Gee, thanks, Apple (not)
My current phone is the iPhone 16e. It follows the trend of my past iPhones (SE, from 2017; SE 2, from 2020) in that I like the basic, no-frills model for my daily use. I try to avoid the noise of pursuing the latest and greatest, and only upgrade when the mix of hardware, software, and security concerns warrants change.
Consequently, I do spend time following developments. I'm not a Luddite; I just like the idea of using tools intentionally, so tracking progress is a way to get my fix without involving money.
I've been disappointed lately with a particular development: iOS 26 and the new Liquid Glass user interface. I'm in the camp that believes iOS 26 is change for change's sake, that it's a regression in the user experience, and that it's oversold to distract from the Apple Intelligence features that could not be delivered in iOS 18. (I've Apple Intelligence turned off, so it's not an issue for my use case.)
As such, I'm still on iOS 18.7.2. I'll update to iOS 26.x if and when public opinion suggests it is stable enough (i.e., the inevitable bugs, both functional and visual, that come with a major system change are fixed). I'm guessing around the fifth point release (set for May 2026, if the cadence from iOS 15–18 is maintained) is when this will occur. I've no particular proof, just that it would be eight months after the initial release: a low bar for something that should have received more testing before release, especially for a company worth $4 trillion.
What's disappointing is how Apple is pushing users to "upgrade" to iOS 26 through persistent notifications. In early December, iOS 18.7.3 was available in beta, but they've since removed that option so that iOS 18.7.3 is only available for the iPhone XR and iPhone XS models. On the one hand, this is consistent with the status quo: models that cannot upgrade to version X (e.g., iOS 16) can still receive security updates in version X − 1 (e.g., iOS 15) through point releases, while these updates are held back for models that can upgrade. As someone who runs Linux daily, this protocol is a bit user-hostile, but I digress.
On the other hand, 18.7.3 was a version that was in testing for all devices—including my iPhone 16e. They did the work. They did the testing. Yet they won't make it available. In effect, they are leveraging security flaws to force users in my position to upgrade to iOS 26. Again, compare this to my experience with Debian: the current stable version ("trixie") was released in August 2025; the oldstable version ("bookworm") was released in June 2023; the latter is set to receive support until June 2028. I know upgrading features is exciting, but I personally don't care for them once I choose a tool for my purposes. I wish Apple would allow users like me to stay with a stable version of iOS while receiving only security updates. But I know they won't, because their updates inevitably slow down older devices and incentivize buying new models. They've got their planned obsolescence strategy down.
The choice is between iOS 26 with its up-to-date security albeit with its unresolved jankiness, and iOS 18 with its stable feature set (unsurprisingly, it runs well on my 16e as it was the iOS that shipped with it) albeit with unaddressed security concerns that will worsen over time. In other words: stability versus security, in which the former means reliable and predictable, and the latter means protected.
So, what am I to do? I'm going to stick with iOS 18.7.2 and re-evaluate when iOS 26.5 rolls around. Until then, I'll keep my phone usage to a minimum to minimize my exposure. I'm not in InfoSec, nor am I versed in cybersecurity, but it seems intuitive to me that minimizing the threat of cyberattacks—which is urgent, if one looks at recent Forbes articles on the topic 🙄—necessitates minimizing my use of the vulnerable device. All because Apple wants to boost their adoption numbers for iOS 26 to report to shareholders in 2026, as part of the larger program of enshittifying technology, but I digress.
So, thanks, Apple, for helping me get a better handle on technology by reducing my reliance on it.