On my iPhone 15 pro the 18.7.3 update is NOT available even via the beta channel. When I go to General>Software Update with iOS 18 Developer Beta Updates enabled I see only ‘iOS18.7.2, iOS is up to date’.
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Yep, yesterday Apple took 18.7.3 off the beta channel.
Super scummy behaviour from them.
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It is unsurprising. As I’ve said, Apple does this every year around the same time.
The last release of iOS 17 (17.7.2) that devices that could run iOS 18 were able to install was released on November 21, 2024. The last release of iOS 16 (16.7.2) that could run on devices that were able to run iOS 17 was released on October 25, 2023. If your phone could run the latest release of iOS, there were no further updates to the older version that your phone was able to install. Apple does, however, continue to release sporadic security updates for devices that cannot update to the latest release. That’s what 18.7.3 is this year.
They do this every year. To expect otherwise is disregarding Apple’s typical behavior.
I feel like Jason Snell is gaslighting, because I ams sure that he knows this. He says:
This isn’t great. Apple shouldn’t be withholding a security update from people not willing to upgrade to the next OS version. I don’t know if this is an error, bug, or policy decision, and as of this writing, Apple hasn’t responded to my questions about this issue.
Perhaps people like him and other Apple bloggers are upset that users are no being allowed to stay on iOS 18 with security updates longer because of the controversy of the new interface. But I am super-surprised that he is surprised by this.
If the argument is that Apple should not so constrain the ability to install old releases - a valid argument! - then say that, and say it every year, not just this year. Don’t pretend that Apple is doing anything different this year.
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So last year iPhones that were on 17.7.1 and eligible for 18.x couldn’t download 17.7.2 ?
And the year before that iPhones that were on 16.7.1 and eligible for 17.x couldn’t download 16.7.2 ?
I didn’t encounter either of those.
That’s specifically what this is about, not the general ending of support for the previous iOS—which is of course expected.
I never upgrade to the latest iOS before new year and this is the first year in memory that I’ve had a point update for the iOS I’m on withheld, or even heard that sort of thing talked about.
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I don’t sense a whole lot of pretending.
What I notice is that pushback has been particularly forceful this year because of Liquid Glass and the disaster it represents to some users.
I say that as somebody who has himself adopted 26 and Liquid Glass, but I still recognize there are valid criticisms and on iOS (unlike macOS) these people, some of which were once again duped into upgrading against their wishes, are left with essentially no reasonable way back. That is obviously frustrating to them and in some cases seriously screws with their workflow — no wonder they are aggravated, and unsurprisingly more so than other years with less conspicuous upgrades.
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No, both years the last stable release of the previous year’s OSes that iPhones that could run the current release of iOS were 16.7.2 and 17.7.2. They were not able to install 17.7.6 or 17.7.7, which came later (there was no 17.7.3, 17.7.4, or 17.7.5), or 16.7.3 or later (16.7.3 through 16.7.12). 16.7.3 was released on December 11, 2023 on the same day as 17.2 - almost exactly the same this year as 26.2 and 18.7.3 on December 12.
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My backup iPhone XS is on iOS 17.7.2 which as I understand is the final version of 17 for any iPhone. It prompts me to install iOS 18.
17.7.6 and 17.7.7 were iPad only.
I’m not sure this clarifies anything 
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A fair point.
At the same time, in the case of 18.7.3, there is the complicating factor of what originally was stated on the Apple Security Releases web page, e.g., that 18.7.3 was released for “iPhone XS and later”. In the last day or so, Apple has updated that page to read, “iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR”. It would seem that either Apple made a mistake in how the text originally was worded or it reversed its intentions. In either case, the confusion is of Apple’s own making.
You are right about Apple’s pattern of updates in the past few years. However, unless you have insider knowledge, I wouldn’t put too much weight on Apple “policies”, such as they are. As they say in investment prospectuses, “past performance is no guarantee of future results”. The only guidance we have from Apple is what they publish on their support pages, which explicitly said that iOS 18.7.3 supported the “iPhone XS and later”.
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I’m a little annoyed that now my iPad and iPhone are on different releases. Had I known I wasn’t going to be offered 18.7.3 on the phone I may not have done it on the iPad. Instead, I updated the iPad because I was afraid it would be pulled later, expecting the phone version to follow. The M4 Mini is also on the .3 version.
Trivial I’m sure in the grand scheme of things, but still odd considering they are both 2021 units. (and M4 Mini is just a few months old)
Do you know how many years it’s been since I’ve had a phone and computer at the same OS?!
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No more special than any software or OS vendor’s bottom line: why pay for n security teams checking n OS versions when they can check for one, or at any rate one for rapid responses and another that checks any “recent” versions for serious (as defined by the vendor) issues requiring remediation.
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No, it is trying to get you on 26.2! 
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I know. Every 24 hours or so, I get another notification saying “pwease update to 26.2!” I’m expecting puppy-eyes soon.
And of course Settings or System is not in the list of Application Notifications the user is allowed to turn off (alas, ‘cynical smirk’ was not in the Emoji list…). They could at least make some effort to make the nags more entertaining or, gasp, ‘intelligent’.
Like, don’t they realize continued nagging often makes people more annoyed at the company, and many less likely to update? They certainly have the money and talent to make these nags humorous, or poke fun at themselves, etc, so the user at least has the feeling they Apple knows they are nagging, the users are right in not updating, and can eventually feel ok with updating. Or modify the nags to reflect enhancements the ‘on-board intelligence’ sees the user might appreciate, which I would find even more intrusive and icky but lots of people find ok…
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Since you’ve said that you don’t plan on updating to 26.x soon, and you already have 18.7.3 (beta) installed, switching back to the beta release stream will silence the nags without affecting anything on your iPhone.
I am starting to agree with others that there will be no 18.7.4 beta release for our "unsupported” models, so the only likely issue is deciding when/if there is a security issue important enough to make the move to iOS 26 or if iOS 26 eventually gets “fixed” enough to overcome our usablility objections.
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That’s what I’ll do for the time being.
I’m also getting occasional nags on my MacBook Air, but not as often thankfully. 
I feel like I should mention that I’ve been running the 18.7.3 from the beta stream on my iPhone 13 mini almost since the day it was released, and I’ve had no particular troubles with it. Indeed, it has been trouble-free in my hands, which makes its silent withdrawal by Apple all the more annoying.
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