[HN Gopher] iOS 26.2 fixes 20 security vulnerabilities, 2 active...
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iOS 26.2 fixes 20 security vulnerabilities, 2 actively exploited
Author : akyuu
Score : 66 points
Date : 2025-12-14 16:13 UTC (3 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.macrumors.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.macrumors.com)
| metmac wrote:
| Liquid Glass is now mandatory if you care about security. Sigh.
|
| I wanted to like it too, but some of the new UI modals of iOS 26
| are just awful.
| dchest wrote:
| It's not, iOS 18.7.3 also released
| https://support.apple.com/en-us/125885
| bflesch wrote:
| It is not available. The release is 2 days old and the
| download is not showing up on the phone.
| SoftTalker wrote:
| My iPhone 12 mini was bugging me about it the other day. I
| declined it. I don't want liquid glass and whatever else it
| does to make that phone feel slower and less usable. I
| refuse to buy a newer iPhone. They are all too big.
| temp0826 wrote:
| 12 mini user here. Phone is just as slow and usable as
| prior to updating to 26. (Immediately after updating was
| slow for a little while which scared me initially, but I
| think it was just still doing some background stuff
| related to updating).
| philamonster wrote:
| 13 mini here too and last iPhone/smartphone I will buy.
|
| Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Reduce motion and
| Settings > Accessibility > Display and text size > Reduce
| transparency make it usable-ish. There is hundreds of ms
| lag at times inexplicably w/touch and upwards of a second
| plus when connected to CarPlay. But I can't blame iOS 26.
| I have to reboot this thing sometimes weekly, sometimes
| less frequent than that since iOS 18. I can no longer
| justify spending hundreds of dollars on things that don't
| meet my standard of "works" even if it's 2025.
| burnt-resistor wrote:
| Wrong. Enable 18 beta, refresh, install 18.7.3, disable
| beta. Problem solved.
|
| Security updates are typically available for the most
| current 2 OS versions, and 18 is still officially
| supported, perhaps until 2026 or 2027. 18.7.3 exists with
| similar security updates as 26.2. It may not show up on
| iPhone as an update option without being on the beta 18
| channel because they're trying to force people onto 26
| using dark patterns, but it shows up on iPadOS without any
| additional magic.
| hexbin010 wrote:
| Having to toggle the beta is not acceptable and the
| parent is right to class that as not available
| bflesch wrote:
| Thanks for your support. I also find these dark patterns
| unacceptable and even as a technical person one needs
| forums to figure out why it only shows the 26.2 update
| very prominently and not the relevant one. x
| gruez wrote:
| We can argue over whether 3 extra taps to access counts
| as "acceptable" or not, but it's clearly not enough of a
| hurdle to be considered "not available". Otherwise you
| might as well count iOS 26 as not being available either,
| because that needs at least 4 taps to install (settings
| -> about -> software updates -> install -> enter pin ->
| ok).
| __turbobrew__ wrote:
| This worked for me, thanks.
| 1over137 wrote:
| Not sure why you are so downvoted, because indeed Apple only
| does full security updates for the very newest (now 26):
| https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/10/apple-clarifies-secu...
| schmuckonwheels wrote:
| Because it's factually incorrect.
|
| Ars Technica, a clickbait aggregator whom should have been
| banned from this site long ago, is hardly a reliable source.
| akyuu wrote:
| As far as I know, it is factually correct.
|
| https://www.intego.com/mac-security-blog/apples-poor-
| patchin...
| doodlebugging wrote:
| Thanks for that link. Before reading I was in the process of
| migrating all my stuff from a Windows7 machine, deduping
| archives and identifying software that I may still need to
| run in a VM somewhere or on a tablet. I had considered
| flipping to Apple devices since I have an iPhone but have
| never pulled the trigger on any of that. I was considering
| iMacs instead of a Linux box for a more seamless interface
| with the phone.
|
| After reading that article where it is apparent that Apple
| has intentionally used terms that sound similar to obscure
| what the customer is actually gaining when they upgrade
| versus update and they intentionally omit the part about
| older devices not getting all the security updates that are
| pushed in the updates. I now have some clarity.
|
| I can focus on moving to Linux and in time will be ditching
| the iPhone. Should've done this years ago.
| konart wrote:
| At least they added an option to make it less glassy.
| the_other wrote:
| The pre 26.2 less-glassy options were bearable because they
| were mostly like pre-Tahoe. The post 26.2 less-glassy options
| are now so shit that I'm using glassy mode, despite it being
| also ugly, distracting and harder to read than ever before.
| Apple have absolutely trashed their OS and their "Apple make
| good UIs" pedigree. It's such a disappoibtment. I hope they
| come to their senses in the next major release round.
