14 DAY TRIAL // A purported Apple staffer writing on Reddit claims to have heard from his high-ups that iOS 8.1.1 could be deployed any time today. The firmware is known to thwart existing jailbreaks.
Identified as RTCanada on the social network, this person says, “Just got back from work and we were told in a meeting today that a public update to 8.1.1 will be distributed within this week.”
The Redditor adds, “Just a heads up to us Apple Associates for common troubleshooting scenarios we might come across from our customers. I advise you to update to 8.1 now before the window closes!”
The “window” this poster is referring to is actually the opportunity to jailbreak an iDevice using the Pangu tool. Once iOS 8.1.1 is released, any official update performed either over-the-air (OTA) or through iTunes will automatically apply the latest firmware, namely iOS 8.1.1.
That’s a good thing actually, but not if you’re the rogue type who likes to wield a jailbroken handset. According to the developers who’ve seen iOS 8.1.1, the new firmware patches existing exploits used by Pangu to jailbreak iOS 8. While new exploits can always be found, it is a tedious process and one that results in a stable release only when the hackers have some incentive to poke at the software.
