Apple surprises users with unexpected update, quietly reviving older iPhones and iPads.

When Apple stops supporting older iPhones and iPads with the latest version of iOS or iPadOS, it usually isn’t the end of the line—Apple keeps releasing new security-only patches for those devices for another year or two, keeping them usable while their hardware is still reasonably capable.

Apple’s iOS 26.2 and iOS 18.7.3 include security updates intended to protect device hardware, software, and data. The iPhone update to iOS 26.2 is recommended for newer models, while iOS 18.7.3 delivers an Apple security update for earlier devices.

Apple's latest software update might be frustratingly inconvenient but unfortunately, it’s also necessary.

That’s not as cataclysmic a dropoff as Statcounter’s data suggests, even before considering other mitigating factors—iOS 26 dropped support for 2018’s iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, for example, while iOS 18 ran on every iPhone that could run iOS 17.

The iOS 26.2.1 update that Apple released today further addresses an issue preventing some older mobile phones from being able to make emergency calls. In an updated support document, Apple says that iPhone users with an iPhone 12 or earlier should install the latest software updates to ensure that their mobile devices are able to make emergency 000 calls.

Apple releases security updates for all iPhones released in the past 12 years.

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks to digital writer Patrick Holland about why some iPhone users dislike the latest iOS update.

Apple released a new update for the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus, but don't expect any new features.