iOS 26.5.1 Is Out Now, And iPhone 17 Users Should Install It ASAP
It's been three weeks since Apple released iOS 26.5 to all users, and the company has already issued a new iOS 26.5.1 update specifically for iPhone 17 and iPhone Air owners. As reported by BGR in late April, some owners of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air were unable to turn their phones back on after the battery ran out. As spotted by 9to5Mac, the only way to bring the iPhone back to life would be charging it wirelessly.
According to the release notes, "This update addresses an issue for a small number of users that may prevent wired charging on iPhone Air and iPhone 17 models when the battery is nearly drained." Even though in the iOS 26.5.1 release notes claim this is for when the battery is "nearly drained," the most reports we could find online regard this issue when the battery is already drained and users can't charge their phones back on through a wired connection. As usual, iPhone users can find this update by going to the iPhone Settings app, tapping General, and then Software Update.
Apple prepares bigger improvements as iOS 27 announcement date approaches
This charging issue has been plaguing owners of the latest iPhone models, so the software update is a welcomed fix. More importantly, the update arrived a week before Apple previews iOS 27 to all users, which is expected to ramp up Apple efforts into AI, as an all-new Siri powered by a Google Gemini model is said to be unveiled during the 2026 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). Besides the Apple Intelligence focus, Bloomberg has been reporting that iOS 27 — as well as iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, and macOS 27 — will be all about making the system easier to use and less buggy.
Since Apple unveiled a big design language change with iOS 26, it's only natural that the company is now focused on making the user experience better. In the meantime, Apple recently released iOS 26.5 with end-to-end RCS encryption, suggested places in Apple Maps, new purchase options on the App Store, magic pairing, improved Android transferring options, and more. While the company is currently testing iOS 26.6, this software isn't expected to get major features, as iOS 27 is just around the corner and Apple will be focused on that major update instead.