iPhone 5S Gets Unexpected iOS Update With 3 New Features (13 Years Later)
iPhone 5S Gets Unexpected iOS Update With 3 New Features (13 Years Later)
https://www.bgr.com/2086221/iphone-5s-2026-surprise-update-features/
Publish Date: 2026-01-27 11:19:00
Source Domain: www.bgr.com
Dicky Algofari/Shutterstock
With the announcement of the second-generation AirTag, Apple released iOS 26.2.1 to add compatibility to this new item tracker. However, that wasn’t the only software update for iPhone devices released this week. The iPhone 5S, unveiled almost 13 years ago, and the iPhone 6 (released 12 years ago) also received new software updates with iOS 12.5.8.
With this update, Apple ensures that iMessage, FaceTime, and device activation on the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 continue to work for years to come, as iOS 12.5.8 extends the certificate required for all three features. Without the extension, they would have stopped working, but now they will keep working well after January 2027.
Even if requirements for developers, and even Apple itself, have made these iPhones practically unusable after so many years, the company still offers basic services, including iMessage, FaceTime, and, ultimately, the ability for them to be activated and synced with an Apple Account. This shows that while some companies can launch and completely brick a product in over a year, such as Humane’s AI Pin, Apple continues to support its iPhones for way longer than other manufacturers.
Apple promises five years of security updates, but it goes further than that
…
Source