Hacker News Reader

Comment by franciscop | Hacker News Reader

> Apple today released iOS 26.2, iPadOS 26.2, and macOS 26.2

For those as confused as me, I'm on macOS 15.6.1, and it seems for the next version they aligned everything and I do indeed see an update for "macOS Tahoe 26.2". However, I also see a Sequoia 15.7.3 update dated at the same time and together in the same upgrade blog post (and for Sonoma 14.8.3, kudos), so for those that doesn't seem to want to do the jump now into Liquid Glass, that seems available:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/100100

Note: I had to click the [i], then unselect the "macOS Tahoe 26.2" and select the "macOS Sequoia 15.7.3" manually to avoid a full upgrade.

View on HN

There appears to be a dark pattern occurring where the Tahoe update is selected by default and you need to uncheck it to just install the security update.

Is there a new technological space race between Microsoft and Apple, to see who can engineer more dark patterns into their software, forcing unwanted updates onto its users?

These techniques used to be exclusive to spyware distributors.

Yes, it’s “spyware” to want you to update an OS. That’s definitely the definition of that. Good job for decoding conspiracy.

That is not what "dark pattern" means.

Uh, yeah it is?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_pattern

No, because following major software updates is the right thing for 99% of people, not staying behind on a previous major version with security updates.

You have to think about UX for 99%, not just for HNers who might know what a 15.7.3 is.

If there are security updates, then actually staying on the old OS is probably better for 99% of users. Constant change is almost impossible for most people to deal with.

> No, because following major software updates is the right thing for 99% of people

Not if we aren’t talking about security updates. In this case the previous version of iOS also has the same security updates so ‘updating’ to a new version is completely up to the user, with no difference in security posture either way. Tricking users into updating for what are in the tech company’s opinion ‘new features’ is by definition a dark pattern.

I used to think this kind of stuff until I had to make similar decisions about UX for technical software that wasn't just used by engineers.

"Want to upgrade to 15.7.3 or 26.2?" is just a nonstarter.

Kinda feels like crying wolf and watering down the term to invoke "dark pattern" for platform software upgrades.

Having a default choice is not itself a dark pattern. Offering a free update to the latest version of the project, and a choice to update a branch release instead, does not constitute a dark pattern.

The dark pattern emerges when you mislead the user about what they’re clicking. Deception in the UI is by definition a dark pattern.

Weird hill for you to die on given that dark patterns have been specifically legislated for in many jurisdictions and have a clear definition.

No, I would certainly say it is. Checking the blog post linked in this thread, I find selecting a different version to be both hidden and also have (intentionally?) bad UX. That is exactly what a dark pattern is: making a surprising choice (major upgrade) the default while hiding away the less disruptive or even non-disruptive choice (minor upgrade).

Nothing stops Apple from advertising both at the same level.

That's ridiculous. Like, not even rising to the level of being worth arguing about. There's an entire book that defines dark pattern, you should probably go read it if you intend to use the phrase.

Details: https://daringfireball.net/2025/11/software_update_tahoe_con...

"Leon Cowle was brave enough to try this out, and, it turns out, just clicking the 'Update Now' button next to Sequoia will, thankfully, do the right thing: install the Sequoia 15.7.2 update, not Tahoe."

This suggests someone forgot to update the "ⓘ" text. Not a dark pattern.

Offering the most recent update first is not a "dark pattern".

It’s the same on iPad. You get a notification about 18.7.3 being available, but when tapping on it, the update screen preselects 26.2.

How can I install iOS 18.7.3? The settings app only shows 26.2 which I do not want to install.

Give it a couple days for 18.7.3 to show up (I’m trying this myself) or download the ipsw for ios 18.7.3 and use a computer to install.

You can also join the iOS 18 public beta to get the update.

If you have the tolerance for betas, indeed

Someone above said that the 18.7.3 you can install as beta is in fact the production build. Disable beta access after that update.

Correct, both are the same build (22H217). BetaWiki has this build labeled as both the RC and the actual release: https://betawiki.net/wiki/IOS_18

How do you do that? And do you need an AppleID to do so?

I don't believe an IPSW for 18.7.3 was released except for devices that couldn't upgrade to iOS 26. I believe this is done to prevent downgrades.

Apple doesn’t provide IPSWs once the next major version has launched. OTA is the only option.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com