| pdpi wrote:
| Given the news a few days ago about the changes in UI
| design leadership at Apple
| (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46142843), there is a
| light at the end of the tunnel.
| Etheryte wrote:
| I wish they fixed the keyboard focus and UI shifts around
| that. It's one of the most buggy things I've ever seen,
| oftentimes I can't even see what I'm typing because
| everything is offset in weird and incorrect ways.
| chuckadams wrote:
| Some parts have improved: It's nice that alarms are now slide
| to cancel. Safari's UI however is now 98% mystery meat.
| firefax wrote:
| >Liquid Glass is now mandatory if you care about security.
| Sigh.
|
| Long live frutiger aero
| franciscop wrote:
| > Apple today released iOS 26.2, iPadOS 26.2, and macOS 26.2
|
| For those as confused as me, I'm on macOS 15.6.1, and it seems
| for the next version they aligned everything and I do indeed see
| an update for "macOS Tahoe 26.2". However, I also see a Sequoia
| 15.7.3 update dated at the same time and together in the same
| upgrade blog post (and for Sonoma 14.8.3, kudos), so for those
| that doesn't seem to want to do the jump now into Liquid Glass,
| that seems available:
|
| https://support.apple.com/en-us/100100
|
| Note: I had to click the [i], then unselect the "macOS Tahoe
| 26.2" and select the "macOS Sequoia 15.7.3" manually to avoid a
| full upgrade.
| void-pointer wrote:
| How can I install iOS 18.7.3? The settings app only shows 26.2
| which I do not want to install.
| jagged-chisel wrote:
| Give it a couple days for 18.7.3 to show up (I'm trying this
| myself) or download the ipsw for ios 18.7.3 and use a
| computer to install.
| void-pointer wrote:
| You can also join the iOS 18 public beta to get the update.
| jagged-chisel wrote:
| If you have the tolerance for betas, indeed
| loloquwowndueo wrote:
| Someone above said that the 18.7.3 you can install as
| beta is in fact the production build. Disable beta access
| after that update.
| tech234a wrote:
| Correct, both are the same build (22H217). BetaWiki has
| this build labeled as both the RC and the actual release:
| https://betawiki.net/wiki/IOS_18
| plodman wrote:
| There appears to be a dark pattern occurring where the Tahoe
| update is selected by default and you need to uncheck it to
| just install the security update.
| schmuckonwheels wrote:
| Is there a new technological space race between Microsoft and
| Apple, to see who can engineer more dark patterns into their
| software, forcing unwanted updates onto its users?
|
| These techniques used to be exclusive to spyware
| distributors.
| jeffbee wrote:
| That is not what "dark pattern" means.
| avazhi wrote:
| Uh, yeah it is?
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_pattern
| hombre_fatal wrote:
| No, because following major software updates is the right
| thing for 99% of people, not staying behind on a previous
| major version with security updates.
|
| You have to think about UX for 99%, not just for HNers
| who might know what a 15.7.3 is.
| DavideNL wrote:
| Details: https://daringfireball.net/2025/11/software_update_t
| ahoe_con...
| mat_b wrote:
| It's unfortunate that Apple has taught me (and I assume others as
| well) over the last 15 years that the best practice is to never
| install a major OS update.
|
| It seems clear to me that they use OS updates as a way to
| eventually slow your device down so the lag becomes so annoying
| that you want to purchase a new device.
|
| (Edit: And the really obnoxious part is that they force you to
| receive upgrade prompts every single day and you can't disable
| it.)
| schmuckonwheels wrote:
| > And the really obnoxious part is that they force you to
| receive upgrade prompts every single day and you can't disable
| it
|
| Enable iOS 18 Developer Beta and the nag screens go away.
| burnt-resistor wrote:
| I did this to install 18.7.3 on an iPhone that was only
| presenting 26.2 without any other option.
| submeta wrote:
| I literally went out and bought the latest iPhone after my 4.5
| years old, perfectly working iPhone 12 was forced to update to
| iOS 26.2 overnight, and next day was not usable anymore. It
| turned so slow that I went to an apple store and bought the
| latest.
| mjlee wrote:
| How long did you give it? Often various indexes are rebuilt
| after a major update and that can take a while. It's running
| fine on my iPhone 11.
| piyuv wrote:
| Your theory is real but its not the main purpose, it's a happy
| accident for Apple. Otherwise there'd be a class action.
| Daedren wrote:
| I mean, they got a class action before for turning on CPU
| throttling after a major update without informing the user,
| to "preserve battery health".
| mat_b wrote:
| I don't think so. There is always a cutoff for the last major
| version they recommend for any hardware. Why is the cutoff
| always after it lags the device severely and not -before-
| that happens?
