Apple's Critical iPhone Upgrade Decision Means Hundreds of Millions Must Update Now.

Crucial iPhone Upgrade

Apple made an unexpected decision in December, requiring hundreds of millions of iPhones to be upgraded as quickly as possible. Here are the entire specifics of the ruling, including which iPhones are affected and what you should do if you own one of them.

Which iPhones Are Affected By Apple’s iOS 26?

Before iOS 26, there was iOS 18. This was available on all iPhones starting with the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. However, those three models are incompatible with iOS 26. Every other iPhone from iPhone 11 onwards is compatible with the most recent cycle. These are the phones affected by Apple’s most recent upgrade decision.

Apple iOS 26 Update Cycles: How They Work

Apple is a creature of habit, releasing the latest software cycle every September alongside new iPhones. That’s now iOS 26, which has succeeded iOS 18. To ease customers into the new system and appease those who want to wait until the new software is fully integrated before jumping on board, Apple offers alternate updates for a few months. So, along with iOS 26, came iOS 18.7, which was followed by iOS 18.7.1 when the first update to the new software (iOS 26.0.1) arrived.

Here’s the thing: with the subsequent releases in early November, iOS 26.1 and iOS 18.7.2, many expected things to repeat themselves when, on December 12, Apple issued iOS 18.7.3 and iOS 26.2. But that is not exactly what happened.

Why Hundreds of Millions Should Upgrade to iOS 26 Now

Instead, iOS 18.7.3 was made available for wide distribution exclusively to the three phones that are unable to run iOS 26. It meant that, beginning December 12 — more than a month ago — hundreds of millions of iPhones had to either upgrade to iOS 26 without delay or remain on older software. And since iOS 26.2 included a slew of security patches, that’s not a good idea.

What Does This Mean for Your iPhone?

If you haven’t upgraded to iOS 26 yet, don’t wait any longer. Though there have been real reasons for this, such as persons with low eyesight finding the Liquid Glass design of iOS 26 difficult to use, I believe the significance of retaining current protections outweighs these. Plus, you receive a slew of new features that are well worth having.