Apple Stops Signing iOS 18.6.2, iOS 26 Downgrades Now Impossible

[ThePinkChameleon]

Honestly, there's very little to be worried about on this front.

Based on everything I'm seeing and hearing, I'm planning to skip 26 altogether.

I’m hoping with future 26 updates that something helps battery life

I know I’m whining like a little b!tch about it but I really am p!ssed off about it all.

I know, I know, there are far worse things in this world to worry about than battery life….

 

[turbineseaplane]

I know I’m whining like a little b!tch about it but I really am p!ssed off about it all.

I think you have every right to be upset about it!

 

[ThePinkChameleon]

I think you have every right to be upset about it!

🫣

 

[Imperial926]

As I’ve said several times on this thread, my good old iPhone 13 is fine with iOS26. Elsewhere the only issue I have experienced is poor audio synch using AirPods Pro 2 with TVOS26. This was remedied by applying the 26.1 Beta.
My wife’s experience has been similar on her standard 16.
Many people use their phones more around the time of an update and I sense that battery concerns frequently emerge from this.

 

[I7guy]

Honestly… I’m wishing I didn’t update yet. I, by all means, do not micromanage my battery life, and for the simple things I do daily on my phone I’m so frustrated and p!ssed off how quickly my battery drains nowadays I find I need to charge midday which on ios18.6/2 I never needed to do. My battery would be good till I turned in at night…
Don’t want to be left behind on newer functionality, no…but at the same time I didn’t expect my battery to take such a hit like it did. So I can completely understand other user’s frustration as well. I’m right there with them.

Not sure why your battery life took a hit as obviously no way we can tell. I remember seeing posts about this in prior years. My daily battery life is about the same. I don’t micromeasure it, but it lasts a day.

I expect battery life to get better with future releases. Also my other phone 14PM gets about the same battery life on iOS 18 as ios26.

 

[FeliApple]

Not sure why your battery life took a hit as obviously no way we can tell. I remember seeing posts about this in prior years. My daily battery life is about the same. I don’t micromeasure it, but it lasts a day.

I expect battery life to get better with future releases. Also my other phone 14PM gets about the same battery life on iOS 18 as ios26.

Many words but no specifics. “I don’t micromanage it”. “I don’t know exactly”

“Also my other phone 14PM gets about the same battery life on iOS 18 as ios26”.

No it doesn’t and you know it.

It’s funny how those who defend iOS updates (not only you) never track battery life. They never give a number. They never know. It’s always either “it lasts the day” or “it may have been better before but I’m not sure”.

Especially funny is the reference to “it lasts the day”. I have an iPhone 16 Plus running iOS 18. In normal circumstances, unplugging early, say 5 or 6 am, I am finishing the day at, say 11 pm, with about 70-75%.

As you can obviously see, I can lose an absurd amount of battery life due to Apple’s malware updates while being technically right: my iPhone lasts the day.

As I always say: many words yet never a screenshot with detailed explanations.

 

[I7guy]

Many words but no specifics. “I don’t micromanage it”. “I don’t know exactly”

“Also my other phone 14PM gets about the same battery life on iOS 18 as ios26”.

No it doesn’t and you know it.

Yes it does and you know it. Most people with similar usage patterns between releases look at if their phone lasts daily. And are not concerned about small variations.

It’s funny how those who defend iOS updates (not only you) never track battery life. They never give a number. They never know. It’s always either “it lasts the day” or “it may have been better before but I’m not sure”.

Because most people who look at this look at starting and ending percentage over a period of time.

Especially funny is the reference to “it lasts the day”. I have an iPhone 16 Plus running iOS 18. In normal circumstances, unplugging early, say 5 or 6 am, I am finishing the day at, say 11 pm, with about 70-75%.

As you can obviously see, I can lose an absurd amount of battery life due to Apple’s malware updates while being technically right: my iPhone lasts the day.

