Anyone who has purchased a new iPhone and wants to set it up at home knows the problem: the operating system installed is often not the current version, so you initially have to go through a lengthy update process. Although this is now normally initiated as part of the setup process (and no longer has to be done manually afterwards as before), it still costs time and annoys many buyers. That's set to change in the future: Apple has implemented a new process with which iPhones will be updated in-store – in the packaging.
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No need to remove the iPhone
It became known last fall that this new function was planned. However, it apparently took longer before implementation was possible. As Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman reported in his newsletter on Sunday, the new “proprietary system” will now be implemented from April. The hardware and software required for this is called Presto and is now being delivered and should be available in all Apple retail stores in the USA by early summer.
Presto works completely wirelessly and the iPhone packaging can remain closed. It's a bit “like a metal compartment for shoes,” writes Gurman. The system uses “MagSafe and other wireless technologies” for power supply and the update itself – although MagSafe would actually have to be quite tight in order to reach through the packaging. Presto “downloads new software, installs it, and then turns the phone off again,” according to the report.
What about security?
The first tests have been running in selected stores since December 2023 and have been successfully completed. “When a customer buys the iPhone, it ships with the latest version of iOS.” Further concrete details about the technical functionality of Presto are still not available. Apple itself has not yet provided any more detailed information about this.
Accordingly, it is unknown how the system (and the iPhones themselves) will be protected against misuse and manipulation via this new software delivery route. If there is a lack of strong security, supply chain attacks would also be conceivable – i.e. attacks on the way from the factory to the retailer. Apple may have taken this into account.
(bsc)