Apple calls for urgent update of iPhones: iOS 26.3 update fixes critical security flaws

Dubai: If you haven't updated your iPhone recently, now is the time to do it. Apple has just released iOS 26.3, and this one is more urgent than your average software refresh.

Apple updates its software regularly, but this particular release comes with a specific warning. The update fixes 39 security problems on your iPhone, one of which is already being used by hackers to attack people's devices right now.

Apple has confirmed on its support page that it is "aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals." That means cyber criminals have already found this weakness and are using it against real people.

What makes this update particularly significant is that security experts believe this fix completes a chain of vulnerabilities that hackers have been using together to install spyware on iPhones. Apple fixed two related security flaws back in December with iOS 26.2, and this latest update appears to close the final gap in that same attack chain. In other words, all three pieces of the puzzle are now patched, but only if you install this update.

This doesn't mean every iPhone user is under immediate threat, but leaving your phone unprotected when a fix is readily available is not worth the risk.

The good news is that iOS 26.3 is available for a wide range of devices. If your iPhone is from 2019 or later, you can and should install this update. That includes:

If your phone is older than the iPhone 11, it unfortunately won't support this update, which is a good reason to consider upgrading your device.

The process is straightforward and takes less than 20 minutes from start to finish. Here's exactly what to do:

The update file is roughly 2GB in size, so make sure you're connected to Wi-Fi rather than using your mobile data. Once downloaded, your phone will restart and the installation will complete automatically.

Beyond the security fixes, iOS 26.3 also brings a genuinely useful new feature that many people have been waiting for. Apple has added a built-in Transfer to Android tool, meaning you no longer need to download a separate app if you ever want to switch from an iPhone to an Android phone or vice versa.

Simply place your iPhone next to an Android device and the tool will help you move across:

It's a small but significant quality of life improvement that makes switching between devices far less painful than it used to be.

Apple has been careful not to share too many details publicly about exactly how the flaw works, which is standard practice. The less information available, the harder it is for hackers to take advantage before people have had a chance to update.

Areeba Hashmi is a trainee at Gulf News.