I often wonder why some people claim to lose battery life with similar usage between releases and others don’t. I suspect it’s similar to measuring gas mileage.

As I always say: many words yet never a screenshot with detailed explanations.

I for one don’t need to substantiate anything. I don’t care if anyone believes me or not.

 

[FeliApple]

I often wonder why some people claim to lose battery life with similar usage between releases and others don’t. I suspect it’s similar to measuring gas mileage.

Easy answer: those who track it know what they’ve lost. Those who don’t, don’t know.

It is particularly difficult to gauge exact battery life by those who don’t track it if their usage patterns are more varied than not.

When discussing battery life with people who don’t care as much, I’ve noticed that pretty much all they notice are massive variations. By this I mean, when they cannot get through the day.

Like I said, with the massive increase in battery size and battery life, that is becoming more and more difficult with modern iPhones. Even heavy users will get through the day on a recent Plus or Pro Max.

Even an older Pro Max may only be suffering enough battery life impact after several major updates, not so soon.

As I said, you can get by with a massive loss before particularly caring if you aren’t the heaviest of users.

I’m sure that iOS 26 would incur a significant loss on my 16 Plus. I’m also sure that if I didn’t particularly care about tracking it exactly, I probably wouldn’t notice.

Name a percentage point and I can tell you exact SOT until that percentage point with my light, moderate, and heavy usage patterns. That is not normal. Even I can see that.

Those who don’t care as much won’t notice.

Perhaps they need a 30-40% drop in SOT to notice. That doesn’t happen after one major update. I’m even unsure of iOS 26’s impact. Some mentioned 15-20% on the 16 series, which sounds appalling for a brand new iPhone, but not too appalling so as to make it useless.

Which is why most don’t care about downgrading and keep updating. Which is why Apple gets away with this pathetic malware policy.

People accept that their devices get older and are therefore garbage. It’s sad, but it is what it is.

 

[oldmacs]

Easy answer: those who track it know what they’ve lost. Those who don’t, don’t know.

It is particularly difficult to gauge exact battery life by those who don’t track it if their usage patterns are more varied than not.

When discussing battery life with people who don’t care as much, I’ve noticed that pretty much all they notice are massive variations. By this I mean, when they cannot get through the day.

Like I said, with the massive increase in battery size and battery life, that is becoming more and more difficult with modern iPhones. Even heavy users will get through the day on a recent Plus or Pro Max.

Even an older Pro Max may only be suffering enough battery life impact after several major updates, not so soon.

As I said, you can get by with a massive loss before particularly caring if you aren’t the heaviest of users.

I’m sure that iOS 26 would incur a significant loss on my 16 Plus. I’m also sure that if I didn’t particularly care about tracking it exactly, I probably wouldn’t notice.

Name a percentage point and I can tell you exact SOT until that percentage point with my light, moderate, and heavy usage patterns. That is not normal. Even I can see that.

Those who don’t care as much won’t notice.

Perhaps they need a 30-40% drop in SOT to notice. That doesn’t happen after one major update. I’m even unsure of iOS 26’s impact. Some mentioned 15-20% on the 16 series, which sounds appalling for a brand new iPhone, but not too appalling so as to make it useless.

Which is why most don’t care about downgrading and keep updating. Which is why Apple gets away with this pathetic malware policy.

People accept that their devices get older and are therefore garbage. It’s sad, but it is what it is.

I really wouldn't bother... I had the the same argument back when iOS 9 was released in 2015 - it is absolute common knowledge, there are endless comparisons which time app openings, etc etc that iOS 9 was hugely slower on A5 devices (iPad 2, iPhone 4S etc etc) vs iOS 8 on clean installs, clean installs that were left for weeks, over the air updates etc - pretty much as close to scientific proof that you can get - videoed, non videoed, proper times used etc.

I was told that I was wrong, that their own A5 iOS 9 devices were faster than iOS 8, but wouldn't show any sort of proof - so pretty much this is an argument you won't win because logic/facts/common sense don't apply.

 

[I7guy]

Easy answer: those who track it know what they’ve lost. Those who don’t, don’t know.

It is particularly difficult to gauge exact battery life by those who don’t track it if their usage patterns are more varied than not.

When discussing battery life with people who don’t care as much, I’ve noticed that pretty much all they notice are massive variations. By this I mean, when they cannot get through the day.

Like I said, with the massive increase in battery size and battery life, that is becoming more and more difficult with modern iPhones. Even heavy users will get through the day on a recent Plus or Pro Max.

Even an older Pro Max may only be suffering enough battery life impact after several major updates, not so soon.

As I said, you can get by with a massive loss before particularly caring if you aren’t the heaviest of users.

I’m sure that iOS 26 would incur a significant loss on my 16 Plus. I’m also sure that if I didn’t particularly care about tracking it exactly, I probably wouldn’t notice.

Name a percentage point and I can tell you exact SOT until that percentage point with my light, moderate, and heavy usage patterns. That is not normal. Even I can see that.

Those who don’t care as much won’t notice.

Perhaps they need a 30-40% drop in SOT to notice. That doesn’t happen after one major update. I’m even unsure of iOS 26’s impact. Some mentioned 15-20% on the 16 series, which sounds appalling for a brand new iPhone, but not too appalling so as to make it useless.

Which is why most don’t care about downgrading and keep updating. Which is why Apple gets away with this pathetic malware policy.

People accept that their devices get older and are therefore garbage. It’s sad, but it is what it is.

People, except for a few imo, don’t really care. It’s like “how many angels can fit on the head of a pin” and people waste more time arguing about that than they’ll ever get back by staying on the original iOS release.

Most people charge when needed. Unless there is some drastic issue with battery drain or UI glitches people don’t care if they can only watch YouTube videos for 9 hours vs 10 hours.

The extremists, who never update due to supposed battery are far and few between and lose more functionality and time than gains in battery life.

Li-ion degrades due to calendar aging, can’t stop it. Historically looking forward most modern iPhones won’t have an issue with the next 3 or 4 years of updates.

You can’t prove the hypothesis: “for 100% of iPhone users upgrading to the next version decreases battery life by x%”. The best you can do is state for some iOS upgrades there have been reported decreases in battery life and it’s inconsistent across the board.

Most people want their phones to last a day. As long as their phones last a day with similar usage day by day, it’s all good. Apple also tends to improve battery life with the point releases.

 

[FeliApple]

People, except for a few imo, don’t really care. It’s like “how many angels can fit on the head of a pin” and people waste more time arguing about that than they’ll ever get back by staying on the original iOS release.

Most people charge when needed. Unless there is some drastic issue with battery drain or UI glitches people don’t care if they can only watch YouTube videos for 9 hours vs 10 hours.

The extremists, who never update due to supposed battery are far and few between and lose more functionality and time than gains in battery life.

Li-ion degrades due to calendar aging, can’t stop it. Historically looking forward most modern iPhones won’t have an issue with the next 3 or 4 years of updates.

You can’t prove the hypothesis: “for 100% of iPhone users upgrading to the next version decreases battery life by x%”. The best you can do is state for some iOS upgrades there have been reported decreases in battery life and it’s inconsistent across the board.

Most people want their phones to last a day. As long as their phones last a day with similar usage day by day, it’s all good. Apple also tends to improve battery life with the point releases.

I will grant that I care more than most, but I also think that expectations are different. As I said, the difference only ends up being massive (and by this I mean, enough so that it truly bothers most), after several major updates. It generally isn’t after the first major update, or the second one, perhaps barring redesigns like iOS 26, which has affected everything, including the 16 series.

Take the iPhone 13. The iPhone 13 is now four years old. iOS 18 is probably like-new on it. But iOS 26 isn’t. And users, instead of correctly blaming iOS 26, they blame phone age. They say “the iPhone is too old and therefore it isn’t iOS 26, it isn’t the device”, which is not true.

The few people I’ve seen online (of which there are more now, because at least some have learned) that stay behind, consistently report NO changes in battery life after years of running the same iOS version, even with reduced battery health. Which is what I have said all along. Batteries aren’t vulnerable to calendar aging if the device runs a good iOS version. As somebody who does not replace batteries, I would know.

The hypothesis you mention is irrelevant, because usage patterns are different. A heavy user will see higher drain, as the battery cannot cope with the massively increased voltage requirements. A lighter user like me will probably have better results. For me it may be a 20% drop. For a heavy user it might be twice that.

“Most people want their phones to last a day. As long as their phones last a day with similar usage day by day, it’s all good.“

And if you go back years on my comments, you will see that I have repeatedly stated that the solution was to increase initial battery life so much that the effects aren’t felt as much. I think that we are there now.

Now, a device with a large battery can take a LOT of garbage by iOS updates whilst remaining usable, even if worse vs the original iOS version.

Pro Max and Plus users since the 11 Pro Max can happily upgrade to iOS 18. This is the first time I’ve ever said this, but updating all iPhones from iOS 13-17 to iOS 18 was probably worth it. Even if there’s a difference it isn’t that high. I’ve tested this myself, iOS 18 is good on the iPhone 11, if you can tolerate some slowness. There is some lag. Lag which isn’t there on iOS 13, 14, or 15. But it is tolerable, and, imo, worth the trade-off vs the massive compatibility issues that would now arise on iOS 13. In spite of that, this lag is inexcusable. The difference is significant, but tolerable, even for me. I’m not the gold standard, but I have different expectations because I literally don’t know what it’s like to use a device that’s not performance-perfect as a main device since 2013.

But iOS 26 is garbage, and Apple should allow us to downgrade from garbage malware like iOS 26. They lost all of the good grace they had accumulated since iOS 12 with this. This is unacceptable.

 

[Dylan33x]

While I like the changes iPadOS 26 brings to the iPad and Live Translation seems nice for iOS, I'll be sticking to iOS/iPadOS 18 for a while. 18 isn't as buggy as when it first released and, fortunately, Apple provides security updates and fixes for past major versions for a long time.

26 makes major changes and it seems there's enough need for stabilization for me to wait for a while. I just hope Apple doesn't stop providing updates for 18 to devices that can be updated to 26. They did that for 17 -> 18.

They also did that for 14 15 and 16. So, you can count on the fact you will get 2 18.7.x updates, and you’ll have about a 3-4 week window to get the last one before it’s gone forever. Because free product number must go brrrrr

 

[I7guy]

I will grant that I care more than most, but I also think that expectations are different. As I said, the difference only ends up being massive (and by this I mean, enough so that it truly bothers most), after several major updates. It generally isn’t after the first major update, or the second one, perhaps barring redesigns like iOS 26, which has affected everything, including the 16 series.

Take the iPhone 13. The iPhone 13 is now four years old. iOS 18 is probably like-new on it. But iOS 26 isn’t. And users, instead of correctly blaming iOS 26, they blame phone age. They say “the iPhone is too old and therefore it isn’t iOS 26, it isn’t the device”, which is not true.

The few people I’ve seen online (of which there are more now, because at least some have learned) that stay behind, consistently report NO changes in battery life after years of running the same iOS version, even with reduced battery health. Which is what I have said all along. Batteries aren’t vulnerable to calendar aging if the device runs a good iOS version. As somebody who does not replace batteries, I would know.

The hypothesis you mention is irrelevant, because usage patterns are different. A heavy user will see higher drain, as the battery cannot cope with the massively increased voltage requirements. A lighter user like me will probably have better results. For me it may be a 20% drop. For a heavy user it might be twice that.

“Most people want their phones to last a day. As long as their phones last a day with similar usage day by day, it’s all good.“

And if you go back years on my comments, you will see that I have repeatedly stated that the solution was to increase initial battery life so much that the effects aren’t felt as much. I think that we are there now.

Now, a device with a large battery can take a LOT of garbage by iOS updates whilst remaining usable, even if worse vs the original iOS version.

Pro Max and Plus users since the 11 Pro Max can happily upgrade to iOS 18. This is the first time I’ve ever said this, but updating all iPhones from iOS 13-17 to iOS 18 was probably worth it. Even if there’s a difference it isn’t that high. I’ve tested this myself, iOS 18 is good on the iPhone 11, if you can tolerate some slowness. There is some lag. Lag which isn’t there on iOS 13, 14, or 15. But it is tolerable, and, imo, worth the trade-off vs the massive compatibility issues that would now arise on iOS 13. In spite of that, this lag is inexcusable. The difference is significant, but tolerable, even for me. I’m not the gold standard, but I have different expectations because I literally don’t know what it’s like to use a device that’s not performance-perfect as a main device since 2013.

But iOS 26 is garbage, and Apple should allow us to downgrade from garbage malware like iOS 26. They lost all of the good grace they had accumulated since iOS 12 with this. This is unacceptable.

You might fall into the category of a “battery activist”. Most people I know and I speculate most people just upgrade and use their phones.

MR is a bit of a microcosm and echo chamber. I believe it’s true the older your phone and battery the less it tolerates additional work from newer operating systems. All li-ion batteries are subject to the impact of calendar aging and this limits the peak work that can be done by the battery. So the older the phone the older the processor and battery the less total peak load the battery can sustain.

Also as you stated with you 6s the less useful the iPhone becomes.

I like iOS 26 and it will undoubtably become the gold standard.

 

[FeliApple]

You might fall into the category of a “battery activist”. Most people I know and I speculate most people just upgrade and use their phones.

MR is a bit of a microcosm and echo chamber. I believe it’s true the older your phone and battery the less it tolerates additional work from newer operating systems. All li-ion batteries are subject to the impact of calendar aging and this limits the peak work that can be done by the battery. So the older the phone the older the processor and battery the less total peak load the battery can sustain.

Also as you stated with you 6s the less useful the iPhone becomes.

I like iOS 26 and it will undoubtably become the gold standard.

Funnily enough, I’ve paid attention recently. I was somewhere where the iPhone to Android ratio was about 9-1.

The proportion of iPhones that were running iOS 26 (immediately noticeable by the massive clock, which is hard to miss with peripheral vision) was INSANE.

I reckon most just have automatic updates enabled and don’t pay much attention to it.

This was a few days after launch, and you would expect adoption to progressively increase. Well, I was surprised to see that many iPhones fully updated.

This matches actual “scientific” numbers previously shared by Apple:

By January, iOS 18 was running on a ridiculous 68% of all iPhones and 76% of iPhones launched in the last four years (I reckon this was since 2020, the iPhones 12 through 16).

(Source: https://9to5mac.com/2025/01/24/apple-reveals-ios-18-adoption-data-for-the-first-time/)

Which is rather ridiculous. Three months after launch and it is installed on 70% of all active iPhones and 76% of iPhone launched since the 12?

As I have repeatedly stated throughout this thread, if people willingly update to iOS 26, and battery life tanks, it’s their fault and nobody else’s.

Apple is only partially responsible. iOS 26 may be poor, but if you update willingly after iOS 26, and the device’s performance and battery life tank (try scrolling to the App Library. Lags on M4 iPad Pros), then it’s on you.

 

[ZipZilla]

Funnily enough, I’ve paid attention recently. I was somewhere where the iPhone to Android ratio was about 9-1.

The proportion of iPhones that were running iOS 26 (immediately noticeable by the massive clock, which is hard to miss with peripheral vision) was INSANE.

I reckon most just have automatic updates enabled and don’t pay much attention to it.

