In case you weren’t already aware by now, the iPad (7th generation) is the only checkm8 bootrom exploit-susceptible device in Apple’s lineup that can run the latest available firmware – iPadOS 18. That said, it also just happens to be the only jailbreakable device on iOS/iPadOS 18 at this time. But what if that could change?
In an interesting teaser image shared on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, palera1n developer Nick Chan (@riscv64) shared a post in which they and fellow palera1n developer @mineekdev had successfully gotten an iPad (6th generation) to run iPadOS 18.
The screenshot shows off not only the iPad model number A1893, which points to the iPad (6th generation) Wi-Fi-only model on Apple’s website, but also shows the firmware running iPadOS 18.0.
The iPad (6th generation) doesn’t officially support iPadOS 18, but with its A10 Fusion chip, it features the same internal processor as the iPad (7th generation), which means most (if not all) of the drivers for the newer device should be backward-compatible with the iPad (6th generation). This remains unconfirmed as of right now, however…
This is a particularly interesting feat for several reasons, with perhaps the most important being that it demonstrates potential for adding another palera1n-compatible iPadOS 18 device to the jailbreakability list should any sort of public release come out of this.
It remains to be seen what Chan needed to do to make this work, or if the hack would even be possible to release publicly. Still, it shows some mad skill to be able to pull something like this off, and perhaps it could open the door to similar hacks for other devices.
It will be interesting to see what comes out of this demonstration, whether it’s further research into viability for other devices or a means for the general public to partake in this type of foolery. After all, it’s not every day we see these types of achievements.
Would you run iPadOS 18 on your iPad (6th generation) if you ever got the opportunity to? Let us know why or why not in the comments section down below.