Apple Releases iOS 18.3.1 for iPhone and iPad with Bug Fixes
After releasing iOS 18.3 late in January, Apple has pushed a small update. The update to iOS 18.3.1 is rolling out to compatible devices, such as the iPhone Xr and later. In contrast to recent updates, which added a plethora of new features, most notably geared towards Apple Intelligence, this update is seemingly based on security improvements.
MacRumors recently stated that a small update was coming, and here it is just ahead of the iOS 18.4 beta release. Apple is likely to start testing iOS 18.4 as early as this week.
Along with the iOS 18.3.1 update, Apple has also released a number of other software updates, such as iPadOS 18.3.1, iPadOS 17.7.5, watchOS 11.3.1, macOS Sequoia 15.3.1, macOS Sonoma 14.7.4, macOS Ventura 13.7.4, and visionOS 2.3.1.
The latest iOS 18.3.1 update carries build number 22D72 and has a varying size, generally around 500MB for each device. Although it doesn’t bring noticeable changes, it’s still a critical update for those users who have already upgraded to iOS 18.3. The release aims to address vital bugs and improve security for a better and safer experience.
If your iPhone is compatible, you can get the iOS 18.3.1 update from the Software Update tab in the Settings app. If you’re on the beta program, however, the update won’t show up. In this instance, moving to the public build will make it installable.
According to the Release Notes:
“This update provides important bug fixes and security updates and is recommended for all users.
For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/100100”iOS 18.3.1 and iPadOS 18.3.1 includes a fix to security flaw, according to Apple.
“Accessibility:
Impact: A physical attack may disable USB Restricted Mode on a locked device. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals.
Description: An authorization issue was addressed with improved state management.
CVE-2025-24200: Bill Marczak of The Citizen Lab at The University of Toronto’s Munk School“
The 18.3 update does not deliver any perceptible performance enhancements. Benchmarks run prior to and following installation resulted in the same figures. With regards to battery life, any possible alterations are unclear at this point. Barring any background issue fixes by Apple, users will not likely see much in the way of battery performance differences.
You may also like to check out: