iPhone manual update to 18.7.4

azbondgirl wrote:

I thought I could opt out of upgrade to ios26

You can stay on iOS 18.7.2 or update to the latest version of iOS 26 – but Apple won't allow you to update to iOS 18.7.3. Apple's release notes first indicated that 18.7.3 was available for the iPhone 11 and later – but Apple then changed the notes to say that 18.7.3 is only available for the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR (and some iPads).

I took same option with last month's security update but it's not offered just the new 26

Same here. Your choice is to update to iOS 26 or to live without the security updates that are in 18.7.3.

battery is 88 health in 1 yr

26 AI may finish off my little iPhone SE3

with 15 chip

There may be other artificial intelligence / machine learning features in there, or other things that eat battery, but for your iPhone SE (3rd generation), Apple Intelligence isn't going to be one of them. Your phone does not have the hardware to run it either under iOS 18 or under iOS 26.

azbondgirl wrote:

Okay thanks for the effort & prompt responses!

☮️ 😎

👇🏼Random 🐂💩👇🏼

_________________

[I mistranslated the os digits but as phone is at 18.7.2 it certainly is frustrating that Apple's apparently forcing me to redline my phone installing OS 26 upgrade instead of updated security patches.

I've had it 11mos ~ after an update 4-6 mo ago left at 88% battery capacity]

You mentioned previously that iOS 26 AI may finish off your phone, but you should know that Apple Intelligence will not be installed on your phone because it is not supported on that device. Also, your iPhone SE is designed to have 500 charges cycles before the battery needs to be replaced when it drops below 88%. On average that results in a drop of about 1% in battery health a month, which puts you right in that range and does not indicate a problem.

The device was released over 3 years ago, so it is unknown when the manufacturer date of the battery was, even if it was purchased 11 months ago. The age of the battery also affects Battery Health along with the Battery Cycles.

I have three SE3 phones, working just fine on iOS26.2

I prefer to get the latest security updates, and there is so little extra functionality that the battery is not affected after the usual 2 day settling.

If you don't like the glassiness...

Either

Settings, Display & Brightness , Liquid glass, set to Tinted instead of Glassy

Or one or more of these

Settings, Accessibility, Display & Text size, reduce transparency

Settings, Accessibility, Display & Text size , increase contrast

Settings, Accessibility, Motion, Reduce motion

Settings, Accessibility, Display & Text size , Display Borders

Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

It's no longer possible to install 18 on an unit capable of 26.

(262305)

azbondgirl wrote:

Update to 18.7.4 to

avoid ios 26 battery death iphone SE3

There is no iOS 18.7.4. iOS 18.7.3 is the latest release of iOS 18.

About iOS 18 Updates - Apple Support

At this time there is no further upgrade path for you with iOS 18. The only option would be iOS 26.2.