If you’ve ever encountered firmware problems such as boot loops or a bricked iPhone, your only option was to connect the device to a PC or Mac using a cable and restore its firmware through iTunes. However, according to a new report from 9to5Mac, the iPhone 16 models will introduce a feature that allows software restoration wirelessly, thanks to Recovery OS. This will enable users to restore their iPhone 16 from another iPhone or iPad running iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 without needing a physical connection.
Recovery OS has already been available on Apple Watch and Apple TV devices, and it’s exciting to see Apple bring this feature to the iPhone. As per the report, iPhone 16 users will be able to place their malfunctioning device near another iPhone or iPad (with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled). The second device will download the latest version of iOS and wirelessly transfer it to the affected iPhone.
The new iPhone 16 models are said to include a dedicated recovery partition that handles the entire process, even if the main iOS partition isn’t working. It’s still unclear if Recovery OS will require specific hardware or if this feature will eventually extend to older iPhones and iPads.
