iOS 9.3.4 Released for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch – But Is It Worth Downloading?

Apple issued an “important” security update for iOS 9.3 this afternoon. iOS 9.3.4 was released for users of the iPhone 4s or later, iPad 2 and later, and iPod Touch 5^th generation and later. According to Apple’s release notes, iOS 9.3.4 “provides an important security update for your iPhone or iPad and is recommended for all users.”

The timing of the release is interesting – Apple is expected to release iOS 10 early next month, and most people expected Apple to be focusing the entirety of their efforts on the upcoming release. iOS 9.3.3 was released just over two weeks ago, and was expected to be the last iOS 9 update before official release of iOS 10.

According to the iOS 9.3.4 support page, the update fixes a memory corruption issue, as well as a vulnerability that allows an application the ability to “execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.” Also interesting about the release is that the support page credits “Team Pangu” with finding the flaws in iOS 9.3.3. Pangu is a “jailbreak” method for iOS 9.3.3, which allows users to remove software restrictions imposed by iOS. “Jailbreaking” a device gives its user unrestricted access to the device, allowing the user to install pirated software, extensions, and themes that can’t be found on Apple’s official App Store.

There is already plenty of speculation that the “important” security update was only issued in an attempt to prevent iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users from jailbreaking their device. Pangu’s 9.3.3 jailbreak was only made available a week ago, so Apple patched the exploit rather quickly. However, Apple’s urgency in patching the jailbreak exploit may be for its users own good – many users of the Pangu jailbreak found that some of their personal information, including Facebook logins, credit card numbers, PayPal accounts, and more were compromised after jailbreaking their device. iOS 9.3.4 blocks the Pangu jailbreak from working, but in the process fixes an important security issue that may be facing users.

If you’re a fan of jailbreaking your devices – which is never recommended for a variety of reasons – you may opt to skip this update out. For casual iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users, however, it’s always a good idea to keep your device up to date, especially when Apple introduces “important” security updates.

Will you be updating to iOS 9.3.4? Let us know in the comments below.