Last night, Apple without any fanfare ceased signing iPadOS 13.2.3 and iOS 13.2.3.
This followed the launch of iOS 13.3 a week ago. The practical implication is that users will no longer be able to revert to the older versions of these operating systems.
With Apple no longer signing older versions, nobody can use iTunes/Finder to downgrade from iOS 13.3 to iOS 13.2.3.
This means that iPhone or iPad owners who rooted their device and ran into problems can no longer go back to an older version of the operating system. Users who have significant issues after updating to iOS 13.3 cannot do so either.
According to Apple, it prefers that as many device owners as possible are running the latest version of the operating system for ‘security reasons’.
Theoretically, at least, this also makes sure that iPhone and iPad owners are enjoying the most stable user experience presently available.
Apple released iOS 13.3 a week ago with updated customisation features, Screen Time Communication Limits and others.
For example, iOS 13.3 comes with new settings that enable users to stop Animoji and Memoji stickers from always being shown on the emoji keyboard. It also offers support for FIDO2 security keys over NFC, USB, or Lightning in Safari.
Apple has now released the public beta version of iOS 13.3.1. The first public beta versions of tvOS 13.3.1 and macOS Catalina 10.15.3 are also available.
Although the company hasn’t released any statement in this regard, it’s likely that the latest update includes a fix for a bug that showed up in Screen Time after the release of iOS 13.3.
A week ago, Apple said that its programmers were busy developing a fix for an iOS glitch that allows children to circumvent Screen Time Communication Limits as effortlessly as only 21st-century kids can do.