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So this means they can make and package iPhones much further in advance. I assume that prior to this, they had to keep all of the manufactured units unboxed and

So this means they can make and package iPhones much further in advance. I assume that prior to this, they had to keep all of the manufactured units unboxed and ready to update — until the OS was finalized. Now they can make them months in advance with a placeholder OS, and then update them in-store on release day. Smart!

mannyv 3y ago
Apple most likely has a pre-OS firmware that pings a local update server and downloads/flashes the OS when an image is available. That way they don't have a ton of iPhones hanging out on the line waiting for GM. I'm not sure how they would test for update failures in that situation. I suppose they could have a LOM or something that validates the software is installed, reports back to the mothership, then deletes itself. That would imply that it's part of Apple's secure chain.