iOS 27 arrived yesterday, and Apple used it to patch more than 100 security vulnerabilities. If you would rather not move your iPhone 18 Pro Max or any other recent iPhone onto a brand new OS this early, Apple pushed iOS 26.7 on the same day, so there is a second option.
Apple shipped iOS 26.7 alongside iOS 27
Apple published the security notes for both releases on its own support pages, and the totals are not close. iOS 27 covers more than 100 vulnerabilities while iOS 26.7 covers more than 80, and a new report counted 75 fixes as common to both.
It should be noted that neither of Apple's pages flags any of these flaws as having been exploited in the wild.
What is your position on updating to iOS 27 right now?
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How long iOS 26.7 actually keeps you covered
The revamped Siri is the headline feature you are putting off by staying on iOS 26.7. | Image by Apple
It should be noted that this two-track setup is not Apple being generous, it is a documented and deliberately temporary arrangement. Since iOS 14.5, Apple has offered a choice between two software update versions on that screen: take the new major release right away, or stay where you are and keep getting important security updates for a period of time.
Pixel 11 Pro and Galaxy S26 Ultra owners are used to a different arrangement here. Google's Android security bulletins are monthly and version-agnostic, and the September 2026 bulletin patched 180 vulnerabilities across Android 14 through Android 17 in one pass. Essentially, sitting on an older Android version does not cut you off from patches the way it eventually does on an iPhone.
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Here is what iOS 27 and iOS 26.7 are patching, in plain English
Apple's notes run past a hundred entries between them, so here are the ones worth understanding:
Root access through a malicious app: a kernel flaw let an app award itself the highest level of control over your phone.
Bluetooth code execution: someone within radio range could crash an app or run their own code on your iPhone.
Saved Wi-Fi passwords (iOS 27 only): anyone holding your unlocked phone could read your stored network passwords without authenticating.
Lock screen leaks: Siri Suggestions could surface sensitive information to someone with physical access to a locked iPhone.
Location tracking: an app could work out where you are through system logs it should never have been reading.
Silent messages (iOS 27 only): a malicious shortcut could send messages from your phone without confirming with you.
Web page attacks: malicious web content could crash Safari, corrupt memory or expose information you had viewed.
To choose between which update you want to grab, go to Settings, then General, then Software Update, where both releases are offered separately. iOS 26.7 disappears once you have installed iOS 27, so the choice only exists while you are still on iOS 26.
Why waiting a few weeks is a defensible call
I am not going to tell anyone to rush a major OS release onto the phone they depend on for work, because I have read enough launch-week bug threads to understand the instinct. Still, the decision is narrower than it looks, since you are not choosing between updating and not updating, you are choosing between two patched versions and one of them has a shelf life.
I would personally love to see Apple say plainly how long the older track stays open, because right now that vague period of time is doing an awful lot of work.
Johanna Romero is a Senior News Writer at PhoneArena, covering mobile technology news across Android, iOS, wearables, and the Google ecosystem she knows best. Drawing on 15 years in IT and tech support from 2007 to 2022, she brings a user-friendly eye for the practical features and lesser-known tricks readers care about. Google named her an official #TeamPixel member in 2022, and she also reviews the latest devices on her YouTube channel, JoJo the Techie.
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