It has been quite a while since Apple has been working on a system that enables users to wirelessly recover and restore the firmware of their devices. This was initially introduced for the Apple Watch with iOS 15.4 and watchOS 8.5, and then extended to the Apple TV with iOS 17 and tvOS 17. Now, with iOS 18, Apple is finally bringing this system to the iPhone 16 lineup.
It was noted by macstn that the iOS 18 firmware for iPhone 16 models includes the same RecoveryOS that allows users to restore the firmware of the Apple Watch and Apple TV from an iPhone. We were able to simulate the new system to see how it functions.
Basically, when the iPhone 16 enters Recovery Mode for some reason, users can simply place it next to another iPhone or iPad to start the firmware recovery. The other device will download a new iOS firmware and transfer it to the bricked device. This means that a Mac or PC will no longer be necessary to fix firmware issues on iOS devices.
Although any device running iOS 18 can be used to restore a bricked device, it seems that at present, only iPhone 16 models can be wirelessly restored. The new phones come with a special recovery partition that can manage the entire process regardless of whether the main iOS partition is booted.
It is unclear whether Apple plans to add this system to previous iPhone models in the future or whether it actually requires new hardware. Nonetheless, this is great news and a significant step forward in making it easier for users to fix firmware issues without having to take their devices to Apple or a repair center.
Interestingly, macstn first reported that Apple was working on this tool internally back in 2020.
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