What you need to know
- Code in the iOS 13.4 beta indicate an internet recovery option.
- The feature would allow an iPhone or iPad to recover the OS without a Mac or PC.
- The Mac has enjoyed recovery "over the air" for years now.
The iOS 13.4 beta has brought to light some interesting new features, such as the new "CarKey" feature that will allow iPhone and Apple Watch owners to unlock and start their NFC-enabled cars as well as share access to their vehicle through iMessage.
Today, 9to5Mac uncovered yet another interesting feature in the newest beta for the iPhone. Within the iOS 13.4 beta exists evidence that indicates Apple is working on an Internet Recovery feature for operating system.
Currently, if you have an iPhone or iPad that needs to be recovered, you have to hook it up to a Mac or PC. While this used to work fine, more and more people are buying just an iPhone or just an iPad. As iOS only users increase, it makes sense that Apple would build in the ability to recover those devices without the need for a laptop or desktop computer.
As 9to5Mac notes, this new feature could be even more critical for devices like the Apple Watch or HomePod, which currently have to be taken to an Apple Store in order to be recovered as they have no external connectors for users to recover them at home.
The feature, called "OS Recovery", seems to indicate that users will be able to restore their iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices over the air and without the need to physically hook it up to a Mac or PC. There are also hints that some devices may be able to be recovered by hooking one up to another, for example an iPhone to an iPad.
The feature will most likely have a lot of the same characteristic as the Mac, which has enjoyed internet recovery for a long time now. If you need to recover your Mac you can do so by downloading the operating system and restoring your data through iCloud or a Time Machine backup without depending on another device to do so.