| bob1029 wrote:
| > I assume others as well
|
| Running iOS 17.6.1 on my iPhone 13 mini right now. I've got a
| backup iPhone 13 mini new in the box with the factory OS still
| installed (just in case).
|
| I'm hoping my devices can hold out longer than Apple can remain
| irrational.
| gruez wrote:
| >Running iOS 17.6.1 on my iPhone 13 mini right now.
|
| You really shouldn't. There are dozens of RCE exploits, some
| of which were found in the wild, that you're missing out
| patches for.
|
| https://support.apple.com/en-us/100100
| torcete wrote:
| Like my brother printer's software. It kept pestering me to
| apply updates, and when I did, my non-genuine cartridges
| stopped working. So, never update the printer's software.
| schmuckonwheels wrote:
| Pro tip for anyone wanting to avoid liquid [gl]ass and install
| iOS 18.7.3: Apple is actively hiding 18.7.3 on most iPhones,
| despite the update showing on iPads. Perhaps a mistake, perhaps
| an attempt to force 26 onto users.
|
| Simply select "iOS 18 Developer Beta" under beta updates (might
| need a developer account) and it will allow you to install it.
| The update currently offered is the production release.
| dangus wrote:
| I would say it's almost certainly a mistake or some side-effect
| of their system that rolls out updates where they don't happen
| exactly simultaneously.
|
| Remember that Apple is also pushing that update out to serve
| their iPhones that cannot get iOS 26. Even if I was to maximize
| my cynicism, I don't think they presently use security point
| releases in the manner you are describing.
| CharlesW wrote:
| Also, 26.2 lets you choose a "Tinted" (vs. Clear) style that
| effectively addresses the primary cosmetic criticism of
| Liquid Glass.
| newdee wrote:
| This has been a thing since 26.1 I believe.
| loloquwowndueo wrote:
| Nice though cosmetics are the least of my issues with 26.
| Usability really tanked across the OS, crap ton of baffling
| choices that make it much harder and unintuitive to use.
| schmuckonwheels wrote:
| I don't think we can really ascertain intent, Apple has a
| long history of "the feature update IS the security update".
|
| This partly relies on the "just update bro" attitude of
| sufficient fanbois to achieve upgrade momentum. Otherwise,
| let's be honest, no one would update, ever, our phones are
| too personal to be changing constantly.
|
| This "bug" has been there for 2-3 days now. If it was a bug
| with their software delivery system, I assume it would have
| been fixed by now, it's affecting many people (with plenty of
| message board complaints to prove it).
| nozzlegear wrote:
| > Apple has a long history of "the feature update IS the
| security update".
|
| Do they?
| gruez wrote:
| Yes. Until a few years ago after a new major iOS version
| was released (eg. 26 for this year) the last major
| version (eg. 18 for this year) stopped getting updates,
| at least for phones that had access to the newer version.
| That changed a few years ago so that there was a period
| of overlap where both got updated.
|
| For instance, look at the release history for iOS 12 and
| 13:
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_12#Version_history
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_13#Release_history
|
| After 13 was released (September 19, 2019) there were no
| more updates for iOS 12, at least for the devices that
| support iOS 13.
| neko_ranger wrote:
| If your phone is laggy after liquid glass, Enabling "Reduce
| Motion" from Accessibility/Motion makes my 2020 iphone se much
| better. You can also disable transparency for even more frames,
| but it makes some UIs look particularly bad (because everything
| is transparent in frutiger aero/liquid glass)
| kruuuder wrote:
| Wow. I'm still on 18.7.1, saw the update to 18.7.2 yesterday
| (100% sure on this), but didn't want to install it at that
| moment as I needed the phone, and deferred the update to today.
|
| Now I don't see any iOS 18 updates at all, only the iOS 26
| prompts. What a dick move, Apple. Especially if this is a) a
| security update, and b) iOS 26 is known to run poorly on older
| phones like mine.
|
| Thanks for the workaround!
| tech234a wrote:
| It is also available as a public beta, which you can register
| for at https://beta.apple.com/
| temp0826 wrote:
| So far all of the comments are about the glass ui...I'm glad the
| bugs were squashed. Nice! But am curious what the metric is for
| determining when to push out security updates. Did they have 19
| accumulated and were like "hey let's just wait til 1 more comes
| through"?
| tiger3 wrote:
| Backport please? I don't want glass ui
| wilg wrote:
| You will not think about liquid glass after a day, especially if
| you turn on the new options. There's no need for everyone here to
| contort themselves into not installing these updates. The new
| features in all the OS upgrades are very much worth it.
|
| You're not going to add text message spam filtering to your phone
| because they changed the border radius or blur or whatever?
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(page generated 2025-12-14 20:00 UTC)