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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Andrew Griffin

iPhone update: Owners told to update Apple devices to iOS 18.6 now

iPhone users have been urged update their Apple devices to fix a host of security flaws.

iOS 18.6 is a major update but does not bring significant new features, instead focusing on fixing stability and security.

The primary change is a fix to the Photos app, which is sometimes unable to share “memory movies”. That is an AI-powered feature that allows users to ask for a specific set of photos to be stitched together into an emotive film.

But it includes a host of other security and bug fixes, some of which patch potentially dangerous vulnerabilities. As such, security experts advised users to fix them now.

“iOS 18.6 contains fixes for over 20 bugs and vulnerabilities. Given that this update is smaller and largely focused on security enhancements, we recommend users update as quickly as possible,” said by Josh Stein, VP of Strategy, Security at Jamf.

Many of those bugs were inside frameworks and other technologies that are used across Apple’s apps, he noted – though there is no evidence they have actually been exploited.

The update comes soon after Apple made the first public version of iOS 26 available. As Apple gets close to the release of that new update – likely in September, alongside the new iPhones – new updates to the existing iOS 18 are unlikely to include dramatic new changes.

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