iOS 10 jailbreak release date, updates: Pangu struggling to develop jailbreak? Apple doubles effort to patch vulnerabilities

The Apple logo is pictured on the front of a retail store in the Marina neighborhood in San Francisco, California April 23, 2014.Reuters/Robert Galbraith

The iOS 10 jailbreak by Chinese jailbreak development team Pangu may not be in good shape if the latest reports are anything to go by.

It is being said that the hacker group might not be able to release the jailbreak software as Apple doubles its hard work in fighting the jailbreak practice.

The Cupertino-based tech firm has been all-around more efficient and quick in rolling out iOS 10 to its devices than any other iOS releases. In fact, statistics by Fiksu reveals that two-thirds of active iOS devices now have the software installed.

Apple has also noticeably put an emphasis on the security of its software, locking in any iOS 10 jailbreak installations from Pangu and any other hacking teams.

The firmware, as well as the updates that came shortly after it (namely iOS 10.0.1 and 10.0.2), are all equipped with a tweak that cancels out any jailbreak software installed on a device being software updated.

This presents a hurdle to Pangu, one that will be extremely tricky to work around. The team is believed to still be working on its iOS 10 jailbreak tool, although their silence has users to doubt about their project seeing the light of day.

The group showcased a working jailbreak for the iOS 10 beta 1 back in July at the Mobile Security Conference 2016. However, with the final form of the mobile operating system already out, and with it having been updated by Apple several times, the jailbreak from a couple of months back will likely be unusable now.

Pangu appears to be struggling to put together a working iOS 10 jailbreak. They also face the risk that whatever software they release, Apple will exterminate in their next update.

This goes to show that the company is getting more serious about putting a stop to jailbreaking. Apple even offers a $200,000 bounty to researchers who uncover the vulnerabilities of their software, which will, in turn, help them patch it.

It is believed that jailbreaking has reached its twilight and that it will soon be superseded with Apple's increased hostility towards it.

However, developers like Luca Todesco, who has jailbroken the iOS 10 several times now, show that it is not entirely impossible.