iOS 13.1 is a very important software update and should be downloaded immediately by any iPhone owners running iOS 13, primarily because it fixes a worrying security flaw that lets attackers access your Contacts from the lockscreen without your passcode.
The flaw, which was first discovered by Apple user Jose Rodriguez earlier this year, requires a user to start a FaceTime call and then harness Apple’s voiceover feature using Siri.
This summons the iPhone owner’s contact list, revealing the names, addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers, of their colleagues, friends and loved ones.
It is worth noting this flaw is serious, but not severe. After all, it requires a user to know the email address tied to the iPhone to make a FaceTime call for starters.
Moreover, the steps required are certainly not obvious, either.
Crucially, iOS 13.1 also promising to iron-out as many of the bugs present in iOS 13 as possible. iPhone owners who upgraded to iOS 13 have noticed apps crashing, stutters when logging-in using the keypad and switching between modes in the Camera app. In fact, the problems are so widespread that the US Department of Defense has warned its employees not to upgrade to iOS 13 until iOS 13.1 launches tonight.
As well as exterminating bugs, the iOS 13.1 update adds Siri shortcut actions as well as the ability to send an ETA to others in Apple Maps.
Apple’s latest iPhone upgrade was supposed to release on September 30 – however its debut was pulled forward to today, September 24.
While a precise release time for iOS 13.1 has not been confirmed by Apple, Express.co.uk is predicting the update to land at around 6pm this evening. That’s when Apple typically rolls-out its major software releases, including iOS 13 last week.
Of course, we will be updating this article when the new software does arrive.
Here is a full list of iPhones that will be able to download it:
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone XS
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone X
• iPhone 8
• iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone 7
• iPhone 7 Plus
• iPhone 6s
• iPhone 6s Plus
• iPhone SE
The new iPhone update comes on the same day as iPadOS’s debut.
Today Apple’s illustrious tablet series will cease to run iOS in favour of a new operating system specifically engineered to take advantage of its power, form factor and Apple Pencil support.
You can read all about iPadOS’s best new features here.