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    • iPhone 15 hacked to use iOS 18 AI and more exclusive features
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    iPhone 15 hacked to use iOS 18 AI and more exclusive features

    Pabio Posted on

    When Apple announced Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024, it also had to acknowledge the world’s greatest software fragmentation. iPhone history. iOS 18 would enable Apple Intelligence only on iPhone 15 Pro models and the iPhone16 series. The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus would be left behind, as would all other iPhone models still in use.

    A few weeks later, we learned of the two major hardware constraints that make Apple Intelligence incompatible with non-Pro iPhone 15 models. First, these iPhones feature iPhone 14 Pro-grade chips that might not be good enough to meet the needs of Apple Intelligence’s neural engine for on-device AI. The biggest bottleneck was apparently RAM, as the iPhone 15 has 6GB of RAM instead of the required minimum of 8GB.

    What if I told you that there is an iOS 18 hack that allows you to enable not only Apple Intelligence on the iPhone 15, but also other features that might be exclusive to iPhone Pro models, like the Control Button the camera and the always-on display?

    Before I show you the hack, I’ll tell you two things. First of all, Apple fixed the exploit, so most people won’t be able to achieve it. More importantly, this hack is possible via a software vulnerability that could have been exploited in the wild.

    It all started with a Reddit user who posted screenshots online showing an alleged iPhone 15 model running software features it isn’t equipped for. The list includes camera control UI, Apple Intelligence with Siri and ChatGPT integration, action button features, and always-on display functionality.

    Basically, the user turned a basic iPhone 15 device into a makeshift iPhone 16 Pro, assuming the information is accurate.

    The photos shared by Redditor show the features they mention. As for how they work, the iPhone’s Back Tap feature is assigned to the camera control button. Additionally, one of the volume keys is activated on the action button, since the iPhone 15 still has a traditional mute switch.

    That is, even though software hacking can enable software features that are not supported on iOS 18, the phone still does not have the appropriate hardware.

    How is all this possible? The Redditor explains having used an available Nugget tool on GitHub. It’s not quite a jailbreak, but it falls into the same category of unofficial apps that take advantage of iPhone exploits.

    Nugget only works up to iOS 18.2 Developer Beta 2, as Apple has patched newer versions. Nugget developers explained how this iOS 18 hack works:

    Unleash the full potential of your device!

    Sparserestore works on all versions iOS 17.0-17.7 and iOS 18.0-18.1 beta 4. There is partial support for iOS 17.7.1 and iOS 18.1b5-18.2 beta 2.

    iOS 18.2 Developer Beta 3 (Public Beta 2) and later is not supported.

    This uses the sparserestore exploit to write to files outside of the intended restore location, such as mobilegestalt. Read the Get File section to learn how to get your mobilegestalt file.

    Comment on Reddit threadanother person pointed out that sparse restoration is a security vulnerability that malware creators could exploit. More troubling is speculation that Chinese hackers who breached several U.S. telecommunications may have hacked employee devices with malware targeting precisely this security issue:

    In the readme they specifically state that Nugget uses at least one security flaw (sparserestore exploit) in iOS to install and run it, which Apple blocked in iOS 18.2 Release Candidate; Apple blocked it because it is wildly exploited by malware authors and one of the flaws appears to be used by Salt Typhoon to help penetrate US telecommunications (by inserting malware into people’s devices). employees).

    This is just speculation at the moment, but even if it has nothing to do with the massive cyberattack targeting AT&T and VerizonThis is still a concerning security issue.

    Pabio
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