Breaking with its tradition of extensively testing beta versions of its operating systems, Apple today released iOS 12.1.2 only a week after the first beta version. In addition to fixing bugs discovered in iOS 12.1.1, the rapid release is likely Apple’s way of rapidly responding to a Chinese ban on certain iPhone models, brought about by a Qualcomm patent suit in China.
iOS 12.1.2 is a “point point” release for Apple, which typically indicates that only minor changes have been made to the operating system from the major release of iOS 12 and the prior point release of iOS 12.1. That said, its immediate predecessor, iOS 12.1.1, was atypically feature-laden for a point point release, including iPhone synchronization support for Apple Watch Series 4 ECG functionality, improved iPhone XR and iPhone XS support for eSIM, and dual SIM functionality. Both features had been announced in September, but they weren’t fully functional until December.
According to release notes seen by MacRumors, iOS 12.1.2 will fix bugs with eSIM activation for the iPhone XR and iPhone XS models, as well as an issue that “could affect cellular connectivity in Turkey” with those phones. Apple has also indicated that it would release an iOS update early this week to address infringements of Qualcomm patents, making minor modifications to image and app management features.
iOS 12.1.2 is in the process of hitting Apple’s servers now, and will be rolling out to users over the next few hours. It’s a free download from the Settings > General > Software Update feature in iOS 12, and will be pushed to devices with Automatic Updates turned on later in the day.
