Today, Apple has released iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, the fifth update to iOS 18 / iPadOS 18 which first came out in September. Despite what the .5 increment might have you believe, this is definitely not a major update.
In fact, there’s barely anything new. The main thing is that iOS now supports carrier-provided satellite features. You also get a new Pride Harmony wallpaper, and parents will receive a notification when the Screen Time passcode is used on a child’s device.
There’s now Buy with iPhone compatibility for purchasing content within the Apple TV app or a third party device, and an issue where the Apple Vision Pro app displayed a black screen has been fixed. That’s it.
Of course, there are also a bunch of security fixes, all detailed over here. If only for those, you should update as soon as possible. As with all iOS and iPadOS updates, you should have already received a notification about the availability of 18.5.