[secretsatan]

Probably a bit late, but I think if you want to preserve an iOS version before updating, you have to back it up with the sync tool. At least that is how you do it when installing beta versions and want to rollback, if you don't have the backup, you're out of luck.

the Simulator has improved a lot over recent years I've found. We couldn't use it for ages as accessing metal would cause it to crash, I noticed late last year this no longer happens, making it a viable solution for us again.