Apple just threw a lifeline to devices most companies would've abandoned years ago. The Cupertino giant released surprise patches Monday for iOS versions dating back to 2013's iPhone 5S, renewing security certificates to keep iMessage and FaceTime running through January 2027. It's an unusual move for devices that haven't seen updates in months or even years, revealing Apple's quiet commitment to keeping old hardware minimally functional long after the spotlight moves on.
Apple doesn't usually revisit ancient operating systems. When an iPhone or iPad falls off the support list, it typically gets a year or two of security patches before fading into obsolescence. But Monday's batch of updates breaks that pattern in a way that reveals something interesting about how the company thinks about its installed base.
The company pushed out iOS 12.5.8, iOS 15.8.6, and iOS 16.7.13 - covering devices from the iPhone 5S through the iPhone X. According to Apple's release notes, these aren't security patches or feature additions. They're certificate renewals, pure and simple. Without them, iMessage and FaceTime would've stopped working when the original certificates expired in January 2027.
For iOS 12 users, this marks the first update since January 2023 - nearly three years of radio silence broken only to keep the lights on a bit longer. iOS 15 and 16 saw their last patches in mid-2025, making these updates less shocking but still noteworthy. The iPhone 5S, which launched in 2013 alongside Touch ID and the 64-bit A7 chip, gets to live another day.
The timing tells its own story. These devices are approaching 13 years old, sporting 1-2GB of RAM and processors that struggle with modern web browsing. Apple's own Safari browser on these systems lacks critical security patches, and third-party developers largely abandoned iOS 12 years ago. You can't realistically use an iPhone 5S as your daily driver in 2026.
But that's not really the point. As Ars Technica originally reported, these devices found second lives as single-purpose gadgets - baby monitors, white noise machines, kitchen timers, or simple messaging devices for kids. The updates acknowledge this reality without pretending these phones are still full-featured smartphones.
