Until Wednesday, iPhone users who had intentionally avoided updating to iOS 26 even though their hardware was compatible with the latest software fell into a worrying period without security coverage. Now Apple has started to plug the hole, according to wiring—No update to the dreaded Liquid Glass aesthetic is necessary.
All this concerns DarkSword, a deeply terrifying feat It seems like it can really ruin your week. If you are an iPhone user with an older, unpatched version of iOS, simply browsing an infected site can install spyware on your device that can access your personal data and potentially steal your money and cryptocurrency.
“If you’ve kept your iPhone software up to date, then you’re already protected,” says one Apple update on exploit. “If your iPhone is on an older version of iOS, update it to protect your data,” he continues.
But some people hate the latest iOS and its headache-inducing glass-like bubbles. My colleague James Pero I liked the aesthetics in general.but he wrote that it sometimes produced a “blurred visual mess.”
Previous versions of iOS have already been updated to protect iPhones from the DarkSword exploit, but the remedy for anyone could update from iOS 18 to iOS 26 but I hadn’t done it was… the notice to update to iOS 26, and that was it.
But Wired reportedly received word Tuesday from an anonymous Apple spokesperson that a weird type of update called “backporting” was coming Wednesday for Liquid Glass haters, along with anyone else who simply decided not to upgrade from iOS 18 to iOS 26.
So if you’re totally against Liquid Glass, consider this a victory, even if it’s a bit scary.
