Apple iOS 18.3.2 New iPhone Software: Should You Upgrade?
While we’re waiting for the next big iPhone software update, iOS 18.4, which Apple has confirmed will land in April, the company has snuck out a smaller release, iOS 18.3.2. Here’s what it is and whether you should be trusting it to your iPhone.
Apple iPhone 16
Note that I’ll be updating this post over the coming week and will make a final assessment on Wednesday, March 19.
Who Is It For And How Do You Get It?
Apple iOS 18.3.2 is for everyone with iPhones capable of running iOS 18. This means all iPhones from the iPhone XS released in 2018 onwards, including the second- and third-generation iPhone SE models as well as the latest iPhone 16e.
What It’s About
Then there are two periods in a software release identifier, you can be sure it’s not geared just to new features. In fact, like this one, it’s almost certainly going to be about bug fixes and security updates. The first of these is a fix to a problem that could occur when you are streaming content. Apple says, “This update provides important bug fixes, security updates, and addresses an issue that may prevent playback of some streaming content.”
That’s the only change it mentions, though note that if you have turned Apple Intelligence off, installing iOS 18.3.2 may turn it on again. A quick trip to Settings will put this right if you need to disable it all over again.
Apple iOS 18.3.2 Security
There’s a security issue that’s addressed in this update, concerning WebKit security, which applies to iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro. Worryingly, it’s a report that “may have been exploited” already, as Apple explains. It’s been around for more than a year, but a supplementary fix to the original one was needed.
Fellow Senior Contributor Kate O’Flaherty has more on these issues here at Forbes.
Initial Reactions
The first reactions have ranged from the regular issues that occur just after updating, such as a warm iPhone, to “smooth as butter” and screen responsiveness complaints. But overall there are few users saying new problems have arisen.
Apple iOS 18.3.2 Initial Verdict: Update
There’s a serious security element here so updating seems to be the way to go, especially as there are so far few issues regarding new problems. I’ll be checking out responses in the coming days so please check back, and the final verdict will be here in a week’s time.