Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has turned to its famous Code Signing in a bid to kill off iOS 8.2. The company is only allowing installation of iOS 8.3 with iOS 8.4 expected later this year. The seemingly brutal killing of iOS 8.2 is sure to pose serious challenges for some iOS owners, especially those who use jailbroken apps.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has its own style of getting the latest updates of iOS to its users. The company uses two main strategies to get that done. First, the company has the unmatched ability to ensure that updates are available to all users immediately. The second approach is that the company kills an earlier version so that users can be forced to upgrade to the latest version. The company has chosen to stick with the latter approach, which is also a sneaky one.

Apple gets brutal on iOS

Apple has moved to take iOS 8.2 out of the picture and what remains for users to install on their iPods, iPads and iPhones is iOS 8.3. The end for iOS 8.2 has obviously been unceremonious. The company has used what it calls Code Signing to kill iOS 8.2. The so-called Code Signing is a way to verify the identity of iOS sign-in through Apple’s servers. It is only after successful Code Signing that a device gets permission to install. Apple has pulled Code Signing for iOS 8.2, which is equivalent to announcing a death sentence on the software.

Loss of jailbreaking capability

The development with regards to iOS 8.2 Code Signing means that iOS owners can only install iOS 8.3. However, there are some loopholes for those who may not desire to move to iOS 8.3 immediately – you can choose to stick with whatever version you are currently using. Nevertheless, there will be some issues for you to deal with, such as the inability to downgrade to a previous version of iOS in case your current software doesn’t work well. The other challenge is that accidental update to iOS 8.3 will be irreversible, meaning that you will lose your jailbroken apps as iOS 8.3 can’t be fully jailbroken.

There will also be iOS 8.4 coming soon. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is expected to launch the latest version of iOS at the Apple Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) early next month.