Apple shifted software security patches out of its normal iOS release cycle to be deployed ahead of the broader update, in response to AI potentially accelerating exploit development.
Apple said it is moving a set of software security updates out of its usual bundled iOS release schedule and making them available sooner in response to concerns about AI speeding the creation of hacking tools.
The company told Reuters it was adapting to the reality that artificial intelligence can compress the time between a vulnerability being announced and an exploit being developed, and therefore needed to reduce the delay between disclosure and deployment.
Historically Apple has rolled security fixes into major iOS version upgrades, for example the transition from the current 26.5 release to the planned 26.6, while developers and testers vet the interim builds.
Instead, Apple said the latest round of patches is being distributed to all users ahead of the wider 26.6 rollout.
Apple added there was no evidence any of the newly patched vulnerabilities had been exploited, but said shortening the interval between fixes being made public and delivered to phones was necessary.
