iPhone 11 User? Check Your Device for Another iOS 18.3 Update
Last week, Apple released iOS 18.3 for all supported iPhone models, but it looks like it’s not finished yet. Today, the company quietly released another iOS 18.3 specifically for the 2019 iPhone 11 models.
While it’s the iPhone 16 lineup that’s getting all of the best parts of iOS 18.3, with tweaks to Apple Intelligence notification summaries and enhanced Visual Intelligence features, all of Apple’s iOS 18 updates support every iPhone released since 2018 — all the way back to the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR.
However, for whatever reason, the iPhone 11 series is being singled out here. The iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are all getting an ever-so-slightly modified version of iOS 18.3 today.
To give you an idea of how little has probably changed here, the build number for last week’s main iOS 18.3 release was 22D63. The build number for this week’s update is 22D64. Whatever was going on with the iPhone 11 models, Apple thought it was severe enough to release another software update to fix it, but the build number suggests it includes only a relatively minor tweak.
If you have an iPhone 11, you should be able to find the new update in the usual place under Settings > General > Software Update. You should see an iOS 18.3 update here even if you already updated to iOS 18.3 last week, but if you haven’t yet updated, you’ll get the new 22D64 build directly.
The release notes for the new build are identical to those from last week’s 22D63 build, so there’s no indication of what’s changed for iPhone 11 users. There are also no hints in the developer documentation, and the restore image for the iPhone 11 models on Apple’s Developer Downloads page is still the 22D63 build (for now, at least).
The iOS 18.3 update doesn’t add much for iPhone 11 owners since most of its changes are focused on Apple Intelligence, which is only supported on the iPhone 15 Pro and newer models. However, it reverses a small but annoying change Apple made when redesigning the Calculator app in iOS 18.0. From the first Calculator app on the original iPhone, it had always been possible to repeat a calculation by hitting the equals button multiple times. That disappeared in iOS 18.0. We’re not sure if it was an oversight or a lousy design choice, but either way, Apple has seen the light and added it back in.
Features aside, iOS 18.3 includes several bug fixes related to audio playback and HealthKit authorizations that could affect older models, along with a long list of security patches and fixes — 26 in total — that hackers can take advantage of. This is especially true now that Apple has published the list to the whole world, so we’d strongly recommend updating to iOS 18.3, even if you don’t care about the Calculator fix.
That said, it’s worth noting that the 22D63 build of iOS 18.3 included all the same patches, and there’s no indication that 22D64 contains any additional security fixes. If you already updated to iOS 18.3 last week, you likely don’t need to rush out and install today’s update. However, if you’ve been experiencing problems with your iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, or iPhone 11 Pro since updating to iOS 18.3, today’s build is likely for you.
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