This was a few days after launch, and you would expect adoption to progressively increase. Well, I was surprised to see that many iPhones fully updated.

This matches actual “scientific” numbers previously shared by Apple:

By January, iOS 18 was running on a ridiculous 68% of all iPhones and 76% of iPhones launched in the last four years (I reckon this was since 2020, the iPhones 12 through 16).

(Source: https://9to5mac.com/2025/01/24/apple-reveals-ios-18-adoption-data-for-the-first-time/)

Which is rather ridiculous. Three months after launch and it is installed on 70% of all active iPhones and 76% of iPhone launched since the 12?

As I have repeatedly stated throughout this thread, if people willingly update to iOS 26, and battery life tanks, it’s their fault and nobody else’s.

Apple is only partially responsible. iOS 26 may be poor, but if you update willingly after iOS 26, and the device’s performance and battery life tank (try scrolling to the App Library. Lags on M4 iPad Pros), then it’s on you.

Absolutely right on target. iOS 26 is embarrassingly bad and installing it on an old phone will destroy the functionality of that phone.

Tim tolerating the poor performance of the software division for many years now shows poor leadership.

 

[I7guy]

Funnily enough, I’ve paid attention recently. I was somewhere where the iPhone to Android ratio was about 9-1.

The proportion of iPhones that were running iOS 26 (immediately noticeable by the massive clock, which is hard to miss with peripheral vision) was INSANE.

I reckon most just have automatic updates enabled and don’t pay much attention to it.

This was a few days after launch, and you would expect adoption to progressively increase. Well, I was surprised to see that many iPhones fully updated.

This matches actual “scientific” numbers previously shared by Apple:

By January, iOS 18 was running on a ridiculous 68% of all iPhones and 76% of iPhones launched in the last four years (I reckon this was since 2020, the iPhones 12 through 16).

(Source: https://9to5mac.com/2025/01/24/apple-reveals-ios-18-adoption-data-for-the-first-time/)

Which is rather ridiculous. Three months after launch and it is installed on 70% of all active iPhones and 76% of iPhone launched since the 12?

As I have repeatedly stated throughout this thread, if people willingly update to iOS 26, and battery life tanks, it’s their fault and nobody else’s.

Apple is only partially responsible. iOS 26 may be poor, but if you update willingly after iOS 26, and the device’s performance and battery life tank (try scrolling to the App Library. Lags on M4 iPad Pros), then it’s on you.

Upon introduction, every operating has its share of lags, stutters and micro annoying things. Apple gets around to patching up these oddities.

I don’t hear complaints about iOS 26 outside of Macrumors. My spouse who is picky, hasn’t said a word about iOS 26 after the upgrade.

 

[FeliApple]

Upon introduction, every operating has its share of lags, stutters and micro annoying things. Apple gets around to patching up these oddities.

I don’t hear complaints about iOS 26 outside of Macrumors. My spouse who is picky, hasn’t said a word about iOS 26 after the upgrade.

I don’t think Apple patches these things up completely, no. Like I said, I directly compared iOS 14 vs iOS 18 on an iPhone 11.

It wasn’t close. It was decent, with battery life matching iOS 14 (I reckon that with iOS 26 this will never be the case, but this is to be expected, even if appalling), but performance was noticeably poorer. Nothing outrageous like with 32-bit devices, but noticeably worse, speaking as somebody that, like I said, has been running original iOS versions without interruptions for the last twelve years. In this case however, the trade-off vs compatibility is, in my opinion, worth it.

My expectation is basically perfection. What I like about Apple is that, with original iOS versions, they consistently deliver.

I KNOW that when I buy an iOS device, I will have the same performance and battery life forever if I stay behind. I notice when it is updated because going back to my first iPhone, every single main iPhone I’ve used has been on original versions.

Like I said, people have accepted this. “Well, the iPhone is old”. “Well, the device cannot cope”. “Well, battery health is poor that’s why it doesn’t last”.

