Apple Secures iOS 18 Holdouts

Apple just broke one of its unwritten rules: it’s backporting security fixes to older iPhones. Starting tomorrow, an iOS 18 update will ship to blunt DarkSword, a hacking tool seen in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Ukraine, with code even surfacing on GitHub. With roughly a quarter of iPhone users still on iOS 18, and phishing tied by Malfors and Proofpoint to an FSB-linked group, Apple is protecting holdouts and even devices that could move to iOS 26, a bid to secure a 2.5 billion-device base without letting rivals own the narrative.

Backporting buys safety now, but it risks fragmenting the platform if people feel fine sticking with iOS 18, especially with pushback on iOS 26’s “liquid glass” look. Meanwhile Apple is turning AI into a platform: App Store–style distribution and default search slots, with Siri, Spotlight, and Share Sheets surfacing partner models while on-device chips keep things private. The catch: lean on OpenAI, Google, or Anthropic and they get the halo; go solo and you may lag. WWDC is the tell, from SDKs to revenue shares to default placements.

Featuring insights from Patrick Wardle and reporting by WIRED, Bloomberg, CNBC, TechCrunch.

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