iOS 18.3.2: Apple’s Surprise iPhone Update Fixes 1 Bug, Adds 1 Frustration – Forbes
ByDavid PhelanByDavid Phelan, Senior Contributor. Updated March 13 with further details of what’s in the update.Recent months have seen iPhone software updates alternate between big number releases (iOS 18.2, iOS 18.3) and smaller releases in between, such as iOS 18.3.1, the current version until a few minutes ago. But Apple released iOS 18.3.2 on Tuesday, March 11, and caught most people on the hop. Since its release, it’s now become apparent that the update also does something you might find frustrating: it turns Apple Intelligence on even if you’ve previously deactivated it. More below and how to fix this. It’s also now clear that there’s a major security aspect to this update.Apple iPhone 16Where many updates are concerned only with bug fixes and feature improvements, iOS 18.3.2 addresses a difficult kind of security problem, that is, one which Apple considers is already being used in real-world attacks. That’s the case with the latest issue—more details in what’s in the release below.While there had been rumors that an in-betweener was on its way, those who had predicted it thought it would arrive in a week’s time or later. And the content was a mystery, until now.The entire iOS 18 release works with any iPhone from the iPhone Xs from 2018 onwards. That means the iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max and iPhone Xr and all iPhones after that, including the iPhone SE in both its second- and third-generation models right up to the brand-new iOS 16e.We’re some way through the iOS 18 cycle, so this will be familiar to you now. In the iPhone’s Settings app, choose General, then choose Software Update. After that, click Download and Install, and let the software download. This is a medium-sized update, 704.6MB on my iPhone 16 Pro Max, which downloaded and installed in a matter of minutes.Apple’s notes are always key when it comes to one of the smaller releases, which this is. They are concise, reading, “This update provides important bug fixes, security updates, and addresses an issue that may prevent playback of some streaming content.”Security details always follow later, so the streaming issue is the thing to cling onto. Apple doesn’t say whether the issue is restricted to particular services or programming—though presumably if it had been happening with something seismic like Severance on Apple TV+ we’d have heard about it.But it’s obviously meaningful enough for Apple to mention it specifically.As for security concerns, the major issue here is one that concerns WebKit, the part of iOS that is fundamental to Safari, and refers to concerns about maliciously crafted web content.If this sounds like déjà vu, you’re right. This exact issue was addressed last year, in an early version of iOS 17, iOS 17.2. Apple has now updated that solution. “This is a supplementary fix for an attack that was blocked in iOS 17.2. (Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals on versions of iOS before iOS 17.2.),” the company said .This time, it believes, it has fixed the problem using improved checks to prevent unauthorized actions.This update was unexpected. If it goes according to plan, it looks like the next release will be iOS 18.4, due in April.The new release turns Apple Intelligence on, some iPhone users have found, as reported by MacRumors. A screen appears after the update with “Continue” the only option offered, and this leads to Apple Intelligence being turned on. So, why does this matter, as after all you can just turn it off again? Well, first, the software should be smart enough to know you’ve turned it off before or at the very least offer a screen which asks if you want Apple Intelligence rather than activating it.Second, Apple Intelligence needs storage space of up to 7GB and this could be a nuisance if your iPhone storage is nearly full already.The solution is simple: go to the Settings app, choose Apple Intelligence &Siri and toggle the switch to off. That’s easy enough, and might be worth remembering in case a future update also enables Apple Intelligence—this isn’t the first time it’s done this.