No. All of that is garbage. Run the original iOS version and none of that will happen. It is what it is, but don’t make excuses for Apple. That is a pathetic policy.

Accept the trade-off due to compatibility. But Apple’s “no-downgrades” policy is unacceptable.

Inspite of all this, I have accepted the status quo (that’s why I keep buying Apple devices). I’ve found my solution. I buy, I don’t update, and when compatibility suffers too much for me, I upgrade. I have accepted this. It works for me.

 

[I7guy]

I don’t think Apple patches these things up completely, no. Like I said, I directly compared iOS 14 vs iOS 18 on an iPhone 11.

My iphone xs, traded in in December 2023 for the iphone 15 pm started with ios 12 and ended with ios 17. There was virtually no difference in battery life or speed. I did get the battery replaced for free by Apple, but afterwards I bought the 15PM.

It wasn’t close. It was decent, with battery life matching iOS 14 (I reckon that with iOS 26 this will never be the case, but this is to be expected, even if appalling), but performance was noticeably poorer. Nothing outrageous like with 32-bit devices, but noticeably worse, speaking as somebody that, like I said, has been running original iOS versions without interruptions for the last twelve years. In this case however, the trade-off vs compatibility is, in my opinion, worth it.

The iphone 11, maybe yours was an anomaly?

My expectation is basically perfection. What I like about Apple is that, with original iOS versions, they consistently deliver.

My expectation is longevity and software support. I didn't buy an iphone to languish in the doldrums of the original operating system. Two different philosophies.

I KNOW that when I buy an iOS device, I will have the same performance and battery life forever if I stay behind. I notice when it is updated because going back to my first iPhone, every single main iPhone I’ve used has been on original versions.

Like I said, people have accepted this. “Well, the iPhone is old”. “Well, the device cannot cope”. “Well, battery health is poor that’s why it doesn’t last”.

Some people say the iphone can't cope and if they don't get the battery replaced after 5 years it's a truism. With the popularity of electric cars, there have been enough studies of li-ion batteries and how they age - even if not used. The trend for newer operating systems is to do more and do more in the background. If it were really true that upgrading devices renders older iphones unusable, Apple would implode.

No. All of that is garbage. Run the original iOS version and none of that will happen. It is what it is, but don’t make excuses for Apple. That is a pathetic policy.

The policy is what it is. To me these operating systems breathe new functionality into the older iphones.

Accept the trade-off due to compatibility. But Apple’s “no-downgrades” policy is unacceptable.

I can't speak for apple, but their policy is what their policy is.

Inspite of all this, I have accepted the status quo (that’s why I keep buying Apple devices). I’ve found my solution. I buy, I don’t update, and when compatibility suffers too much for me, I upgrade. I have accepted this. It works for me.

👍

 

[FeliApple]

My expectation is longevity and software support. I didn't buy an iphone to languish in the doldrums of the original operating system. Two different philosophies.

This is funny in a way, because I agree.

But I keep devices as I have stated many times. I don’t use them much, however.

My iPhone Xʀ runs iOS 12 and is now in a drawer. Where would my iPhone Xʀ be if it were on the latest iOS 18.7?

…in the same drawer. I wouldn’t use it any more than what I use it now, even with full compatibility.

Like I said, my “use until incompatible then upgrade” approach works for me.

I just feel for those people who have to use garbage because they don’t know better and because Apple doesn’t allow downgrading.

 

[FeliApple]

Wait, this is at least a little something:

Apple acknowledges their malware?

[Highlighting mine]
Source: https://support.apple.com/en-us/125039


The web archive shows that this link was originally created on September the 15th, 2025, presumably from iOS 26 backlash.

Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20250915193928/https://support.apple.com/en-us/125039


Step one, after nineteen iterations: done.


Step two will likely never come, but whatever… maybe in nineteen more years?

PD: “small impact” may not be small, but I’ll let that one slide. It’s something at least.