Apple’s First Updates Arrive for iOS 26 and the Gang
Toggle Dark Mode
Today, Apple released its first security and bug fix patches for this year’s “OS 26” collection, including iOS 26.0.1, iPadOS 26.0.1, macOS Tahoe 26.0.1, watchOS 26.0.2, and more.
As one might expect from the sub-point version number, there aren’t any real enhancements here. While the iOS 26.1 beta cycle has already begun, the release won’t be available until next month. In the meantime, Apple is releasing iOS 26.0.1 and its companion updates to focus on fixing security flaws and other bugs that have come to light since iOS 26.0 and the iPhone 17 lineup were released earlier this month.
While Apple had a day-one iOS 26 update ready for the iPhone 17, that was just a newer build of iOS 26. Like nearly all new iPhones, this year’s models weren’t even up to speed with what Apple released to the public that same week, since the software needs to be installed on them before they leave the factory.
Several early reviewers identified some odd camera behavior, which this new build undoubtedly fixed. However, now iOS 26.0.1 has arrived to fix several other issues that hadn’t yet been resolved with the new iPhone 17 and iPhone Air models.
The official release notes show key fixes exclusively for this year’s iPhones, although there are some more niche issues that have been fixed for all iOS 26-supported models.
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth may occasionally disconnect on iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17 Pro models
- A small number of iPhone users may be unable to connect to a cellular network after updating to iOS 26
- Photos taken under certain lighting conditions with iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17 Pro models may include unexpected artifacts
- App icons may appear blank after adding a custom tint
- VoiceOver may become disabled for some users after updating to iOS 26
However, you should still install iOS 26.0.1 even if you haven’t upgraded to one of Apple’s newest iPhones, since, as usual, there’s also at least one security fix involved.
According to Apple’s security releases page, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS 26.0.1 fix an issue where “a maliciously crafted font may lead to unexpected app termination or corrupt process memory.”
The good news is that, unlike many of the previous security patches we’ve seen, Apple doesn’t mention if this one has been actively exploited. Further, since it was discovered by Apple’s internal teams, it’s likely that no one outside of Apple knew about it. However, the same caution applies to all security fixes: once Apple (or any company) has published details on the fix, you can bet there will be evil hackers out there trying to figure it out and exploit it. This means that even if iOS 26.0 and the rest weren’t targeted before, they will be now.
Apple has also released corresponding iOS/iPadOS 18.7.1, macOS Sequoia 15.7.1, and macOS Sonoma 14.8.1 updates to patch this vulnerability for older iPhones, iPads, and Macs that can’t be updated to the OS 26 family.
The only platforms that appear to be unaffected by this flaw are the Apple TV and Apple Watch, as tvOS 26.0.1 and watchOS 26.0.2 don’t have any security release notes. Note that the Apple Watch update is one number ahead, as Apple already released watchOS 26.0.1 exclusively for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 to enable the new satellite features on that model. Everyone else will be skipping from watchOS 26.0 straight to watchOS 26.0.2.
On the Mac side, macOS Tahoe 26.0.1 fixes a particularly weird problem that had prevented owners of the M3 Ultra Mac Studio from even installing the latest release. Attempts to install macOS Tahoe 26 on the affected Mac Studio came to a sudden stop when a validation check on the Neural Engine failed.
