.3.1. iOS 12.3.1 was fast on all of our devices.

If you’re dealing with bugs or performance issues on iOS 12.3.1 or another version of iOS 12, you’ll probably want to install iOS 12.4 right now.

If you need help making a decision, check out our reasons to, and not to, install the iOS 12.4 update on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch right now.

We’ve also published our iOS 12.4 reviews for the iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 7, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6, iPhone 5s, and iPhone SE so check those for additional feedback if you need it.

iOS 12.4 Problems

iOS 12.4 users are reporting numerous bugs and performance issues.

The current list of iOS 12.4 problems includes download and installation issues, weird battery drain, UI lag, crashes, random reboots, issues with Touch ID and Face ID, and connectivity issues

If you run into an issue while running iOS 12.4 please take a look at our list of fixes for the most common iOS 12 problems. We’ve also released some tips to improve iOS 12’s performance and tips to improve iOS 12 battery life on both the iPhone and iPad.

If you can no longer tolerate iOS 12.4’s performance on your device, you’re on your own.

Apple is no longer signing on iOS 12.3.2, iOS 12.3.1, and iOS 12.3 which means you can no longer use a loophole to downgrade to one of those versions.

Unfortunately, you can’t downgrade to anything older than that either. Apple’s closed up the downgrade path to iOS 12.2, and below, as well.

iOS 12.4 Update: What’s New

iOS 12.4 is a milestone upgrade which, again, means it carries new features.

Specifically, the iOS 12.4 update brings a new iPhone migration method and some changes to Apple News. Here’s the update’s full change log:

iPhone migration

• Introduces the ability to wirelessly transfer data and migrate directly from an old iPhone to a new iPhone during setup

Apple News

• Makes downloaded issues accessible in the My Magazines section, both offline and online
• Adds all publications in Apple News+, including newspapers, to the catalog at the top of the News+ feed
• Adds the ability to clear downloaded magazine issues by selecting History > Clear > Clear All

Other improvements and fixes

• Includes a security fix for the Walkie-Talkie app on Apple Watch and re-enables Walkie-Talkie functionality

iOS 12.4 also includes support for HomePod in Japan and Taiwan and 19 security patches.

iOS 12.4 Jailbreak

There are a couple of ways to jailbreak iOS 12.

The unc0ver jailbreak now supports Apple A7 through A11 devices running iOS 12.4 and below. That means means you can jailbreak iOS 12.4 if you’re using an iPhone 5s, iPhone SE, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, or iPhone X.

If you own a newer iPhone model, you can jailbreak iOS 12 using the Chimera tool. However, your device needs to be running iOS 12.0-iOS 12.1.2.

Unfortunately, there’s currently no way to downgrade to any of those updates.

[amazon box=”B07K344J3N”]

What’s Next

iOS 12.4 may or may not be the last version of iOS 12.

The company hasn’t confirmed iOS 12.4 or iOS 12.5 and with the iOS 13 release getting closer, there’s a chance the company jumps right to iOS 13.

If that’s the case, iOS 12.4 will be the last update for devices like the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus. None of them will get upgraded to iOS 13.

That said, Apple accidentally unpatched a vulnerability in iOS which in turn led to the release of an iOS 12.4 jailbreak tool. We expect Apple to patch this up soon so there’s a chance we see iOS 12.4.1 arrive before iOS 13.

iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 will bring performance improvements and a tons of new features including Dark Mode, a swipe keyboard, and much, much more.

We expect Apple to pull iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 from beta sometime in September, shortly after the company launches its 2019 iPhones.

For more on iOS 13, take a look at our walkthrough. For more on iPadOS 13, take a look at our guide to the beta.