Apple
5 Things to Know About the iOS 15.6 Update
Apple’s finally pushed its iOS 15.6 update to iPhone users.
iOS 15.6 is compatible with all iOS 15-powered phones, a list that includes the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE 2, iPhone SE 3, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, and the iPhone 13 series.
Like the previous version of iOS 15, iOS 15.6 is a milestone upgrade. And like iOS 15.5, iOS 15.6 is much smaller than your typical milestone release.
With that in mind, we want to take you through everything you need to know about Apple’s latest and greatest iOS 15 update for iPhone.
In this walkthrough we’ll take you through iOS 15.6’s known changes, the software’s current performance, iOS 15.6 problems, the iOS 15.6 jailbreak status, and more. We’ll start with some thoughts on iOS 15.6’s performance thus far.
iOS 15.6 Review
If your iPhone is currently running iOS 15.5, you’ll see the smallest download size.
For iOS 15.5 users, the iOS 15.6 download will be around 520MB. You can expect a similar size for other iPhone models running the previous version of iOS 15.
Remember, the exact size of the iOS 15.6 download depends on your iPhone model and the version of iOS it’s currently running. If your iPhone is running an older version of iOS, you may see a bigger download because your update includes the changes from any iOS updates you skipped.
If you’re moving up from iOS 15.5, the installation process should take 10 minutes or less to complete. It took about seven minutes to install on an iPhone 12 Pro.
We’ve been using iOS 15.6 on an iPhone 12 Pro for several days now and here’s what we’ve learned about the software’s performance thus far:
Connectivity
- Battery life is stable.
- Wi-Fi connectivity is fast and reliable.
- Bluetooth is working normally.
- GPS and cellular data are both stable.
App Performance
- Third-party apps including Netflix, Dark Sky, Twitter, Slack, Asana, Gmail, Chrome, and Spotify are working fine at the moment.
- First party apps like Safari and Podcasts are also stable.
Speed
- iOS 15.6 currently feels as fast as iOS 15.5
If you’ve been dealing with bugs and/or performance issues on iOS 15.5 or an older version of iOS 15, you might want to install the iOS 15.6 update on your iPhone today.
If you need help making a decision about an upgrade to iOS 15.6, check out our reasons to, and not to, install the software right now.
iOS 15.6 Problems
The iOS 15.6 update is causing problems for some iPhone users. Some of these problems are brand new, others have carried over from iOS 15.5 and older versions of iOS 15.
The current list of problems includes installation issues, UI lag, issues with Touch ID and Face ID, issues with first and third-party apps, and abnormal battery drain.
If you encounter a problem on iOS 15.6, take a look at our list of fixes for the most common iOS 15 problems. We’ve also released some tips that could help you improve your phone’s performance and some tips that could help you fix bad iOS 15 battery life if you encounter it.
Apple recently stopped signing on iOS 15.5 which means you can’t move your iPhone’s software back to the previous version of iOS 15 if iOS 15.6 starts causing problems. You can’t downgrade to anything older than iOS 15.5 either.
Keep this in mind if you’re having a good experience on iOS 15.5 or older. Once you make the move to iOS 15.6, you won’t be able to get back.
For more on the downgrade process, check out our guide.
iOS 15.6 Features
Apple’s milestone updates (x.x) almost always bring enhancements, security patches, and bug fixes to iPhone users and that’s what you’ll get from iOS 15.6. Here’s the official iOS 15.6 change log:
Enhancements
- TV app adds the option to restart a live sports game already in-progress and pause, rewind, or fast-forward
Bug Fixes
- Fixes an issue where Settings may continue to display that device storage is full even if it is available
- Fixes an issue that may cause braille devices to slow down or stop responding when navigating text in Mail
- Fixes an issue in Safari where a tab may revert back to a previous page
iOS 15.6 also brings 30+ new security enhancements to the iPhone and you can learn more about those over on Apple’s security site.
iOS 15.6 Jailbreak
If you still jailbreak, avoid the iOS 15.6 update.
The developer teams behind the Checkra1n and unC0ver jailbreaking tools have released versions that are compatible with newer versions of iOS 14, but only Checkra1n is compatible with iOS 14.5.
Unfortunately, the tools don’t support iOS 15.6, iOS 15.5, iOS 15.4.1, iOS 15.4, iOS 15.3.1, iOS 15.3, iOS 15.2.1, iOS 15.2, iOS 15.1.1, iOS 15.1, iOS 15.0.2, iOS 15.0.1, iOS 15.0, iOS 14.8, iOS 14.7.1, iOS 14.7, iOS 14.6, or iOS 14.5.1.
The latest version of unC0ver is compatible with newer iPhones including the iPhone 12 series. Unfortunately it’s only compatible with versions up to iOS 14.3.
There’s no way to downgrade your phone’s software to iOS 14.5 or older versions of iOS which means you’re out of luck if you upgrade, or you already upgraded to newer iOS software.
Hackers say they’re planning to release an iOS 15 jailbreak, but it looks like it will only work with older versions of the operating system (iOS 15.0 to iOS 15.1.1) at first. So, if you want to jailbreak, make sure you avoid newer versions of iOS 15.
What’s Next
iOS 15.6 will likely serve as the last milestone upgrade for iOS 15 users.
Apple’s currently working on its new iOS 16 operating system and the software is currently in beta testing ahead of its release in the fall.
The company will almost certainly release the final version of iOS 16 alongside the new iPhone 14 which means we’ll probably see it land sometime in September.
For more about iOS 16 and its release date, check out our guide.
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