It's been a big week for Apple, as Monday saw the company offer sweeping updates to its iPhone, Mac, and Watch devices through its latest major milestone operating system releases in iOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and watchOS 11.
However, while these feature flush updates are now available to all, some iPad models won't be receiving the latest iPadOS 18 update as Apple has temporarily paused its rollout.
Apple's decision to pull the update is in response to several claims that its latest software update is rendering its premium iPad Pro models completely inoperable.
iPadOS 18: Something wicked this way comes
iPadOS 18 was released alongside its Apple operating system brethren on Monday, but it wasn't long before iPad users reported major issues with the update.
Murmurings of problems surrounding the release of iPadOS 18 arose on Reddit after one user claimed that the update had 'bricked' their device. Bricking, in this sense, indicates that the device in question has become completely unusable or unresponsive — typically in a way that renders the device irreparable.
Before long, several other users had reported the same issue in response or parallel threads, all with one thing in common: they were all owners of Apple's latest M4 models of iPad Pro, a device that can cost up to $2,599 in its highest configuration.
One user shared that following diagnostics performed on their M4 iPad Pro by the Apple Store, they were told that their iPad would "never turn on again." Several other users confirmed this assessment, claiming Apple Store employees had confirmed their hardware had failed.
Thankfully, due to Apple's one-year warranty for the iPad Pro M4, the user has since been offered a replacement. However, other users report longer support pipelines, with many being directed to senior support channels. Those who are eligible for replacements are reportedly facing waits of 3-5 days.
Apple's response to iPadOS update woes
It would seem that issues surrounding the iPadOS 18 update are limited to M4 iPad Pro models, and users shouldn't be too concerned about updating their iPad as normal — though Apple always recommends performing a backup and leaving your device on charge throughout the process, just in case.
While it was initially suspected that the fault could be a result of M4 iPad Pro users downloading the concurrently available iPadOS 17.7 patch before applying the latest iPadOS 18 update, several users have reported the same issue without installing the earlier version beforehand.
In a statement provided to MacRumors, Apple responded to the fault, saying "We have temporarily removed the iPadOS 18 update for M4 iPad Pro models as we work to resolve an issue that is impacting a small number of devices."
Apple has previously had to remove software updates for both iOS 17.3 and iPadOS 17.3 after similar incidents of device bricking occurred. Apple has not yet announced a timeline for when M4 iPad Pro users can expect iPadOS 18 to become available to download once more.
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